Christmas at Holtwhites Bakery
It’s starting to smell a lot like Christmas at Holtwhites Bakery. We have been steaming puddings, baking mincemeat and feeding our award-winning Christmas cakes with a special brandy and citrus cocktail since October. Our shop is bursting at the seams with beautiful and delicious things, and our Christmas order books are now open! Below is a guide to our Christmas products, ordering and opening hours.
Christmas cakes, puddings and pies
Christmas cakes and Christmas puddings have been finished and packaged in attractive gift boxes. We have made a limited number of both and when they’re gone they are gone, so we recommend buying these as early as possible. They will sit happily at the back of a cool, dark cupboard maturing until Christmas – or well into the New Year.
We will be baking our famous mince pies daily up until Christmas Eve, but if you want to beat the Christmas queues they can be bought in advance and frozen. Holtwhites luxury marzipan stollen will be available closer to Christmas. We use a traditional German recipe, with rum and citrus-soaked dried fruits and top-quality marzipan. Stollen keep well for a couple of weeks so they also make great gifts and treats to enjoy over the festive period.
Gifts and hampers
Our deli shelves are groaning with wonderful food and drink, from “Artisan du Chocolat” chocolate-coated gianduja almonds to award-winning wines from Waipara West. We have gourmet hampers and gift ideas to suit all budgets. Take a look at our Hampers & Gift Sets leaflet for ideas and inspiration.
Cheese!
Holtwhites’ cheese counter boasts some of the best Christmas cheeses in the country – if not the world. Colston Bassett Stilton, raw organic milk Stichelton, Vacherin Mont d’Or, made with the best summer milk, all reach their peak at this time of year. Our cheeses have been selected and cared for by top cheese mongers at The Fine Cheese Company in Bath. If you haven’t made it to one of our Cheese & Wine tasting evenings at the bakery, we will be happy to let you sample before you buy. If possible, please collect your cheese before Christmas Eve; it will keep well stored in a fridge or cold room/larder/shed…
How can I avoid the queues?
This is our fifth Christmas at Holtwhites Bakery (yes, really!!!). We know how important it is for our customers to get their favourite breads, cakes, pastries and other goodies at Christmas, so we put a lot of effort into our Christmas ordering system. Each year we get busier and producing enough of everything in our little bakery is more of a challenge. If you don’t have time to queue for your bread on Christmas Eve then we strongly recommend buying it in advance; it all freezes really well and we are now open 7 days a week.
If you do want to pick up freshly-baked goods on Christmas Eve, then queuing is almost inevitable. Join in the festive cheer, bring along a good book or send a helper. We will do our utmost to ensure that you get what you want, as quickly as possible. Please order and pay in advance unless you are happy to take your chances and see what’s left on the day.
Alternatively, order your Holtwhites goodies from Emma at The Food Gatherer and let her do your queuing for you!
How can I order?
Sunday 13th December is the date to remember. To place your order, give us a call or pop into the bakery and speak to one of the team. Alternatively, pick up or print off one of our Christmas order form and return it to the bakery where we will process your order and take payment. We recommend that you bring a copy of your order confirmation when you come to collect; this will help us to find your order as quickly as possible.
Christmas Prize Draw
If you pay for your Christmas order by Sunday 13th December you will automatically be entered into our Christmas Prize Draw. First prize is a £30 gift voucher; second and third prizes are a £10 gift voucher to spend at Holtwhites Bakery. Winning names will be drawn at random by Kate at Holtwhites Bakery on Monday 14th December. Prize winners will be contacted as soon as possible, and details will be posted on our website.
Christmas and New Year opening hours
Holtwhites Bakery will be open seven days a week up to and including Christmas Eve (see opening hours on every page of our website). Our opening hours on Christmas Eve will be 8am to 4pm. The bakery will then be closed for TEN DAYS to give our team a well-earned break. We will reopen at 7.30am on Monday 4th January 2016. Please bear this in mind when you are stocking up for Christmas.
Finally…
Thank you for your custom throughout 2015. It has been an exciting and challenging year for us, with our move to seven-day week opening hours, a bigger baking team and keeping up with demand for products old and new such as the now legendary Pasteis de Nata (Portugese Custard Tarts). We hope that you have enjoyed shopping with us this year; as always it has been a pleasure serving you and it is a privilege to be part of our community.
We wish all of our customers and friends
a very merry Christmas and a happy new year.
Bon appetit, buen provecho, enjoy!
