This menu was sure to be a fitting way to welcome the festive season in. A complimentary aperitif with canapés got things off to a warming start. The canapés, inspired by my ‘Chef for a Day’ experience at The Box Tree in Ilkley, included beetroot macaroons filled with goat’s cheese & beetroot mousse and muhammara croustades. Cauliflower and cheese followed in the form of a very light, Comté cheese soufflé tart with roasted cauliflower florets on a bed of cauliflower cream. The pièce de resistance had to be my Christmas pudding, flambéed and served with brandy butter, a garnish of orange confit and homemade vanilla custard. Finally, if anyone had some room, there were rum truffles and mince pie petits fours with tea and coffee … merry Xmas!