Local fare top-notch for big day

Denmark celebrity chef Anna Gare will be shopping locally this Christmas and has praised the Great Southern’s diverse offerings for the festive season.

Gare said her family would converge on Denmark for Christmas and would indulge in a lunch-dinner combination.

“We are having our four kids joining us for Christmas at home in Denmark,” she said

“We always do a long extended lunch that rolls into dinner.”

Gare said her Christmas cuisine varied from year to year.

“I’m not really a traditionalist when it comes to Christmas — each year we set a food theme,” she said.

“The last three years were Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Chinese. This year it’s local produce, so the possibilities are endless with so much beautiful produce on hand.

“I will be hitting the Albany markets on Christmas Eve to stock up on fresh goodies.”

Despite not being a traditionalist, Gare said her Christmas always featured a ham.

“Whatever the theme, I am a traditionalist when it comes to glazing a leg of ham,” she said

“This year I’m going to make a lightly spiced orange, fennel and fig glaze. We have a tree laden with beautiful purple figs.”

Gare had a number of suggestions for local Christmas produce that included Denmark Butcher’s organic leg of ham, Kojonup chicken and Mt Barker stone fruit.

Gare said local growers gave customers plenty of options as they prepared for their Christmas meals.

“We have amazing small and large producers growing and making food in the traditional and organic way,” she said.

“We have pretty much everything covered from roadside fruit and veg stalls to massive producers.”