If you arefeeling a little French this Christmas and looking for a place to enjoy alovely meal with family and friends then look no further than Après. If youridea of fine dining in Sydneyinvolves an intimate dinner with family or a large extravagant gathering withfriends, Après can cater for either function.

Aprèsprides itself on being able to host functions of different natures in order tosatisfy customers’ needs, so if a French Christmas meal at a French restaurantsounds like a good idea this Christmas then get in early. Be sure to contactthe restaurant regarding menu options for the evening as there are menu optionsavailable. Options range from canapés and the degustation menu to therestaurants set menu for larger groups. The restaurant is also provides asommelier to cater to everyone’s wine needs as the restaurant offers manylocally and French produced wines.

Fine dining in Sydney over the Christmas period could bea simple as a lovely dinner with family and friends or could be a lavish affairmade into a special function for all to enjoy. 

Of courseany festive season traditions are not complete without a fragrant glass ofsomething to accompany a meal. In France, much like during other specialoccasions, the drink of choice is wine. Obviously the wines differ from regionto region across France; this is due to the changing climates and geographicaldifferences. However, one thing is for certain, any celebration is accentuatedby a variety of French wines.

AlthoughChristmas in Sydney is not exactly cold, as it would be during winter inFrance, but a popular drink in France during the Christmas period is Mulledwine (vin chaud). This is an extremely tasty and delicious drink that isusually made with red wine that gets heated and combined with a mix of spices.There are all kinds of spices that could be added and for most people it’s apersonal opinion of what works well but a traditional mix would involve,cinnamon, vanilla pods, a type of citrus such as orange zest, sugar and cloves.Like most French wines this warmspicy wine is truly a treat and could be enjoyed after a delicious Christmasdinner. 

If you’refeeling French this festive season and are in the mood for some quality French cuisine for the Christmas mealthen here are some tips for the kitchen. Like most French cooking, good qualityingredients are essential, so the dishes are simple yet elegant and of coursepleasing on the palette. Christmas time is no exception for the French andtraditional meals are prepared with the same effort and flair as most dishes.

One popularFrench tradition around the Christmas period is Le Réveillon (meaning waking),which is actually Christmas Eve and involves a feast of luxury dishes.Obviously the traditional meal of choice varies across the French regions butthe usual starters are oysters, lobster, escargot or foie gras. For the mainmeal the dishes are either roast goose or a traditional roast turkey withchestnuts. To spice up a turkey with Frenchcuisine then prepare a stuffing with sausage meat,shallots, garlic, parsley, sage, seasoning and egg. Then smother the turkey inbutter and poor some wine and chicken stock into a roasting dish and addcelery, carrots and onions. Place the turkey into the dish and roast in an ovenat 180° for three hours.

For manypeople Christmas is about spending time with family and friends while enjoyinggreat food. Obviously a lot of people have traditions that they like to upholdover the Christmas period and some of these revolve around eating the usualroast turkey or ham. However, for those that are bored with the same oldChristmas lunch or dinner perhaps a Frenchrestaurant could provide a happy alternative.

If cookingthe main meal at Christmas time is not your favourite past time then the greatthing about going out to a restaurant is that no one has to worry about this.Not to mention the washing up part. A Frenchrestaurant can also offer a variety of flavours and dishes that probablywouldn’t normally be on your traditional menu. Some traditionally FrenchChristmas options at meal time are turkey, capon, goose and chicken; allprepared with a touch of French flair. There are also many popular Frenchdeserts around the festive season such as La bûche deNoël (Yule log). This is a log-shaped cake made of chocolate and chestnuts,which represents a special wood log that is blessed and burned from ChristmasEve to New Year's Day.