Social pics: Avoca celebrates Christmas with an exclusive dinner at Salt in Monkstown

Bairbre Power at the exclusive AVOCA launch of Christmas in the intimate surrounds of SALT restaurant at AVOCA, Monkstown on Thursday, 22nd November.photo Kieran Harnett no repro fee Guests were invited to an evening event for the unveiling of Christmas at AVOCA, which celebrated all things handmade. From festive fare and tasty Christmas treats that have been lovingly handmade in AVOCA kitchens and bakeries, to carefully wrapped gifts and hand-made charity paperchains* adorning the stores, cafés and food markets. This year is all about time-honoured traditions, artisanal Irish craft and the attention paid to creating the most special Christmas experience. Guests were treated to bubbles and a selection of hand-prepared seasonal canapés on arrival, before perusing the festive food gifting stations. Once seated, guests enjoyed an intimate gourmet Christmas banquet showcasing AVOCA’s festive favourites. The menu championed seasonal ingredients and the AVOCA Food Innovation Team were on hand to guide guests through the provenance and quality of the food. Guests enjoyed a choice of starters including winter celeriac and white truffle soup and toasted hazelnuts. The main course was beautifully cooked Irish organic duck, available from the AVOCA Butcher, with a confit croquette and sprouts with smoked pancetta. To finish, a classic AVOCA sherry trifle and a trio of mini desserts were served. Each guest departed with a delightful goodie bag, filled with an abundance of AVOCA festive favourites, including Christmas pudding, brandy butter, mince pies, exclusive AVOCA fudge and a box of festive paperchains, designed by AVOCA’s creative team. For more information on AVOCA’s Christmas Feast offerings, visit avoca.com *The handmade AVOCA paperchains will be available to buy across all stores as a charity initiative, all proceeds will go to a local charity of each store’s choosing For more information or imagery, please contact: Aimee O’Driscoll, Wilson Ha