By Anya Cooklin-Lofting
Never have we known a table richer in expectation or weightier in tradition than the Christmas dining table. From the jolts of nostalgia to the eye-stinging gratitude it brings, the sight of the Christmas table positively shuddering under the weight of its cumbersome contents is a touchstone many of us simply won’t do without. Whether you’re laying a festive table for just one household or are welcoming guests this year, make sure to set a memorable, joyous table that brings those you love together. Even if you’ve eaten far more meals around the table together over the last two years than you may have expected, seeing the table dressed and ready for the big day will bring a little more festive cheer to the season.
Start With the Basics
Especially if you’re welcoming multiple guests, making sure your proportions are generous involves a little calculation and rearranging. Work on the basis that each guest should have at least a 40 centimetre setting along the table. Of course, much of the joy of a large Christmas gathering is the jostling of shoulders around the table, but if you can, provide as much table space per guest as possible.
Another calculation you may wish to make is whether you have enough of the correct cutlery for each course you plan to serve. A quick, pre-Christmas audit of your cutlery drawer will pay off, and as you’ll read, it doesn’t matter if you need to supplement with a new set or two.
Glassware will play an expectedly large role over the festive season and you’ll be surprised by quite how many glasses guests accumulate between arrival and Christmas dinner. Between reception bubbles, wine pairings throughout the meal, water and digestifs, ensure there is enough room around each place setting for each receptacle. A handy tip is to serve Champagne in flutes rather than coupes as these take up less space on the table and are far less prone to spilling.
Layering Up
Consider the festive season your ticket to full-blown maximalism. Your Christmas table should be filled with colour, pattern and texture to create a memorable, inviting and expressive scene. The best way to achieve this look is through layering pattern and colour from the tablecloth, up, adding highs and lows, textures and points of interest along the way.
So, begin with table linen. A patterned table cloth can be a real crutch to lean on if your crockery is plain, but can also act as a foil for more decorative plates and bowls. Often, you can purchase napkins in the same print or in contrasting colours to make a style statement. Vintage napkins also make a lovely addition, bringing some eclecticism and history to the table.
Placemats are delightful additions to the table and provide the opportunity to bring in a new layer of texture. Rattan or jute options are particularly popular at the moment and bring an unexpected dress-up-able texture to your layering.
Layering up your charger plates will bring more of a sense of occasion to mealtimes like these, and although they can give a more formal feel, you can opt for quite contemporary – or even novelty – styles. The rest of the plates should be stacked at each setting according to the courses you’re serving. This makes for a more impressive table as guests arrive and also encourages a more intimate, ‘hands-on’ approach to dining. Serving pre-plated courses feels fussy and overdone. For example, soups should be served at the table from a tureen, and then the bowls removed after the first course to reveal the next plate and to signal the arrival of new serveware filled with the next, delicious items on the menu.
Finally, don’t be afraid of mixing and matching cutlery. In metallic finishes, they serve as little glinting accents amongst the rest of your table. Using a mix of brass, silver and even gold with enamelled or scrolling, antique detailing adds character and personality to each setting.
Florals and Table Decorations
An honorary part of the layering up of the table indeed, but a sub-heading in its own right, is the Christmas floral arrangement. As integral as it is divisive, greenery on the table can make or break a table setting, so be sure to get it aesthetically – as well as logistically – right. When it comes to the look and feel of your table florals and foliage, keep it seasonal. Spring blooms on a Christmas table looks particularly jarring, so why not opt for sprigs of rosemary, pine or eucalyptus dotted around the table. Clusters of oranges also work well to bring colour and fragrance to each setting. Where possible, source greenery from your garden, or ask your local Christmas tree seller for some off cuts.
From a practical perspective, it’s important to keep any displays low to stay out of guests’ eyelines as taller, larger arrangements can obstruct conversation. It may also make sense to remove any larger or wider florals, foliage or ornaments before it’s time to eat to clear space on the table for your serveware.
Magical Moments
Little, magical moments around the Christmas table lodge themselves in the minds of children and adults alike, forming memories to last a lifetime. So, this Christmas, imbue your table with considered details and thoughtful flourishes. Super-size pepper mills are hugely popular at the moment, bringing a smile to each face at the table with every grind of the turnplate. Personalised crackers and menu cards will also give your table an enchanting feel, bound with velvet ribbons.
Finally, there is nothing more magical or festive than the glimmer of candlelight between the bulging dishes and elegant stemware. Choose a mix of little votives, chunky pillar candles and some taller candlesticks to put the proverbial cherry on the top of your Christmas table, adding the qualities of luxury and cosiness that only candles do.
Immerse Yourself in Wes Anderson’s World With the British Pullman
By Amira Hashish
All aboard the British Pullman for a train journey like no other. Iconic film director Wes Anderson has joined forces with Belmond to create a carriage inspired by his signature style and we are all invited to step into his wonderfully wacky world.
The visionary behind movies including The Darjeeling Limited, The Grand Budapest Hotel and The French Dispatch, was given free rein to reimagine the Cygnus carriage. You could be mistaken for thinking that you had stepped onto one of his fantasy film sets. He has teamed opulent green fabrics with a pink ceiling, symmetrical lines and art nouveau design alongside two new private coupés. It is the Instagram stuff of dreams.
From long lunches and sumptuous afternoon tea experiences to special dinner packages, journeys depart throughout the year from London Victoria Station and there is some last minute availability pre-Christmas. ‘
The train’s high profile fans include Adwoa Adobah, Emma Bunton and Holly Willoughby who have been spotted enjoying festive celebrations on board recently.
Speaking of the collaboration Anderson said: “I love trains. I have often had the chance to invent train compartments and carriages in my movies so I was immediately pleased to say ‘yes’ to this real life opportunity, and very eager to make something new while also participating in the process of preservation which accompanies all the classic Belmond train projects. They are keeping something special alive; igniting this endangered species of travel into a new golden era.”
His interiors feel refined with a typical playful twist and he has paid careful tribute in his dream-like storytelling to the origins of the 1950s carriage. Named after the Greek God of Balance, Cygnus is often personified as a swan and immortalised as one of the most recognisable constellations in the night sky. Detailed reference to the myth and legend can be found throughout Anderson’s design in the intricate waves and swan detailing in the marquetry. From the meticulously positioned silver leaf on the ceiling that reflects like water, to the swan shaped champagne coolers – the carriage is a tribute to the majestic swan.
As the journey continues you will no doubt keep noticing the little touches that make all the difference.
For a very exclusive option, there are two new private coupés. The intimate space, with 360 degree carefully handcrafted marquetry, can be booked for up to four people. The train manager personally greets coupé guests with priority boarding and ensures free flowing champagne is available throughout the trip.
Group bookings are also possible with entire carriages available for celebrations of up to 26 people.
Winding your way through the English countryside in delightful surroundings is always a joy and there is no more luxurious way to do so than with the British Pullman.
Pullman Dining by Wes Anderson starts from £400 per person. The Pullman coupé by Wes Anderson starts from £1,800 per coupé. The full carriage hire price is available on request. To book or for more information email nicola.price@belmond.com.
Top 5 Scenic Train Routes
By Anya Cooklin-Lofting
It is rare these days to stumble upon moments devoid of the need for distraction. Podcasts and music streaming services deliver almost constant scores over which to perform our daily tasks and we have windows to the Universe tucked into our pockets for easy-access escapism. Life under lockdown was particularly screen-centric, so to make up for lost time, I have begun chasing down moments to live in, distraction-free. Keeping my phone in my handbag at dinner with family and friends has been a great place to start, as has been removing my headphones on my morning jogs to hear the birds and the rustle of the wind in the leaves.
Confident in the knowledge that watching the world go by in real-time brings balance, a sense of peace and an earthly pace to each day, I began to wonder how best to sit back and focus on the world around me. It became very apparent that travel, and being in transit more specifically, offers the perfect environment in which to do that. While flying gives you awe-inspiring views across whole countries and cloudscapes, there is something far more human, more intimate, about train travel. Tracking the shifting landscapes as they modulate like stage sets reveals a world of bucolic splendour, glistening, glass cities, coastlines battered by relentless tides and valleys clad with thick forests. Unlocking your phone as you snake along a track that hugs the undulations of a crumbling coastline or as you pass over a soaring viaduct feels positively criminal.
So, today, I’ll be rounding up five of the most scenic train trips around the world. Prepare for rugged mountainous landscapes, endless seascapes of aquamarine and epic architecture to give your next adventure a hit of Golden Age grandeur.
The Venice Simplon-Orient-Express
What better train trip to start with than the Venice Simplon-Orient-Express, a Belmond train that breathes life into stories of spies and detectives set onboard its illustrious carriages. The most popular route on this storied train begins in London, arriving in Verona or Venice, although Prague, Vienna, Paris and Budapest also benefit from its 5-star services. Guests travel in one of six private suites each named after some of Europe’s most historic cities, paying homage to the train’s journeys through the very veins connecting Europe’s cultural capitals. In this case, of course, the interior might be just as alluring as the exterior views, but when it comes to simply luxuriating in your surroundings, either will do nicely.
California Zephyr
A tasting menu of the delights of American variety, the California Zephyr takes passengers from Chicago, Illinois to Emeryville California via showstopping sights including the Rocky Mountains, the fiercely red, sculptural plains of Utah, the Sierra Nevada, the Donner Pass and San Francisco Bay. Travellers have the option to visit the Sightseer Lounge complete with broad, tall windows and comfortable, window-facing seating for optimal views. Beware, though – the lounge seats are available on a first-come, first-served basis and it fills up quickly.
The TranzAlpine
New Zealand is something of a lodestone for adventure-seeking, global travellers with a love of the great outdoors. Although much Kiwi travel makes best use of its slick domestic flight network, the TranzAlpine express train route is one of very few in existence. Whisking passengers from the bustling city of Christchurch to the historic, West Coast town of Greymouth, the journey hugs the Waimakariri River, negotiates the Southern Alps and offers striking views across miles of beech forests.
The Mandovi Express
Your 12-hour journey on board the Mandovi Express leaves from the Victorian spectacle of Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, an Italian Gothic-style station designed by architectural engineer, Frederick William Stevens. Weaving its way down the Konkan Coast flanked by the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats, the train crosses over 2,000 bridges, passes coconut groves and reveals the lush plains of the West Coast’s countryside. Passengers are free to await their arrival in Madgaon from their seats or from the pantry car, watching the cooks conjure a heady mix of traditional cuisine including thalis, biryanis and dals.
The Trans-Siberian Railway
Russia is certainly a country of extremes and its Trans-Siberian Express is no exception. The longest railway line in the world, the Trans-Siberian Express connects Europe’s largest city, Moscow, to Vladivostok on the Pacific Ocean, across almost 10,000 kilometres. For over 100 years the railway has connected the two cities, but plans are now in place to extend the line to Mongolia, China and North Korea. The current route takes passengers over the Ural Mountains, across the sprawling Steppe and offers views of Lake Baikal, the world’s deepest, oldest and largest freshwater lake.