Suppliers of International Foods Whatever Your Dish this Christmas
Be honest: when you hear the word “Christmas”, what do you think of first? For children, understandably, it’s Santa Claus (or Father Christmas, Papa Noel, Kris Kringle, Weihnachtsmann, Babbo Natale, Saint Nicholas, or one of his other names from around the world). For adults though, memories of Christmas and its traditions all seem to centre around food. And for good reason!
Christmas foods, no matter where you are in the world or how you celebrate the holiday itself, embrace the true spirit of the season. They gather loved ones into the heart of the home, they keep family memories alive with their traditions, they inspire togetherness with our heritage and to each other. In short, they embody the love, happiness and joy the season brings. Christmas just wouldn’t be Christmas without the foods we know and love.
No matter what you are celebrating this holiday season or what dish you celebrate it with, Leo Foods, as the largest international foods wholesaler and retailer on the Costa del Sol, can help. Our cash and carry warehouse in the Nueva Campana poligono in Marbella stocks traditional ingredients from countries and cultures from around the world so you can keep your Christmas food traditions alive (or maybe try a new one!)
Christmas in Mexico
Looking to make a traditional Mexican Christmas meal? You’ll want to make chiles en nogada, a traditionally decadent dish of green chiles stuffed with seasoned meat, smothered in a white goat’s cheese sauce and topped with red pomegranate seeds. The ingredients are decadent by traditional Mexican standards and the colours are the perfect representation of the holidays, making it a staple at many Mexican family Christmas dinners. Find the recipe here and pick up the ingredients you need to make it at Leo Foods!
A Brazilian Christmas Dinner
A Ceia de Natal (Christmas dinner) wouldn’t be the same in Brazil without a roast turkey. What makes the Brazilian version stand out though, is the champagne and spices its marinated and cooked in and the manioc and fruit dressing that accompanies it. Delicious!
An Ethiopian Christmas Food Tradition
Leo Foods’ huge stock of spices is perfect for blending your own traditional berbere (a mix of sweet paprika, cinnamon, ginger, turmeric, nutmeg, and salt) and niter kibbeh (a clarified butter spiced with onion, garlic, ginger, cinnamon, black pepper, cardamom, cloves, fenugreek, coriander, oregano, cumin, nutmeg, turmeric, besobela, and kosserek) to make Ethiopia’s traditional Christmas meal of Doro Wat, a kind of spicy chicken stew absolutely packed with flavour. It’s easy to see why it’s the country’s traditional Christmas food: Doro Wat is the kind of time-consuming but incredible-tasting dish that’s just perfect for the holidays!
Christmas Foods from Vietnam
Vietnam, like much of Asia, is predominantly Buddhist, but still has some strong Christmas traditions, perhaps thanks to its status as a French colony until 1954. Here, for those who celebrate Christmas, a traditional meal might consist of chicken soup, sticky rice, pork buns and the classic French dessert: Buche de Noel. If you’d like to include some of these yummy Vietnamese Christmas foods into your own holiday dinner, pick up a huge assortment of Asian pantry staples at Leo Foods, or make it a bit easier (but just as tasty) on yourself with our ready prepared frozen spring rolls, Gua Bao and more.
Indian Christmas Foods
Plum cake, also known as fruit cake in other parts of the world, is a popular choice of sweets at Christmas time in India, as is other British Christmas food staples such as turkey and gravy, sweet potatoes, and other roast vegetables. Traditions are rapidly changing though, and it’s also just as common to find rich meat and vegetable curries, fried savory sides and a varied assortment of sweets. Find a whole collection of these dishes and their recipes featuring mouth-watering ingredients like coconut, lentils, chickpeas, semolina, dates, ghee, almonds, cashews, cumin, cardamom and more at The Better India and Bawarchi.com.
A Middle Eastern Holiday Feast
12 million Christians in the Middle East will celebrate Christmas this year, and even some Muslims there who don’t celebrate the holiday will use the festive season as an opportunity to gather with family and have an extra special dinner, usually consisting of complex and flavourful dishes like lamb stuffed with meats, nuts, spices and pomegranate; hummous, tabbouleh, baba ganoush, falafel, sweet semolina pancakes, sesame sweets and halwa, amongst others. If you are looking to celebrate Christmas with some incredible Middle Eastern festive foods, check out The Spruce Eats for some tasty recipes and find what you need to make them at Leo Foods!
A Classic British Christmas
If you’re a British traditionalist, Leo Foods also has, of course, all the staples needed to recreate the Christmas dinner you know and love. Turkey with sage and thyme stuffing, Yorkshire pudding, roast veg, Bisto gravy and all the accompaniments like cranberry sauce, horseradish, mint sauce, Worcester sauce and more are all available to retail and wholesale customers. Dress your table with a huge selection of dried fruits and finish your meal with a classic mince pie or trifle piled with cream and a proper cup of Tetley’s tea, and don’t forget the needed Celebrations, Roses, Quality Street, and Heroes chocolate tubs to pass around!
Catering to Special Diets this Christmas
Remember, no matter what dishes you’re planning on making this holiday season, if you are vegan, vegetarian or have special dietary requirements, at Leo Foods, we carry an expansive stock of healthy, gluten-free, soy-free, lactose-free, vegan, vegetarian, organic, and fairtrade ingredients so you can enjoy all your favourite foods this Christmas. Discover our full range on our new e-catalogue!
From all of us here at Leo Foods, we wish you the very merriest of Christmases and a happy holiday season no matter what part of the world you hail from or how you celebrate. Cheers and bon appetite!
