Christmas is upon us. However, this year, it is all going to be a little bit different.

Due to Covid and the “Rule of 6”, which is very much expected to still be in force for Christmas. The subject of what to eat on Christmas Day has become quite important.

For nearly a decade, Parson’s Nose have exclusively partnered with a small family run turkey farmer in Berkshire, called Walters.

They are a husband and wife team who are completely dedicated to producing the very best turkeys.

The reason that we are so committed to Walters is because of their passion, but also because, without doubt they are the best turkeys.

Christmas is Walters' big time of year.

They rear the birds at intervals, so that, come the big day, there is a wide range of bird weights to choose from. This could be anywhere from 4kg all the way up to 14kg.

For a group of 6 people, a 4-5 kg turkey is more than enough for the Christmas meal and that will also leave lots of lovely leftovers for Boxing day.

In reality, there are going to be a lot of turkeys over 5 kg this Christmas, which is the norm, as with most previous years without Covid.

The problem is this:

• The farmers cannot stop feeding their birds to keep them all small.
• They cannot kill the birds early and freeze them, because they will not be fresh or be the same quality.

In addition, Covid and quarantine restrictions on travel back into the UK will mean that a lot of Londoners will not be heading back to their home countries for Christmas.

This will inevitably mean that there will be more people in London and more demand on the smaller turkeys.

This is a problem, in terms of the supply and demand for Turkey this Christmas, but the solution is equally as clear.

To try and ensure that all of our customers get a Turkey this Christmas and avoid the panic buying we saw earlier on in the pandemic, we have started an initiative:

We strongly recommend that you order your turkey sooner rather than later. We would also recommend that you use our delivery service. Whilst we love having you in our store, especially at Christmas time. Because of Covid and the rule of only 2 people instore at any one time, there may well be a long wait. (of course we are still taking orders in the stores, but it might be easier ordering online).

From today, you can order your turkey online. You will be given an order number and the rest of your Christmas order can easily be added at a later date.

You may well end up with a bigger bird than you need. This is not the end of the world and in an effort to support the turkey farmers and reduce waste. Parson’s Nose have teamed up with some of London’s top chefs to develop 10 simple and amazing “Left Over” turkey recipes. We will be giving the recipe cards out with every turkey this year.

Share larger birds with others. One thing that we have noticed in our stores throughout this horrid period is that a lot of people are buying food for neighbours and people who have been isolating. It has been a wonderful example of community. Go one step further this Christmas; cook and share a bigger bird with your neighbour.

In short, we will have plenty of turkeys, geese, ducks, chicken and everything else that you could possibly want for Christmas. They might just cater for more than 6 people.

The point of the long message is to ask you to:

• think about the farmers,
• think about ordering sooner, and
• think about your neighbours.

This is a year that we will all wish to forget, it has been an Annus Horriblis. In light of the hardships this year, let’s all try and make sure that this Christmas is one to remember.

As a thank you for your support to Parson's Nose and to help the Walters family, we are offering a discount on ALL products in our Christmas collection, including turkey's.

Simply enter this code at checkout to receive the discount on your Christmas order:

GAX49QNN3AKZ

The voucher code will expire next Wednesday at 23:59 (October 21, 2020) and it will not be repeated. Please help to give our farmers some certainty this Christmas.

If you have any questions about your order, please do call the stores or send me a direct email and I will do what ever we can to make sure everything runs smoothly for you;

tony@parsonsnose.co.uk

Together, we are stronger.

Tony and Serena

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Parson's Nose are the best butchers in London, selling online and in-store. See our range of meat available for delivery including veal, goat meat, venison joints and more.