Duke of York Square market was the starting point for my Christmas food shopping in Chelsea. There was a duck confit sandwich from Partridges along the way, followed by a search for smoked salmon, piccalilli and dessert wine across central London.
This film is from 21 December 2015, Vlogmas Day 21. It captures that particular Christmas shopping trip, with the stalls, shops and products as I found them then.
From Sloane Square to Duke of York Square market
I began in Sloane Square with about an hour of daylight left. The Christmas lights looked better after dark, so the plan was to do some shopping and see the area again once they were lit. For the moment, I headed towards the festive market at Duke of York Square.
My list was quite specific. I wanted H. Forman & Son smoked salmon for Christmas Day, plus piccalilli for the turkey sandwiches that would follow on Boxing Day. Partridges seemed a sensible place to begin the salmon search. If that did not work, Whole Foods was my next option.
The market was busy, and there was plenty of food to look at. Finding smoked salmon was easy enough; finding the particular one I had in mind proved more difficult. I looked around the stalls and inside Partridges without finding what I wanted.
A Partridges duck confit sandwich
Partridges did provide a very welcome lunch. I picked up a duck confit sandwich with rocket salad and English mustard, then stopped outside to try it. The film gives it a straightforward verdict: really good.
It was a useful break in a shopping trip that was already becoming longer than expected. The duck sandwich was the food I ate there and then; the rest of the afternoon was about collecting things to take home for Christmas.
By the time I finished, the light was fading. I pointed the camera towards the cloudy London sunset, although the sun itself was hidden. I had also tried Chelsea Farmers Market without filming that stop, but still had not found the salmon. It was time to leave Chelsea and continue the search near Piccadilly Circus.
Finding H. Forman & Son smoked salmon
At Whole Foods, I found a small selection of H. Forman & Son salmon. I was looking for the wild Scottish smoked salmon: Scottish fish, smoked in London, as I explained in the video. After checking the packets and reading the label, I finally had the one I wanted.
That was the main Christmas Day purchase sorted. Next came a walk down Piccadilly for the Boxing Day part of the list. Earlier, I had thought London felt quieter as people headed away for Christmas. Piccadilly soon made me revise that impression. It was absolutely packed.
Fortnum & Mason piccalilli for Boxing Day
Fortnum & Mason was my stop for piccalilli. Its red-lit frontage and rows of Christmas trees made an impressive backdrop while I talked through the purchase. The jar contained a mix of vegetables in mustard, including cauliflower, onions, gherkins and peppers.
I had turkey sandwiches firmly in mind, though I also mentioned eating it with cheese. It is one of those small Christmas purchases that belongs to the days after the main meal, when the leftovers become lunch.
One last search for dessert wine
There was still one item to find: Elysium, a sweet Californian black muscat dessert wine that I really liked. The first Majestic branch, in Mayfair, did not have any, so I headed to another branch with closing time approaching.
That final search worked out too, and I finished with half a case. By then I was worn out from shopping. The day had taken me from Duke of York Square market and a duck confit sandwich to smoked salmon, piccalilli and wine, with plenty of walking between each success.
For another visit to the area a year later, see my Chelsea Christmas lights film from 2016.
