Why You Should Visit Loungers Before Christmas for Their Boxing Day Ham Meal

Despite the name, Boxing Day Ham at Loungers isn’t actually served on Boxing Day, and that’s precisely why it deserves a special mention on That’s Christmas 365.

This much-loved dish appears on the pre-Christmas festive menu, giving you the chance to enjoy all the comforting familiarity of a traditional Boxing Day meal without the crowds, the chaos, or the post-Christmas fatigue.

A Taste of Boxing Day Calm. Before the Big Day

Boxing Day food has always been about comfort rather than ceremony. It’s unfussy, hearty and reassuring. Loungers capture that spirit perfectly by offering their Boxing Day Ham ahead of Christmas, when you’re still able to savour it properly. The Boxing Day Ham is Treacle cured pork belly, roast potato chips, slaw and truffle stuffing mayo.

Enjoying it earlier in December feels like a gentle warm-up to the festivities, a reminder of what’s coming, rather than something squeezed into an already busy holiday.

Festive Comfort Without the Pressure

Pre-Christmas can be surprisingly intense: shopping trips, appointments, social commitments and year-end deadlines all competing for attention. Sitting down to a Boxing Day ham meal at Loungers offers a pause button moment.

No stress.

No prep.

No expectations.

Just proper food, served in a relaxed setting, at a time when you actually have the headspace to enjoy it.

Perfect for Catch-Ups and Low-Key Celebrations

Because it’s available before Christmas, the Boxing Day Ham is ideal for:

Casual festive meet-ups with friends

A midweek lunch during Christmas shopping

A relaxed family meal without the formality of “proper” Christmas dining

An office or company Christmas party. (Actually, a Loungers cafe bar was where That's Christmas 365 staged its own office party!(

It feels festive without being overwhelming, exactly what many people are looking for in the run-up to Christmas.

Loungers Do Relaxed Festivity Exceptionally Well

Loungers café bars are known for their welcoming, informal atmosphere. In December, that translates into gentle festive décor, a warm buzz, and none of the pressure you can feel in more formal seasonal venues.

You can turn up as you are, linger over your meal, and enjoy a festive dish that feels familiar rather than forced.

A Festive Treat That Doesn’t Clash With Christmas Day

One of the best things about having this meal before Christmas is that it doesn’t compete with Christmas Day itself. You’re not repeating leftovers or feeling like you’re rushing through traditions.

Instead, it becomes part of the build-up — a small but satisfying Christmas ritual that marks the season without taking anything away from the big day.

A Quietly Brilliant Christmas Tradition

Calling it “Boxing Day Ham” is almost a stroke of genius. It evokes everything we love about the days around Christmas, comfort, simplicity and slowing down, while fitting neatly into the busiest part of December.

If you’re looking for a festive meal that feels genuinely enjoyable rather than obligatory, Loungers’ pre-Christmas Boxing Day ham is well worth adding to your Christmas countdown.

To find your nearest Loungers cafe bar visit https://thelounges.co.uk

DukesHill has an alternative for your Christmas Feasting: DukesHill's Special Edition Candied Orange Glazed Ham

DukesHill, one of the UK's foremost artisan ham producers, has produced a special edition DukesHill Candied Orange Glazed Ham (whole min 4kg £125, half min 2kg £80) for Christmas. 

Made using time-honoured curing techniques, this unique festive ham is a delectable alternative to turkey for the big day, the perfect centerpiece for a Boxing Day feast, and as a filling for pies and sandwiches to see you through the entire festive season.

DukesHill's Candied Orange Glazed Ham is an utterly delicious honey-glazed Wltshire ham, topped with sliced candied oranges.  

Handmade using DukesHill's traditional Wiltshire cure, the ham spends almost a week maturing in DukesHill's own special recipe brine.

Unlike other curing processes, DukesHill adds a delightful touch of unrefined brown sugar to their brine recipe to add a subtle and mild sweetness.

The ham is then air-dried for a further week to mature and remove any excess moisture before being steam-cooked for 12 hours, allowing the fat to render and soften to provide a buttery texture.  

Once cooked the ham is then carefully inspected, hand-skinned and trimmed, then topped with a honey glaze and sliced oranges. 

The resulting ham has a lovely mild taste and a moist texture, complimented by a sweet orange & honey flavour. Obviously ideal for Christmastime feasting.

From its humble beginnings in a converted Shropshire cowshed back in the 1980s, DukesHill is renowned for its traditionally cured ham and handmade artisan produce that's sourced from like-minded producers who share their commitment to quality and craftsmanship.  

Their Wiltshire ham is sold in Selfridges, Harrods and Fortnum & Mason, and supplied to iconic London hotels like The Ritz and The Goring.  

dukeshill.co.uk | Instagram: @dukeshill

Leading Artisan Ham Company Ramps Up Production Ahead of Christmas

Royal Warrant holding artisanal ham producer, DukesHill is working around the clock to meet the high demand for their gammon, ham and sweet treats like mince pies and handmade Christmas cakes ahead of the festive period. 

The Shropshire-based business is known for its dedication to providing the finest traditionally cured hams, free-range bronze turkeys, and artisanal fine foods. To cope with demand, DukesHill will increase its workforce by 200% over the coming months. 

During the peak Christmas period between October and December, DukesHill plans to cure over 15,000 outdoor bred pork legs across a variety of products, including traditionally cured cooked and uncooked hams, bacon, slices of porchetta, ham hock and pork products.

Over forty thousand hams were sold during the festive season last year, 2022, a number the luxury food producer is hoping to exceed for Christmas 2023. 

They also expect to distribute two thousand of their specially reared turkeys, tens of thousands of handmade mince pies and over seven thousand of DukesHill’s very own handmade Christmas puddings, as people stock up for the big day.

Last year’s statistics show the nation is opting for more gammon around Christmas time than ever before. Data collected by Kantar shows retailers experienced a 23.6% increase in value of gammon sales and 5.1% uplift by volume year-on-year, of gammon products in the four weeks to Christmas Day 2022.

Mark Gallagher, CEO of DukesHill says, “The months running up to Christmas is the busiest time fir us at DukesHill and right now our dedicated team is working hard to ensure there’s plenty of perfectly cured ham and sweet treats for our customers to have a memorable and most delicious Christmas. 

"Ham is one of the nation’s favourite centrepieces over Christmas and it’s no wonder, it’s an incredibly versatile crowd-pleaser that's easy to prepare and absolutely delicious, too. Not to mention the lure of Boxing Day ham, egg and chips! Our Christmas brochures have landed, and we’ve already seen a 35% increase in customers placing their Christmas orders earlier this year.” 

Launching this Christmas, DukesHill forecast the star product to be their new Cranberry Glazed Ham with Pork & Cranberry Stuffing - Half ham, RRP £80 (min 2kg), Whole ham, RRP £125. This special edition Christmas ham is generously stuffed with their very own Pork and Cranberry Stuffing. 

A DukesHill ham or turkey is a celebration of good farming techniques, which is good news for British farming and industry, as they use only the finest quality outdoor-bred British pork and the most traditional curing methods which can take up to six months to produce.

One of DukesHill’s farmers, Andrew Tomson from Peddars Pigs Ltd, plays a crucial role in helping meet the demand. He said: “As a pig farmer of 45 years, our commitment is to ensure the wellbeing of every pig under our care. I really, firmly believe raising healthy pigs on straw is about providing them with a life of comfort and respect in an environment where they thrive. This produces the best quality pork and we know these animals have lived the best life possible.”

As for the traditional choice of turkey for a Christmas Day feast, DukesHill’s free range bronze turkeys are reared especially for DukesHill in Kent by a highly experienced third-generation turkey-farming family who have been rearing turkeys for forty years. Their turkeys roam freely in grassy paddocks and meadows and are fed a natural cereal-based diet.

Customers can book their deliveries to fill the larder for the festive period or order hampers for loved ones on the website www.dukeshill.co.uk. Early orders are encouraged to guarantee timely delivery and to ensure everyone can savour a delicious Christmas with DukesHill.