DukesHill's Family Christmas Pudding – 454g, £14.50

As Stir Up Sunday (Nov 24th) approaches, DukesHill has revealed the methods that make all the difference to its award-winning handmade Christmas pudding: weighing, steaming and maturing the puddings in-house. If you're pushed for time this year, DukesHill's Christmas pudding is the closest way you can enjoy a genuine, traditional pudding exactly like you'd make at home. 

Prepared by hand with no commercial shortcuts, this pudding is loaded with vine-ripened fruits, cherries and free-range eggs, and is steeped in premium French Brandy for a rich and nuanced flavour. DukesHill opts for butter rather than suet, creating a cleaner finish and making the pudding irresistibly moist and vegetarian-friendly.

Nicky Biddulph, Master Pudding Maker at DukesHill, says: "A proper Christmas pudding brings warmth and joy to the festive table. Our team takes great pride in handcrafting each pudding, and it's a real labour of love. We select only the finest ingredients to make sure each pudding tastes homemade, just as it would in your own kitchen.” 

Each 454g DukesHill Christmas Pudding costs £14.50 and is available at www.dukeshill.co.uk.

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Notes to Editor

The full DukesHill Christmas range is available at: dukeshill.co.uk 

For commercial purposes, DukesHill is available on various affiliate programs including Skimlinks and Awin. Please ask for further information.

High res images are available here. 

Website: dukeshill.co.uk | Instagram: @dukeshill

PR Contact

For more information, images or to request an advance preview please contact Harry Hook - harry@rawfoodanddrinkpr.co.uk

A Conversation with Nicky Biddulph, Master Pudding Maker at DukesHill

"I'm Nicky from Wellington. I've been with DukesHill for over 17 years and am now Production Manager and Master Pudding Maker. I oversee the quality and production of all our products. We're a small team, but each of us has immense passion for what we do. Our process is hands-on, never processed, which is why I've loved being here for so long."

How much fruit goes into the puddings each year?

We use approximately 9.1kg of currants per batch, making 36 batches annually – that's around 328kg, the weight of two adult reindeers!

How many Christmas puddings do you produce annually, and what is the team size?

Our team expands by 200% from October to December to keep up with demand. We prepare over 7,000 Christmas puddings, along with our hams and bacon for holiday orders. It's all hands on deck!

What's the process for making DukesHill's Christmas pudding?

We approach our puddings like homemade creations. We start with sourcing premium fruits and mix them carefully with flour, spices, eggs, and brandy to ensure a well-balanced, varied batter. Once in the pots, they're steamed to create a plump, juicy texture and stored to mature for 11 months. Each step is quality-checked to meet our customers' high standards.

When does the team start making the Christmas puddings?

Ingredients arrive in January, and we start production around February to allow plenty of time for maturation.

What's the most challenging part of pudding production?

The mixing and weighing process is intensive, with up to three hours of work per batch. The smaller puddings cook for four hours, while the large ones take six. The aroma fills the factory and feels like Christmas. We then soak them in French brandy for 30 weeks to perfect the flavour.

What makes a perfect Christmas pudding?

A perfect pudding is packed with fruit, offering a dense but not overly solid texture. Ours features butter instead of suet, giving a clean, vegetarian-friendly finish. Paired with brandy, it captures the true spirit of Christmas.

Any tips for lighting the pudding on Christmas Day?

It doesn't matter how full I am, there's always room for Christmas pudding and there's something about the theatre of lighting it. Get prepared by reheating your pudding and getting a large spoon at the ready to use for basting. Also, heat up your serving jug by pouring boiling water into it. Pour 3 - 4 tablespoons of your favourite spirit into a saucepan. Crucially, it needs a high alcohol content for a guaranteed flame - the traditional choice is brandy. Personally, I use cherry brandy to compliment the cherries in our puddings. At this point, I like to get everyone around the table, which we all know is no mean feat and as there's no point warming the spirit until the last minute. Heat the spirit until it's very hot. Tip away the hot water from your serving jug and immediately refill with the hot spirit. Then, pour the hot spirit over the warm pudding. Set fire to the pudding with a lighter or long match. Carefully baste the pudding with the spirit on the plate to the sound of 'oooohs' and 'aaaahs'. When the flames have disappeared, it's ready to serve and enjoy!