Thursday 11 December 2014

Christmas Meal

Hi everyone :)

papermill, christmas, meal, GIST


Yesterday was my birthday! I'm 24 (old I know).

Last Friday my co-workers and our two managers went for our Christmas Meal.

We were disappointed last year with where we went so we were all a bit apprehensive.

We decided on the Papermill in Apsley as I had heard from a few people that their Christmas Meals were pretty good << they were right! You can check out their details here:

Website - http://www.papermillapsley.co.uk/
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/ThePaperMillApsleyLock 
Twitter - https://twitter.com/papermill1

I have been to the Papermill several times during my 3 years in Hemel. I've had a few lunches with friends and had a couple of drinks on a night out. The place is very welcoming and has a relaxing atmosphere. They have a lovely warm open fire in the room, surrounded by couches, big stool chairs, small tables, more couches spread around the room, tables are covered in candles and it looks amazing - you can tell the staff go well out their way especially with presentation. Even during Christmas the decorations were spot on.

Our table was booked for 7.45pm, we arrived half-hour before and got a drink and waited for the rest of the party. Due to some issues at work one of our party arrived late as he was still at work as we sat down. Luckily he made it in time to gobble down his starter and then his mains arrived with ours. The waiter was very nice and they held his starter back so it didn't get cold.

I'm not going to re-type their entire menu but if it's still Christmas when you read this you can check out their Christmas menu on their website (I posted the link earlier).

For my starter I got:

Smooth Chicken Liver Pate with Spiced Pear Chutney & Golden Pride Sourdough:


papermill, christmas, meal, GIST

The only issue I had (not really an issue) was that there was too much. I have such a big problem - where I eat all my starter then I'm full and don't eat my main course. So I made a decision to eat half then most of my main, then half/most of my dessert < what can I say - I have a small stomach? lol

I'm a big lover of pate (esp chicken liver or brussels) as long as its smooth. I've been to a couple of restaurants before and gotten served the course-kind and I can't eat that. The bread was warm and the butter was melted so that easily spread. The chutney wasn't too spicy although I don't think its supposed to be spicy (even though its called spiced pear chutney). < that's a good thing though as I don't like foods that are too spicy.

- Mark then arrived (our late addition) the waiter (he might have been the deputy manager/manager) even though keeping an eye on about 20 tables saw him arrive and got his starter made up and brought out which was great. He gobbled that down so we all got our mains at the same time.

For the main course I went with the traditional option: 

Roast Usk Vale Barn Reared Turkey Breast with Chestnut & Cranberry Stuffing, Bacon Wrapped Chipolatas & Turkey Gravy:

papermill christmas meal GIST

papermill christmas meal GIST

papermill christmas meal GIST

papermill christmas meal GIST

I did say to myself before I went to the meal that I would try and snap some pictures of everyone's meals but I hadn't eaten all day in preparation for the meal so I was more interested in eating that taking pictures so apologies that only my food appears in the pictures :)

The main course was beautiful - we got slices of turkey, roast potatoes, stuffing, chipolatas and a soaking of gravy. I did ask for more gravy but that's because I like my meals drenched in the stuff. I remember my family used to ask 'if I wanted some food with my gravy' lol. We also got some bowls of vegetables - I love carrots so I had a few of them - they were perfectly cooked (the half-soft/half-crunchy way).

For dessert most of us when with the - Paul’s Chocolate Brownie with Orange & Chocolate Chip Ice Cream:

papermill christmas meal GIST


This was what I was looking forward to for the whole meal and the main reason I tried not to eat all my starter and main course.

We were served with a warm, gooey chocolate brownie, with a scoop of ice-cream and scattered on the plate was chocolate-orange chunks and some chocolate sauce. It was amazing!

I also managed to snap a picture of the dessert Justina got: Bengal Lancer Marmalade Bread & Butter Tarte with Cornish Clotted Cream:


gist christmas meal papermill


Overall a really good meal - we all enjoyed it and we will definitely book for next year :)

The food, atmosphere, the place, the staff were great and made it what it was!

Here are some more pictures I took:

gist papermill christmas meal 2014

gist papermill christmas meal 2014

gist papermill christmas meal 2014

gist papermill christmas meal 2014

That's all folks :)

Let me know if you have had your Christmas Meal yet?



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