Where to buy Aldi’s giant Yorkshire pudding with pig in blanket, the panna cotta star, honey cheese and more
The Next Big Thing festive special saw British food producers develop and manufacture their ideas
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Your support makes all the difference.If you thought it was all over for Channel 4’s Aldi’s Next Big Thing, think again. In tonight’s one-off Christmas special, Aldi has once again taken us behind the scenes, but this time it introduced us to four of Aldi’s existing food producers, who have made something new for the festive period.
In the one-off episode, we saw the British suppliers walk us through the process of developing and producing tasty sweet and savoury products, from idea to completion. This was a break from the norm of pitching to Aldi’s Julie Ashfield, though she still popped up every now and again to explain what makes a good festive Aldi product.
As we’ve come to see on Next Big Thing, unusual products are key. If there’s a twist on a classic festive food, you can bet that it’s up Aldi’s street. And that’s exactly what we saw in the Christmas special.
Tonight, we saw British suppliers prepare giant Yorkshire puddings stuffed with a pig in blanket, Red Leicester cheeses with honey, a panna cotta star and an English sparkling wine. Needless to say, it was all a little stressful.
As with Aldi’s Next Big Thing, all the festive products seen on screen are being sold online and in-store, so you’ll be able to get them delivered to your home, just in time for Christmas.
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Giant Yorkshire pudding with pig in blanket: £4.99, in-store only
London butcher Steve Crosby is the foodie entrepreneur responsible for creating the masterpiece that is the two-metre-long pig in blanket, which sold out in a whopping 24 hours. The wacky creation this year? A giant Yorkshire pudding with a 60cm pig in blanket, made from British pork, curled up inside.
While the production of the giant meaty Yorkshire pudding was a little touch and go for Steve and his team, they managed to pull it off in time. You can buy the giant Yorkshire pudding with pig in blanket for £4.99 from Aldi in-store and online.
Heritage raspberry and Madagascan vanilla panna cotta star: £8.49, Aldi.co.uk
While it seemed like it wasn’t quite coming together in the factory for Somerset-based Marston Foods, the company was able to bring its show-stopping dessert together in just a few months, but it still took a lot of intricate planning and cooking.
The result is a panna cotta in the shape of a star. On the bottom is a light raspberry jelly that is topped with a smooth Madagascan vanilla panna cotta made using British cream. You can buy this 900g Christmas centrepiece for £8.49.
Red Leicester cheese with honeyed habanero: Was £2.59, now £2.49, Aldi.co.uk
Barber’s Farmhouse is one of Aldi’s biggest British cheese suppliers and is also one of the oldest cheese producers in the world. This year, the company’s head of product development, took us through the production of a new festive cheese, exclusive for Christmas.
It’s a sweet aged Red Leicester cheese, blended with honey, habanero powder and chilli flakes. The company has also made a coastal cheddar cheese blended with Italian Tarufata (was £2.59, now £2.49, Aldi.co.uk) and a creamy Wensleydale wedge, combined with dried fruits and soaked in sherry (was £2.59, now £2.49, Aldi.co.uk) – all exclusive for Christmas.
Lyme Bay Winery English sparkling wine: £15.99, in-store only
When it comes to wines, producers have to start early. While Devon-based Lyme Bay Winery had been tasked with producing a sparkling English wine for Aldi for Christmas, it won’t hit shelves for another two years because of how long it takes to make.
So, in a “here’s what we produced earlier”, winemaker Sarah took us through the English sparkling wine that was developed two years ago and is now ready to be sipped. It’s a fresh and fruity sparkler that pairs well with light seafood treats. It features a blend of Chardonnay, Pinot Blanc, Reichensteiner, Seyval Blanc and Solaris.
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