They only spent a Lidl: Durham boys throw epic Christmas dinner
They bought more than 10 kilos of turkey and dressed in black tie
NOTE: This story was first published on The Tab UK, here. It was re-published on The Tab Brands on 02/10/15.
A festive house threw a lavish Christmas dinner party for 13 on Sunday night – and they only spent £12 a person.
The Durham boys headed to a nearby supermarket to stock up on supplies – including crackers, champagne, two turkeys and dessert wine – and spent two days carefully preparing their spectacular Christmas feast.
This was just one of the trolleys
Host Lorcan in Durham’s local supermarket
Withnail and I fan Ollie
The candle-lit affair was hosted by third year Historian, Lorcan, who said the house wanted to remember their last Christmas at university and go out with a bang.
He said: “It’s the sort of thing you only get to do once in your university career properly, so we all felt like we really had to pull it off well.”
Lucky guest Ollie said: “I particularly enjoyed the pigs in blankets and the turkey was very succulent and moist.”
“The best bird I’ve ever had”
Turkey roaster-in-chief, Lorcan, added: “The turkey was undoubtedly the highlight of the night, one of the best birds I’ve ever had.”
And the girls thought so too, 3rd year Archaeologist Gabby said: “It was one of the tastiest turkeys I’ve ever eaten at Christmas.”
The festive fanatic also has a soft spot for the seasonal vegetable we all love to hate. She told The Tab: “I’m a big fan of brussels sprout and I wasn’t disappointed.”
The guests, who were all dressed according to the black tie dress code, feasted on massive portions of roast potatoes, turkey, Yorkshire puddings, pigs in blankets, gravy, bread sauce and delicious brussels sprout.
But only after cracking their crackers and polishing off the Champagne.
They followed all the Chrimbo traditions
Some of Durham’s angels
After dinner, staying true to Durham’s reputation as one of the country’s poshest universities, the attentive hosts whipped out the cheeseboard and loaded it with some of France’s finest and, of course, English Stilton.
Lorcan said: “The Camembert was very popular and went really well with the Scottish oatcakes.”
Withnail and I fan and economist Ollie added: “The quality of the wine of was very good, specifically the dessert wine.”
Making small talk over the cheese board
The final act of the evening was the Christmas pudding, described by guests as a moment of high drama.
Ollie said: “Pouring the flaming brandy onto the Christmas pudding was probably a bit of a safety hazard, but everyone loved it.”
After the flames had gone out on the pudding, the party continued at one of Durham’s legendary clubs.
Third year Ollie said: “It was comfortably the best dinner party I’ve been to in Durham. And you can quote me on that.”
Party animal Gabby told us that the party continued into the early hours of the morning. She said: “The party went on till about 1am and then we headed to Klute.”