Venice is magical at Christmas: the city is blissfully empty and, if you’re lucky with the weather, you get sharp, clear, very cold days when the Dolomites are visible in the distance.
One of my favourite things about Christmas is looking at the shop windows in the bakeries and pasticcerie across town. Every bakery has its own way of making panettone: I especially love the panettone enrobed in sweet sugar fondant icing at Pasticceria Rosa Salva, and the panettone covered in dark chocolate and edible gold leaf that they make at Pasticceria Didovich.
I’ve grown up spending many Christmases in Venice, so I’ve adopted a fair number of Italian and Venetian customs, which I think comes across in my new book, The Christmas Companion. We shot a large share of the photos at our home in Venice, so the city certainly informs the look and feel of the book, as well as many of the recipes and stories within its pages.
The San Moisè church
Where to stay
In the heart of winter, I don’t think you can beat the Gritti Palace: it’s just the right balance of opulent glamour and cosiness, plus if you have a Grand Canal room (pictured, top) you should be able to watch the fireworks on New Year’s Eve from your bedroom window. I love nothing more than going there on sunny days: the Grand Canal terrace is a real suntrap and has the best views (both of the canal and for people-watching).
Christmas Shopping
Mascarì is a family-run spice shop just by the Rialto market, and they sell a wonderful selection of old-fashioned sweets and chocolates, preserves and liquors. It’s the Venetian equivalent of the Food Hall at Fortnum & Mason. I love the towering displays of marzipan fruits, chocolates and other sweet treats there. Otherwise, I always give my friends presents from my own tableware collection, Tavola, which includes ceramics that are made and hand-painted in neighbouring Bassano and glassware from Murano. This year we’re doing a Christmas shop on Elizabeth Street in Belgravia, so I’m hoping to bring a little of the Venice Christmas magic to London...
Best restaurants
I love going to Da Ivo in the winter months: it’s a really cosy restaurant and I love their zabaglione, which they serve warm and is as frothy as air. Other favourites are Alla Madonna by the Rialto, which is a charming trattoria that excels in classic Venetian food served by old-fashioned waiters in white jackets. On cold, crisp winter days, there’s nothing better than taking a water taxi out to either Mazzorbo or Burano and having a lunch of seafood and wild duck (which they shoot in the lagoon) at either Da Romano, Gatto Nero or Alla Maddalena.
When I am back in London and feeling homesick for Venice, I treat myself to breakfast at Marchesi on Mount Street. They do the best panettone and a wonderful cappuccino; it feels like everything that I love about Italy and home.
Festive rituals
Venice’s famous Harry’s Bar
We always go for a special lunch at Harry’s Bar on Christmas Eve: I love it there for the excitable buzz. They serve the most exquisite panettone with an unbelievably scrumptious, airy mascarpone cream sauce. I love going to midnight mass on Christmas Eve – we usually go either to San Moisè or to the Frari, which is a stunning church and just round the corner from our home.
