Fortnum & Mason

🌲 Do you see what we see? 🌲 Fortnum’s Feast of the Season Christmas Windows are HERE! And have now been unveiled at our Piccadilly flagship store. Each window scene showcases its own character and story, all hand-carved and painted by expert artisans. Inspired by Fortnum’s festive packaging, the displays feature animals such as a show-stopping reindeer with golden antlers that grow into branches, and an elusive mountain hare. Playful mice weave through the windows, adding touches of humour, charm, and holiday mischief that bring warmth to each scene. Spanning two windows, the centre-piece of the display is a magnificent reindeer that appears to break through the window-glass. The antlers are home to delicate paper birds, which have gathered an array of colourful Christmas baubles for their nests. The following six windows each reveal a unique winter scene, beginning with two squirrels exchanging gifts and sharing a kiss beneath a sprig of swaying mistletoe. A woodland display follows, illuminated with sparkling fibre-optic lights and hand-carved owls. In our fourth window, a playful hare tugs at one end of Fortnum’s signature Eau de Nil ribbon, while a small mouse scrambles to wrap its gifts at the other end—capturing a moment of festive, light-hearted chaos. The Fortnum’s crackerdile from this year’s Christmas crackers grins widely as a mouse dances within his open jaws, while another mouse pampers him by painting his toenails. Next, a fox and pine marten gather around a beautifully decorated wreath, followed by the grand finale where a pelican, basking in a fountain of sculpted water, is served champagne by a mouse in a joyful nod to a Fortnum’s festive feast. Sallie Smith, our Head of Visual Presentation, said: “Fortnum & Mason's Christmas windows are renowned for spreading festive joy to everyone who views them. This year, our displays are inspired by our beautiful selection of Christmas products, featuring our newly launched packaging. The designs showcase majestic animals and birds, lush foliage, decorative borders, and striking colour combinations. These elements come together to create our 2024 windows, highlighting just how extraordinary a Fortnum’s Christmas can be.” 🌲 You can view our window display now as we begin our late-night shopping hours. 🌲 #christmas2024 #windows #Piccadilly #fortnums #achristmasextraordinary #Christmas 

Earlier this week the Leafies 2024 Award ceremony was held at Dartmouth House, which Fortnum's were proud to be a part of once more. The awards ceremony was an opportunity for attendees to taste many of this year's winning teas and meet the producers. Alongside the UK Tea Academy, earlier this year we hosted the Leafies 2024 judging panel in our 3rd Floor Food & Drink Studio (pictured), with experts from Taiwan, China, Sri Lanka, India, Japan and the UK taking part. An estimated two billion people around the world drink tea, but not everyone will know the intricate details of a tea leaf really closely. As Financial Times Drink Columnist Alice Lascelles said: "Judging tea is a lot more holistic than judging wine or whisky because you assess the raw material as well as the end result. Each entry is delivered to the table, and brewed, alongside dry and steeped leaves, so you can see, touch, taste and smell the tea in all three states." Our Tea & Coffee Buyer Ottilie Cunningham agrees: "Tea tasting is a very precise art – the teas are all brewed to a specific standard and we assess each one on the basis of the appearance and aroma of the dry leaf, wet leaf and infusion – and of course its taste." "All teas will differ depending on their origin and how the tea has been processed (for example, whether it’s an oxidised black tea, or an unoxidised green tea) but what we’re looking for is a tea that is bright, aromatic, clean-tasting and has a lovely flavour!"   Ottilie adds: "From our perspective, being involved in the Leafies gives us the opportunity to see/taste teas that we otherwise might not know about. For example, we have been introduced to some fantastic producers in Japan that has resulted in us having a much richer listing of extremely rare and exquisite Japanese teas on the counter in Piccadilly."   Some of this year's Gold-medal winners will be on sale at Fortnum & Mason, including Yame Tea Kumaen’s phenomenal Gyokuro Saemidori (a steamed green from Japan) and Sinharaja Wiry Tips, a super fine black tea from Lumbini in Sri Lanka. You can also watch UK Tea Academy's YouTube short 'The Leafies International Tea Awards 2024: Finding the Winners' here - https://lnkd.in/eAgDqs3X Congratulations to all of this year's nominees and winners. #leafies2024 #tea #mastery #timefortea

For our Redcoat Sarah Sutherland, Fortnum's isn't just a job, it means so much more than that.   Through our products, and especially Christmas-time at Fortnum's, she has a story to tell that's fully woven into generations of her family. Sarah joined the business 3 years ago, and this will be her fourth Christmas with us.   We met her recently to find out more... "My Grandad ('Gramps') - was the director of a carpet company, and when he first opened his business he would deliver those carpets with a horse and cart. He was also an account holder at Fortnum's, and appreciated the finer things in life, so my mother grew up always having Fortnum's Christmases.   But when my Nan passed away Gramps gave up on everything for a while, as he felt he was unable to function without her. This eventually meant that he lost his business. As a result he moved in with my parents, and my 3 siblings - sleeping in our dining room - which actually helped him I think. So Gramps then became our resident chef and chief storyteller, even to my children as they were growing up.   What makes this still so personally relevant to me today, as a Redcoat for Fortnum's, is that he always made sure that he saved all year round, and ensured that we too could have Fortnum's Christmases. So when I hold the Glace Fruit selection (for example) - which was always one of his favourites - it's keeping something very special alive for me...and my own family now.   And it wasn't just the Glace Fruits either, Christmas crackers were top of the list, along with marzipan fruits, violet creams - but no Christmas was ever complete without the sugar mice!   I should also mention that my great nan would make a trip here each month for supplies, such as tea and preserves well into her 80s. Before doing what I do now, when I was younger I actually trained as a florist from the age of 14, and was always required to make fruit baskets and hampers (before I took a different path into education and production arts - costuming shows and making props). The hampers reminded Gramps of Fortnum & Mason of course, so he used to tell me that I needed to get myself to Fortnum's and get a job! I just used to laugh it off at the time, but here I am now - he very much got his wish.   Thanks Gramps.   #christmas #grandad #glacefruits #facesoffortnums #storytelling #gramps

What a year it's been for our Concierge Team at Fortnum & Mason - shortlisted not once, not twice, but three times in the last few months, having already received two awards for their outstanding service. And while they narrowly missed out on the Supplier of the Year Award last night (in a competitive field with 14 other finalists), our team were highly commended at the fourth annual Strategic PA Network Awards, held at The Grove in Hertfordshire. We're incredibly proud to have them as part of Team Fortnum's. To find out more about our Concierge Services visit our website here: https://lnkd.in/eFpSsrtT. #concierge #awards #teamfortnums #christmas2024 #customerservice #gifting

🪔🎉 Our thanks to Chef Cyrus Todiwala OBE DL FIH (pictured here with Fortnum's Chefs), who hosted a very special and intimate evening at our Food & Drink Studio this week, preparing a delicious Goan-inspired fish thali in honour of Diwali. 🪔🎉 Many will know Cyrus as a familiar face at food festivals across the country, as well as on our television screens appearing regularly on shows such as Saturday Kitchen. He has also written six books and is the proud recipient of a Craft Guild of Chefs’ Special Award. His passion for Asian cuisine and sustainability contributed to him being awarded an MBE by HM The Queen in 2000 for services to education and training, and he received an OBE in 2009 for his contribution to the hospitality industry. 🪔🎉 Born in Bombay, Cyrus came to England with his wife Pervin in 1991. A few years later, the pair opened Café Spice Namasté - a restaurant that continues to attract loyal customers to this day. 🪔🎉 Following a welcome drink on arrival on Wednesday evening, our guests were treated to an incredible variety of dishes, including: Suncta Chim Caldine - a light green mild prawn curry; Nishtyachem Kapang - a fillet of fish marinated in red masala, rolled in semolina and pan fried; shredded cabbage and green beans tossed with grated coconut, cracked mustard seeds, cumin and fresh coriander, and; Kismur - a red onion salad with crumbled dried shrimp and roasted coconut. 🪔🎉 Dessert on the night was Dactulo Chao Ishteem pudding - a steamed crème caramel flavoured with tea and mulled spices. 🪔🎉 Our thanks to Cyrus and to all of our guests who chose to celebrate Diwali with us at Fortnum's this week. To find out more about forthcoming events go to our website and click on Restaurants, Stores & Events. Ellan Prem Appadurai #diwali #foodie #fortnums #fishthali #HappyDiwali #FestivalOfLights #Diwali2024

A very special bear is coming to Fortnum’s... Since we opened our doors over 300 years ago, Fortnum’s has become known for supplying provisions to adventurers and explorers alike. We famously provisioned Shackleton’s expedition to Antarctica, and Mallory’s Everest attempt – providing them with everything they needed, from cutlery and crockery, to tinned lobster and smoked salmon, and even dozens of bottles of champagne! Since then, our products have reached all corners of the world. But up until now, as far as we know, Fortnum’s have never created a hamper for a bear. So, we are thrilled to be launching a very special range of products to celebrate the impending travels of another British Icon: Paddington. To celebrate the upcoming film PADDINGTON IN PERU, which will be in cinemas on November 8th, we have created an exclusive range of products, and leading the way is The Paddington In Peru Hamper, packed with delicious things to sustain intrepid explorers and loveable bears alike. Together with a Certificate of Pawthenticity and all six of the Paddington X Fortnum’s products, each hamper is numbered 1-600 and stamped with Paddington’s ‘paw’ of approval to say that it has been ‘lovingly made especially for you’, by his friends at Fortnum & Mason.  Beyond shared values of kindness, resilience and joy, Fortnum’s and Paddington share a great love of well-made marmalade. Here at Fortnum’s, we have 42 varieties of artisanal marmalades, so it was only right that we added another to the collection especially for the bear who is never knowingly without marmalade on hand. The Paddington In Peru Emergency Marmalade is a classic medium cut, using traditional Seville orange with zesty Peruvian lime in a nod to Paddington’s Peruvian heritage. For storage under a hat or in a hamper – it’s perfect for sandwiches or other marmalade-related emergencies!  The exclusive, limited-edition collection will be available in-store and online from 1st November. We’ll have a range of other products too, including some delightful marmalade truffles, iced biscuits, cuddly bears, mugs & tea towels, and our Parlour and Diamond Jubilee Tea Salon restaurants will have some sweet treats too. #PaddingtonInPeru #hamper #fortnums #veryspecialbear

A favourite staple of many a festive table is often the Christmas Pudding. So it was with great delight we discovered this week that, our 'Free From St James', was named best Christmas Pudding in this year's PETA UK Vegan Food Awards.  PETA said: "With the standard getting higher every year, we can guarantee that these winning products will delight vegans and yet-to-be vegans alike!" Describing our magnificent pud as: "Bursting with juicy vine fruits, Fortnum & Mason’s vegan Christmas pudding is soaked in Fortnum’s own Cognac and Pusser’s Navy Rum along with a delectable nut-free amaretto. Made to a new recipe, this pudding is gluten-free, nut-free, and cruelty-free, so you and your loved ones can tuck in this festive season knowing that no animal suffered for your pud." Our thanks to everyone in Team Fortnum's who was involved in helping to get this much-loved product to market this year. #christmas #vegan #glutenfree #pudding

We are thrilled to announce that our CEO, Tom Athron, has been named as part of The Standard100 - a celebration of the people shaping London, across the arts, politics, media, sport, charity and more.   In its first year, The Standard100 acknowledges a diverse list of people, ranging from high profile personalities in the world of entertainment, to restaurateurs that make London's food scene the greatest in the world today. It also acknowledges those Londoners engaged in vital work across the capital fighting knife crime and other social issues and is a holistic roundup of influential figures in the capital today.   Tom said:   "It’s great to see the exciting things we’ve been up to at Fortnum’s recently being recognised in this way by The London Standard. This acknowledgment is a proper nod to the innovation, creativity and sheer hard work of the whole team at Fortnum & Mason. My sincere thanks to everyone who has contributed.”  To find out more about The Standard 100 click on the link below.  https://bit.ly/4ebYtzP #Standard100 #TheLondonStandard #London #CEO The London Standard Tom Athron