One dim and dark November night some thirty years ago
T he shadows played across the door of a restaurant we know
Within the chef sat bleary eyed, searching for a way
To help her friends enjoy this year the perfect Christmas Day

This time of year so magical should have a food just so
A treat so irresistible nobody could say no
A stack of books she bustled through beneath the kitchen hooding
For inspiration in her quest to find the perfect pudding

A glance up at the angel carved upon the restaurant wall
Revealed a light shone from its eyes and surely it did fall
On a book from Victorian times – the pages fluttered back
An Eliza Acton recipe, and one the chef had lacked

She set to work creating Christmas pudding soft and rich
A bowl filled with the sweetest fruit and into this we pitch
Spices from around the world, brown sugar dark and sandy
A more than generous shot of the houses finest brandy

She mixed and pounded, beat and stirred until her cheeks were red
Into the early winter hours while others safe in bed
Had no idea of the pleasures only weeks away
The pleasure and indulgence that still endures today

Days and months and years went by and still this pudding stands
Its subtlety of flavour known and loved throughout the land
Today our chefs follow this lead, knowing all the while
They make a pudding that could even make an angel smile!

A tribute to Joyce Molyneux, founder of The Carved Angel Restaurant.