Gregg stalls on road to Xmas
CHRISTMAS markets have become a bit of a staple in Britain over the last few years, popping up to bring festive cheer to towns and cities all over the country, along with overpriced mulled wine, exorbitant bratwursts and festive tat galore.
But the chances are most of Europe is looking at us going: “That’s not a Christmas market, THIS is a Christmas market.” Particularly Vienna, the Austrian capital, which is believed to be where the Christmas market tradition started.
And who better than MasterChef presenter Gregg Wallace to take us on a tour and show us the sights? Because he used to be a market stall holder, you know? You could be forgiven for not realising that as he virtually never mentions it – but it’s true.
And if you can bear to watch Gregg gurning over the gluhwein and sinking his teeth into a donut as big as his face, then this is a lovely little festive watch.
With a friendly local as a tour guide, he visits Christkindlmarkt – the biggest Christmas market in all of Austria, which has three million visitors a year – tries some hot boozy drinks and has a go at decorating the traditional Lebkuchen cookies.
He also meets the grandson of the man who invented the snowglobe, has a blast learning to make apple strudel in the Royal Palace kitchens and discovers how the festive traditions made their way from mainland Europe to the UK, with a little help from Queen Victoria’s husband Prince Albert.