New Canaan Holiday Shopping: Walter Stewart’s Market [Q&A]

For today’s installment in our local holiday shopping series, we spoke to Ann Cheney, store manager at Walter Stewart’s Market. (Note that the deadline for ordering for the holidays from the Stewart’s meat department is 12 p.m. Thursday and the catering department cut-off is 3 p.m. Thursday.)

Here’s a transcription of our conversation. 

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New Canaanite: What’s it been like this holiday shopping season here at Stewart’s?

Maple Bourbon Glazed Spiral Ham Dinner (serves 6-8, $160). Maple Bourbon Glazed Spiral Ham with Cranberry Stone Ground Mustard, Honey Pumpkin Butternut Squash Soup, Mashed Potatoes, Herbed Carrots and Green Beans, Cornbread Stuffing with Andouille Sausage, Dinner Rolls, and Yule Log.

Ann Cheney: It’s been very busy. Our customers are looking forward to the holiday with great anticipation, and preparing their homes for arriving family members. And we’re ready. 

What have been some of the special items or holiday-related items that have been moving well? 

The main event is, I think, the focal point when you’re starting to plan for the holiday. And so our customers have placed their orders for their table displays. The meat department has been busy taking orders for the standing rib roast, which we offer with certified Angus beef and certified Angus beef prime. And this year we’re offering a hinge cut on the standing rib roast, which makes carving a lot easier, and it provides the customer with a much more beautiful presentation. There’s less to chance when we carve the bone off the rib roast. We tie it back on, but it’s still attached, lending all that beautiful flavor and juiciness to the product. So customers have been placing their meat orders for the standing rib roast—the filet, of course—hams, the D’Artagnan Berkshire pork roast.

Beef Tenderloin Dinner (serves 4-6, $185). Cracked Peppercorn Beef Tenderloin, sliced & served on a platter with our Signature Horseradish Sauce, Scalloped Potatoes, Herbed Carrots and Green Beans, Lobster Bisque, Dinner Rolls, and Yule Log. There’s also a Chateaubriand Dinner for Two ($95), and the Cracked Peppercorn Beef Tenderloin Filet comes as a whole (serves 10-12 at $200) or half (serves 5-6 at $115), both with Horseradish Sauce & Sliced Baguette. Sliced and Served on a Platter.

And then also our catering department has been very busy taking orders for sides and some of the classics. In addition, our family box meals have become very popular. And what that allows our customers to do is really spend time with the family and guests. There’s no shopping for every single ingredient. Everything’s prepared. It comes in a box. It’s easy to reheat. And there’s very little cleanup, so you can focus your time with your guests and people have been really excited about that. 

What are some of the deadlines for people to get these orders in? 

So our deadline for the meat department is Thursday by noon and the catering department cut off is Thursday by 3 p.m. So Thursday is your deadline. 

Smoked Salmon Crostini ($36). Smoked Salmon, Pumpernickel Crostini, Cucumber Dill Créme Fraiche (dozen).

What might people not know is available here in terms of holiday preparations that’s non food related?

I was just at a gathering and someone told me that they really enjoy coming in and finding just the perfect little gift. Everything is curated for the season and some of those items include little decorative objects. Like right now we have a wide assortment of Christmas trees, bottle brush trees, ceramic trees. Glass trees and different colors. We have candlesticks. And we always carry a few stories from Caspari which complete the tabletop look. We have a Santa story. Beautiful, traditional Santa with gifts and that comes in a full suite of products. So paper plates, dessert plates, which everyone runs out of, napkins.

The Signature Collection from artisan Knipschildt Chocolatier at Walter Stewart’s Market.

Different sizes, and we have a Christmas tree story, which is beautiful. This has been the most popular item this year. And I think a lot of people might be surprised at how much wrapping paper we sell. We’ll probably have sold over 3, 000 rolls of wrapping paper this year from Caspari. We have probably over 50 patterns in stock right now  and it cuts beautifully. It doesn’t tear easily and it’s become a favorite of our customers. And then also from Caspari—you can tell I’m a big Caspari fan—we have Christmas crackers. So these you would lay out on your table. They’re beautiful, decorative, and then there’s a little surprise inside.