No more Italian restaurants this week. No more brunches either. In fact we?re going for something just a little bit different.

This week Hack is hoping to whet your appetite for fare not from a restaurant but a hotel ? even if you can?t order it until the end of the year.

Nearly a month on from Christmas, we (and probably you) have recovered enough from the gluttony of the holiday season to actually be able to say the word ?turkey?.

Our bird this year came from the Elbow Beach Hotel after we took them up on the innovative offer of a take-out turkey with all the trimmings. Although something offered by both Elbow and the Fairmont Southampton, we opted for Elbow, principally because it?s closer to us.

The plan to go down to Elbow Beach Beach itself for a pre-dinner glass of champagne beforehand, may also have been a factor. So, it was set.

We?d have a beautiful Christmas morning meeting some friends on the beach, then pick up our turkey and be home for a festive lunch without the hassle of making it ourselves.

Now few things in life turn out the way you plan but with one little hitch, this plan went like clockwork.

We ordered our feast several days before the holiday by faxing over an order form to the hotel with credit card details.

For $148, we were promised enough roast turkey with chestnut stuffing; traditional turkey gravy; maple glazed sweet potatoes; roast potatoes; Brussels spouts with smoked bacon; cranberry sauce; sun-dried tomato ciabatta bread; artichoke and mushroom salad; cassava pie; Christmas pudding and brandy sauce, for four.

Our hopes for a hassle-free Christmas lunch were tested when we got a call Christmas Eve to call the hotel about our order, but once we got through (not an easy feat with being put on hold, and disconnected several times), we were told to disregard the message.

And so the great day dawned. After a relaxing hour with a glass of champers on the beach, (so much more civilised than spending the morning peeling carrots) Hack?s entourage drove up to the hotel, announced ourselves to the concierge and waited for our feast to be trundled out to the boot of the car.

The piece de resistance was the turkey itself. A hefty bird (a 12 pounder) was cooked up to perfection, nicely browned and crisp on the outside, still moist on the inside and all ready for the table.

Just one problem. A peak inside, just as we were going to carve her up, revealed there was no stuffing.

A frantic call to the hotel (you can?t have Christmas without stuffing, right?) followed: ?We are about to sit down to Christmas lunch and there is no chestnut stuffing,? we said in near panic.

The concierge said she?d call us back. We told her we were going to go ahead with lunch but would expect a call later.

We are, in fact, still waiting for that call.

One other minor gripe. Instead of sun-dried tomato ciabatta bread as promised, we got a dry loaf of quasi-french bread. We mentioned this on the phone as well, but it was a small thing ? unlike Christmas without stuffing that we could easily overlook.

And who needs bread when there?s plenty of delicious roast potatoes to go around? The meal was scrumptious.

The vegetables were nicely done, the hotel kitchen was able to accommodate our request to leave the bacon off the Brussels sprouts, and the artichoke and mushrooms salad, although not a traditional accompaniment, added a slightly gourmet touch.

We can?t however, vouch for the hotel?s cassava. Family had already given us homemade cassava, and to be honest it looked a lot more edible than Elbow?s, which ended up in the bin untouched.

By the end of our feast we were more than pleasantly full ? although we had bought dinner for four, Elbow Beach certainly didn?t scrimp on portions and the bird and accompaniments could easily have satisfied eight, maybe more, hungry mouths.

Like many home-cooked holiday meals, we were faced with lots of leftover turkey which, in true Christmas tradition, ended up as turkey curry, turkey sandwiches and turkey soup.

All in all, we?d like to be back on Elbow?s doorstep for our turkey take-away again next Christmas. In fact, we hope the hotels start offering this service for other occasions as well.

Food: 5 out of 5 Service: 4 out of 5 ? the hotel staff were the epitome of Christmas spirit, despite having to work on a holiday, but lose points for the stuffing oversight.

5 out of 5 5 out of 5 ? we can?t speak for the hotel?s ambience but certainly the atmosphere chez Hack was pleasantly relaxed as we tucked in ? and for once the kitchen didn?t look like a bomb site.