The holidays have a way of pulling us back to what matters most — gathering, reconnecting, lingering over great food, and creating unforgettable memories. In Fort Worth, there may be no better co-conspirator in holiday magic than Central Market. Whether you’re the type who delights in cooking every dish from scratch or the host who prefers a little help from the chefs so that you can focus on the fun, Central Market has become the city’s unofficial headquarters for stress-free, joy-filled holiday entertaining.
This year’s holiday offerings celebrate tradition, creativity, and convenience in equal measure — making it easier than ever to craft a celebration that reflects your style, your table, and your people.
Centerpieces Worth Gathering Around
Every holiday table tells a story, and Central Market’s curated selection of mains gives both home cooks and heat-and-serve hosts an inspiring palette to choose from this year. Those looking for tried-and-true tradition may gravitate toward oven-roasted turkey breast or the deeply savory hickory-smoked ham — meals built on flavors so many of us grew up with. Smaller gatherings will find perfectly sized meals that serve four — complete with carved entrées and accompanying sides, proving that holiday feasting doesn’t require a huge crowd or hours of preparation.
For a taste of luxury, the herb-crusted beef tenderloin offers a restaurant-level experience at home providing a rich, tender option for those wanting something beyond the traditional.
For those hosting a full house, the Holiday Feast Meal serves 12–14 and acts as a kind of edible celebration. It’s an abundant, thoughtfully assembled menu that’s ideal for feeding big families, friends and neighbors, or anyone who believes the holidays should always include “just one more place at the table.”
The Art of Side Dishes: À La Carte Creativity
One of the joys of holiday entertaining is mixing tradition with trends by pairing the all-time family favorites that must appear every year with something new and unexpected. Central Market’s à la carte offerings let hosts curate their own personal blend of classics and creativity.
Serve the sides exactly as they come or add a little holiday flair to make them your own. The crowd-favorite Jalapeño Pecan Dressing carries a subtle Texas wink, while the Wintertide Salad showcases the brightness of the season in a bowl. Classic Central Market Chef-Prepared Macaroni and Cheese becomes unexpectedly elegant when you stir in sautéed mushrooms, a bit of miso, and a drizzle of black-garlic molasses. Turn buttery Whipped Yukon Potatoes extra-indulgent by layering with slices of French Brie and a touch of truffle sauce. Even the traditional Southern-inspired Savory Cornbread Dressing takes a modern turn with a twist that’s also exciting for next-day Boxing Day brunch: Fold in caramelized onions and chopped kimchi, shape into individual pancakes, and fry each side in butter until crisp, topping each pancake with a handful of fresh cilantro dressed in chili crisp just before serving.
Start the Party
Some holiday gatherings don’t call for seats at all — just beautifully passed bites and happy grazers. Central Market keeps it easy with heat-and-serve appetizers like Brie en croûte, bacon-wrapped dates, and dressed up bite-sized chicken, pork, or vegetable bites. These quick pickups from our specialty cheese and meat markets are perfect for hosts to offer something delicious within minutes. For those who love the artful abundance of a grazing table, Central Market’s curated graze boards bring together cheeses, charcuterie, and pairings from around the world. (These come complete with a board, also making them a great holiday host gift!)
Make Your Gathering a Little Extra
Some holiday tables call for going above and beyond. In true Central Market fashion, there are rare and beautiful finds to elevate even the most lavish celebration: snow-aged Wagyu beef aged in traditional Japanese yukimuro snow houses, Flouwer Co. edible-flower crackers that turn any cheese board into a masterpiece, Petrossian caviar that brings classic elegance to Fort Worth, and shrimp so colossal that it even exceeds our Texas-sized standards.
These are little luxuries that remind us why the holidays feel magical. They add a sense of occasion to a season that it deserves.
Share a Little Holiday Sweetness
Dessert is where memory and tradition meet, and Central Market’s bakery leans into both. Classic pies including Pumpkin Chiffon, Pecan, Chocolate Pecan and Apple Berry Delicious offer the comfort of familiar flavors, while Bûches de Noël provide a European-inspired flourish. Brioche pull-apart rolls deliver the final, soft, buttery notes every holiday table needs.
For the bakers, candymakers, and culinary crafters among us, Central Market is a treasure trove of ingredients: specialty flours, single-origin spices, European butters, seasonal fruits, nuts, chocolates, and every tool needed to bring homemade creations to life. Whether you’re assembling a gingerbread house, rolling out hand-cut cookies, preparing your family’s treasured dressing recipe, or crafting a holiday brunch from scratch, the store becomes a playground of possibilities. It’s where inspiration begins.
Every Kind of Holiday Host
The beauty of holiday entertaining today is that there’s no single “right” way to do it. Some hosts love the ritual of cooking all day. Others love the ritual of not cooking at all. Most find their way somewhere in between pairing their grandmother’s treasured casserole recipe with a prepared entrée or baking a showstopping dessert to accompany heat-and-serve sides.
Wherever you fall on that spectrum, Central Market brings it all together. It’s Fort Worth’s festive crossroads of flavor, creativity, ingredients, and ease; a beacon where every kind of host can find exactly what they need to make their celebration sparkle.
This season, may your gatherings be warm, your table abundant, your kitchen joyful, and your holiday hosting — above all — effortless!
This <a target=”_blank” href=”https://fortworthreport.org/2025/12/09/drop-jaws-and-deck-the-halls-this-holiday-season-at-central-market/”>article</a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://fortworthreport.org”>Fort Worth Report</a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src=”https://i0.wp.com/fortworthreport.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/cropped-favicon.png?resize=150%2C150&quality=80&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”>
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