It was once the preserve of the bougie delicatessen, but panettone has fast become a British festive staple, with supermarkets reporting soaring sales and customers apparently willing to pay increasingly large sums for the Italian sweet bread.
“A few decades ago, the panettone would have been decadent and exotic, but now it’s as much a mainstay of the British Christmas as favourites like mince pies and turkey,” said Leyla Page, a seasonal bakery buyer for Waitrose.
