CHEFS AT CHRISTMAS What Bath’s pros are eating for their Christmas lunch this year

Learn how those-in-know do a Christmas feast

CHEF’S TIPS AND ALL THE TRIMMINGS

Go behind-the-scenes on the yuletide feast with the pros

What are Bath’s top chefs eating this Christmas? How do they step up the traditional Crimbo meal a notch? And what the heck are we supposed to make of our leftovers, anyway? Read and learn…

David Campbell, Executive head chef , Royal Crescent Hotel & Spa What are your top tips for the best quality turkey? Make sure the turkey is brined for a good 12 hours beforehand – this helps it stay moist and tender, and the brine breaks down proteins. Later, allow it to rest for 20 minutes after cooking before carving it. How do you like your leftovers? The best meal of the year is Boxing Day lunch, and it has to be a buffet of the Christmas leftovers: cold turkey, chipolatas, reheated roast potatoes and parsnips, plus left over puddings, cheese, and some sandwiches made from the turkey – the hack here is to do no additional cooking. What’s the best Christmas dinner experience you’ve ever had? The best Christmas meal I can remember was a family one at my uncle’s hotel in Sutton Coldfield when I was about 14. The hotel was five-star, set next to a lake and we had it to ourselves with just a skeleton staff to look after us. It snowed a couple of days beforehand, then frosted up by Christmas day – there were magical, clear blue skies and a foot of snow on a frozen lake. About 16 of us were there and we had a feast of food and wine all prepared and served to us by the hotel’s brilliant staff over three days – it was perfect. www.royalcrescent.co.uk

Helen Lawrence, Co-owner and head chef, Demuths What are you eating for Christmas dinner this year? The centrepiece of Christmas dinner in my house this year will be Demuths’ tofu wreath – we’ve had a more traditional nut roast the last few years, so I want to revisit this – it takes a

little bit more work but it’s worth it!

Is there anything you add to the Christmas dinner to give it your own spin? Being vegan, it is all about making vegetables the star of the show and giving them the love and attention they deserve. Stuffed cabbage leaves are a go-to in my house.

What are your tips and hacks for leftovers? I’m possibly more excited about having a tofu wreath sandwich on Boxing Day than I am about having it on Christmas Day! Chilled, sliced thinly and in a sandwich with some chilli jam or cranberry relish – delicious. www.demuths.co.uk

Garry Rosser, The Scallop Shell What are you eating for Christmas dinner this year? We’re quite traditional, so we always have smoked salmon with chopped shallots, capers, parsley and lemon with brown bread to start and roast bronze turkey with all the trimmings for mains. We let Lexi, our granddaughter, choose pudding and usually it’s a Marco Pierre White favourite: warm chocolate tart with clotted cream.

What’s your plan for your leftovers? This year I’m going to make a baked turkey mac and cheese. I’ve never made it before but I’m thinking bechamel, using 30g butter to 20g flour and 500ml milk. Cook your penne and use cheddar or parmesan – up to you –and then layer it up like a lasagne. Sauce on the bottom, penne, turkey, sauce, cheese and then layer it up and bake at 180ºC for 25-30 minutes until golden and bubbling. The layering is important, so you get the flavour in each layer, adding a little salt and white pepper to every layer as you go. www.thescallopshell.co.uk

Hywel Jones, Executive chef, Restaurant Hywel Jones, Lucknam Park What’s your Christmas Day cooking ritual? Every October all the chefs pick local sloes and we make sloe gin with them. Then on Christmas Day morning whilst we are preparing lunch, we all have a little shot of it.

What’s your favourite Christmas food? Has to be my mam’s mince pies.

What are your tips for using up leftovers? I like to turn turkey leftovers in to a ‘blanquette’, which is a creamy white stew, and serve it with braised rice and wild mushrooms

When was your best Christmas dinner? I never had a Christmas day off for the first eight years of my sons’ lives. Then one year I just decided to take one off so I could see them on Christmas morning and sit down to lunch with them. That was a pretty special day. www.lucknampark.co.uk

Gavin Adney, Head chef, The Elder What’s on the menu at home for Christmas dinner this year? We tend not to go for turkey in this household, and are much more likely to go for a lovely baked ham or good old roast rib of beef with all the trimmings, followed by a great slab of Brie de Meaux and, of course, lots of mince pies. This time around however, we’re not entirely sure what we’ll be eating on the day itself as my wife is due to give birth to our little boy on 28December.

What are your tips for a successful Christmas dinner? Get the veg cooked the day before – sprouts, carrots and parsnips can actually all be cooked in advance and heated up the next day. Boil or steam your potatoes and rough them up in the colander for those lovely crispy bits the day before too. On Christmas Day pour your preferred hot fat over the potatoes to roast them.

How do you use up leftovers? I love to make turkey Cuban sandwiches, bubble and squeak, stuffing croquettes, refried smashed roasties with harissa mayonnaise and gorgeous soups and stocks with the carcases. If you have any Christmas pudding or mince pies left over have a go at making a trifle or a cheese cake with them or mix them up into a sundae with ice cream

What’s a happy Christmas memory? I have fond memories of Christmas as a young boy at my grandparents’ house with the whole family. They used every possible space in the lounge and kitchen so we could all sit down and eat Christmas lunch together. Sometimes we had to do it in two sittings as there were so many people to feed! I look forward to creating these memories for my children in the future. www.theelder.co.uk

Jauca Catalin, Executive chef, The Bath Priory What are you having for your Christmas dinner this year? This year I have planned to cook a beautiful free-range duck from my fellow supplier Woolley Park Farm, together with lots of lovely roast vegetables and my special five spice sauce.

Is there anything you add to a Christmas dinner to make it your own style? I’m Romanian, so I always surprise my guests with some of the delicious traditional snacks I grew up with like fermented cabbage leaves stuffed with minced pork and served with polenta, and as a dessert Cozonac, a rich fruit, walnut and chocolate sweet bread.

What is your favourite Christmas food? Nothing will replace my mum’s Christmas food platters filled with beef salad, grilled eggplant salad, grilled meat rolls, and so much more. www.thebathpriory.co.uk

Helen’s famous cabbage wraps are always a hit at Christmas

Kevin Chandler, Head chef, The Methuen Arms What are your plans for Christmas dinner? I’m working on Christmas Day this year so at the moment I’m not sure what I’ll be eating by the time I fi nish. Most likely some cheese and biscuits in the evening with a Dark ‘n’ Stormy cocktail!

How do you give Christmas dinner your own spin? I like to cook my turkey on my Big Green Egg! The barbecue just adds that extra depth of fl avour, as well as alleviating any oven space issues.

What do you make from your leftovers? I love using leftovers so I always cook extra just so I can do it. I love a Boxing Day turkey pie – cutting up the turkey and mixing with the gravy and creamed leeks to make a really rich sauce. Top that with the stuffi ng, then pigs in blankets before the lid goes on. www.butcombe.com

Matt Gillard, Head chef, No. 15 Great Pulteney What’s your ideal Christmas Day lunch? For starters I’d have duck livers, with Madeira on toast. It’s really simple and something I had when I was younger. For mains, it’s got to be a beef wellington for Christmas Day, with roast potatoes, lots of horseradish and a beer.

What’s your favourite Christmas food? I love proper roasted chestnuts, the sort that you usually fi nd at Christmas markets. This year I might have to make my own.

What was one of your best Christmas lunches? When I was in the military, at the end of the main course it was tradition to have a food fi ght. You’ve not had a proper Christmas until you’ve seen 600 grown men throwing turkey at each other in party hats – it’s hilarious. www.no15greatpulteney.co.uk

Preparation is key when it comes to cooking at Christmas A chocolate pudding for Christmas dinner is always gratefully received – this one from No. 15 goes down a treat

Michael Holloway, Private chef, Wild Fork West What are you having for Christmas dinner this year? Turkey, of course! I always use Larkhall Butchers and they source from Stuart at Castle Mead, who is an incredible poultry farmer. I’ll be serving it with all the trimmings, delicious homemade sauces, and the star of the show: roast potatoes.

What do you do to make the Christmas meal special? For 364 days of the year I’m the chef, but at Christmas my mother-in-law takes the reins. She’s a fantastic cook and it’s great to have a day off .

What’s your favourite Christmas food? Home-made chocolate-covered orange peels – nothing tastes more like Christmas!

When was your best Christmas? Christmas dinner 2018 with our baby girl Matilda, four days old, dozing in her crib. www.wildforkwest.co.uk

Ping Coombes, MasterChef Champion How do you make the Christmas meal your own? Normally I will add touches of spice in the accompaniments rather than the main meat or fi sh dish. For example, I wok fry my brussels with ginger, add lemongrass to my gravy and braise carrots with star anise.

What are your tips for a successful Christmas dinner? Plan ahead, give everyone a job – and relax! You don’t have to make everything from scratch as you can buy some things to make your life easier.

What’s your favourite Christmas food? Mini stollen from Lidl!

How do you like your leftovers? In our household, the leftovers will be turned into fried rice, noodles, curries, pies – and my tip is you don’t have to eat them straight away. Freeze them for future meals instead. Let’s be honest, by day three, no one wants anymore leftovers. ■ www.pingcoombes.com