How to cook Christmas dinner, by the UK’s top chefs – including recipe that might change how you do roasties forever

Published

7 months ago

December 21, 2024

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If Christmas dinner in your house means soggy Brussels sprouts, desiccated turkey and gloopy gravy that’s gone cold while you’ve waited for everything else to cook, you’re not alone.

But what if it didn’t have to be that way?

We asked some of the most renowned chefs in the UK to give their ultimate guide to making Christmas dinner.

Prep

This is key, says two-Michelin star chef Alex Dilling: “Any step you can do days ahead will help not only the time with your family but also there will be far less washing up.”

For TV regular and one-starred Tom Shepherd, this means doing the Yorkshire pudding batter and cauliflower cheese the night before, and prepping all the veg.

Brining the turkey

“I’m really into brining my turkey, I couldn’t recommend this enough,” says Shepherd, whose Staffordshire restaurant Upstairs is booked up more than a year in advance.

Tom Shepherd’s brine

A simple 10% salt to water brine
A bit of thyme, garlic and orange peel thrown in
Leave it for 24 hours, then remove 90 minutes before cooking to dry it off, rub in butter and salt.

Cooking the turkey

Hrishikesh Desai, the renowned chef patron at one-star Country House Hotel in north Cumbria, does it like this to maximise flavour…

Take the legs off the turkey and debone them;
Take the wishbone off and create a gap between the skin of the turkey and the breast. Fill it with well-seasoned stuffing or butter or truffle butter. Leave in the fridge to rest;
Take as many sinews off the deboned legs as possible then flatten the meat and fill it with stuffing. Lay on an oiled foil sheet, season and wrap to form a roll. Make sure it is rolled tight. Cook in a preheated oven at 220C for 1.5 hours. Remove from the tinfoil, fry the legs on a pan to brown it evenly. Slice and serve;
For the main turkey, remove from the fridge, drizzle oil or brush with soft butter, place on a roasting pan and then into the pre-heated oven at 220C. Cook for at least 1 to 1.5 hours while basting every 10 minutes.
To ensure the turkey meat is cooked, use a carving fork, push through the crown and lift the turkey. If the juices run without any blood then it’s done;
Remove from the oven, cover with foil and rest for at least 20 minutes before carving.

For Shepherd, a resting time of at least 60 minutes is best.

Great British Menu legend Lisa Goodwin-Allen, executive chef at one-starred Northcote, says a leftfield choice might be to cook the turkey on the BBQ instead of in the oven.

“Not only does it give you more space in the oven on a busy Christmas Day, but it also gives the meat a lovely smoky flavour that adds an extra dimension to your Christmas dinner,” she says.

Turkey alternatives

Most of the chefs we spoke to aren’t fans of turkey.

“It has its place but there is a reason we only tend to eat it once a year,” says Dilling. “As a large bird with a low fat content, it can very easily become dry.”

For him, goose is “an incredible and underrated bird” as it’s a simple roast and full of delicious fat – which has the bonus of making your roasties super tasty.

Benjamin Ferra Y Castell, head chef at one-starred Pavyllon in London, recommends guinea fowl.

“Many people overcook poultry to be sure it’s done, but that can dry it out,” he says. “The trick is to cook it in two stages.”

For a 1.2 kg guinea fowl…

Season well with salt, pepper and butter for extra flavour;
Roast it at 200C with the fan on for about 45 minutes until golden and crispy, basting it while it cooks;
Once the breast is cooked, remove the legs and cook them for another 15 minutes. If you’re unsure, use a cooking thermometer – when the thickest part of the breast reaches 57C, take it out and let it rest for 10 minutes. It’ll continue to cook and reach 63C, which is perfect for poultry. Don’t worry about the legs; they’ll stay juicy due to the collagen in the meat.

Lisa Goodwin-Allen’s perfect roasties

Before we get to this, we need to decide what potatoes to use. Benjamin Ferra Y Castell likes Ratte potatoes as “they’re small, cook quickly, and are full of flavour”. For Hrishikesh Desai, it has to be Maris Piper.

As for how to cook them, here’s Goodwin-Allen’s guide uncut…

“You want a good chipping potato that’s going to be light and fluffy on the inside and good texture on the outside.

“I don’t use just regular water – I take water, duck fat, a couple of crushed garlic cloves and tie some rosemary up, bring it to the boil and let it simmer for at least two hours or overnight to get a lot of flavour into the water.

“When that’s ready I put the potatoes in, bring it to boil and then simmer them until they’re partially done. You should be able to just slip your knife through them. I then take them out and fluff them up. A great little tip here is to mix a bit of rice flour with garlic granules and dust them, then put them onto a tray.

“Then, you want to freeze them! Freezing them breaks down the carbohydrate inside them which is going to help them turn out perfectly.

“When you bring them back, put a tray of duck fat into the oven – get it really nice and hot. This can be done from frozen. When you put them in, they should really sizzle because you want them to fry, not boil. You could also fry them (three to four minutes from frozen, then take them out and fry again for 15 minutes before serving). They will be nice and crispy on the outside and really decadent and fluffy on the inside. That’s what a good roast potato is all about.”

Jean Delport, executive chef at one-starred Restaurant Interlude in West Sussex, adds a knob of butter to his duck fat to ensure they get super crispy. A common tip is to get the fat up to temperature, 220C, before putting the roasties in.

Delport says you need to shake them, both initially and at 15-minute intervals, to prevent sticking.

Tom Shepherd adds minced garlic after cooking.

Other veg

The Shepherds will be having creamed cabbage.

“It’s a winner in our house,” he says, revealing his method…

Grab a humble white cabbage, remove the root and slice as thinly as possible;
Boil in salted water until softened, and chill
Meanwhile, reduce a pan of double cream with garlic and thyme in by half, and whisk in some grated parmesan, season with salt and pepper, and reintroduce the cabbage to the mix – you won’t regret it.

Niklas Ekstedt, Michelin-starred chef and owner at Ekstedt at The Yard in Westminster, roasts root vegetables like parsnips, carrots and beets with a drizzle of teriyaki sauce and some ginger.

“The sticky sauce and fresh ginger adds a real depth of flavour that elevates the vegetables for a delicious side dish,” he says.

How do you make Brussels sprouts taste nice?

Brussels sprouts absorb a lot of water so do not boil them, says Dilling.

Instead, cut them in half and mix them with duck fat, bacon lardons, garlic and herbs. Roast them till charred and tender.

Gravy

Ferra Y Castell shares his recipe…

100g diced shallots
3g cracked black pepper
60g soy sauce
140g sherry vinegar

“Reduce these ingredients in a pan until nearly dry,” he says. “Then, add the reduction to a good beef stock, add a dash of cognac, and you’ll have a rich, flavourful gravy.”

Shepherd says “the tray you roast your meat on is like gold dust”.

Add onions for your meat to sit on and some roughly chopped carrots, he says. Once the meat is resting, you can get going.

“I begin with placing the tray on the stove and heat,” he says. “Add a little garlic and flour, cook that out until no longer clumpy and start by deglazing the tray with a glass of wine, then once that has evaporated, add some meat stock, ideally the same stock as your chosen meat, ie, beef or turkey. Boil that and reduce to a gravy consistency, pass through a sieve and enjoy.”

‘Unbelievable’ stuffing

This one comes from Dilling – or rather his mum.

“She always used to make a sage, pork and onion stuffing with lots of celery and good homemade chicken stock,” he says. “She would put it in a gratin dish and bake it in the oven. Crisp on top and soft underneath. Just writing this I am salivating. Unbelievable.”

Yorkshire puddings – yes or no?

Delport is firmly in the no camp.

“Not for me. I’m not their biggest fan, but for Christmas there are too many other options I would rather add to our selection,” he says.

Shepherd takes the opposite view.

“Yorkshire puddings are essential with any roast dinner, especially at Christmas!” he says. “A non-negotiable!”

If you’re with Shepherd and fancy making your own, here’s a recipe courtesy of one of the best chefs in Yorkshire, James Mackenzie from the one-starred Pipe and Glass Inn…

Ingredients (makes 10)

Six eggs
300ml full fat milk
260g plain flour
Goose or duck fat or beef dripping, or rapeseed oil if preferred
Salt and freshly ground white pepper

Method

Preheat the oven to 180°C/gas mark 4;
Place the eggs and milk into a mixing bowl and whisk together, sieve the flour in and mix with a hand blender until you’ve got a smooth batter. Leave to stand for at least 10 minutes;
In a 12-hole baking tray, place a tablespoon of fat into each mould and put in the oven until smoking hot;
Season the batter immediately before you pour it into the smoking hot tray – this will stop the salt breaking down the egg and your puddings will rise really well;
Fill up 10 moulds nearly full around the edge of the tray, leaving two moulds in the middle free to allow the heat to circulate evenly;
Bake for 35 minutes and don’t be tempted to open the oven door earlier or they will collapse.

Dessert

Delport offers his guests a massive cheeseboard, with a variety of sweet things alongside, while Shepherd likes a homemade tiramisu – but suggests leaving Christmas pudding to the experts…

“No one beats Marks & Spencer for me,” he says.

For a leftfield choice, Ekstedt suggests Risgrynsgröt (rice pudding).

“It’s a Swedish classic, but I like to add a little twist. I sometimes serve it with a salted caramel sauce or some roasted nuts – it’s delicious and full of nostalgia.”

Leftovers

“My favourite part,” says Shepherd.

His suggestion is piling hot turkey, stuffing, creamed cabbage and roast potato into a sandwich or Yorkie pudding, with a hot pot of gravy on the side to dip it in.

“Incredible,” he says.

Desai, however, has a different philosophy…

“Don’t have any leftovers, just eat it all, you get Christmas only once a year!”

UK

Colombian man found guilty of double murder after leaving couple’s bodies in suitcases on Bristol bridge

Published

14 hours ago

July 21, 2025

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Colombian man found guilty of double murder after leaving couple's bodies in suitcases on Bristol bridge

A Colombian man has been found guilty of two murders after taking his victims’ bodies in suitcases to Bristol’s Clifton Suspension Bridge last year.

Yostin Mosquera was convicted of the murders of Paul Longworth and Albert Alfonso, who were killed in London on 8 July 2024.

Warning: This article contains graphic descriptions of murders.

Mosquera’s victims were 62-year-old Albert Alfonso and his civil partner, 71-year-old Paul Longworth. It is believed that Mosquera, a 35-year-old who worked in the adult film industry, first met Mr Alfonso online.

The three men struck up a friendship, the couple visited Mosquera in Colombia, and they repeatedly flew Mosquera to the UK to stay with them at their flat in London.

While the men would take day-trips to tourist attractions, like Madame Tussauds, Mr Alfonso and Mosquera would engage in extreme sex together.

But in the weeks leading up to their murders, Mosquera was clearly planning his attacks.

He looked online for a freezer and, on the day of the killings, searched for: “Where on the head is a knock fatal?”

The prosecution argued he was financially motivated.

Mosquera repeatedly tried to find the price of the couple’s property in Scotts Road, Shepherd’s Bush, and stole money from Mr Alfonso after murdering him.

On 8 July 2024, Mosquera killed Mr Longworth by hitting him with a hammer, shattering his skull, before hiding his body in a divan bed.

That evening, during sex with Mr Alfonso, Mosquera stabbed him with a knife. A postmortem revealed 22 stab wounds.

All of this was recorded on cameras, which had been placed in the room by Mr Alfonso.

Mosquera then decapitated the bodies, the heads stored in a freezer which he had delivered on 9 July.

The other remains were put in suitcases and on 10 July, Mosquera hired a van with a driver to transport him and the bags to Clifton Suspension Bridge.

The prosecution argued Mosquera went to Bristol with the intention of throwing the bags off the bridge.

But, struggling with their weight, Mosquera caught the attention of passers-by, telling them the cases contained car parts.

But people noticed liquid leaking from the bags – blood.

Mosquera ran off and was later arrested at Bristol Temple Meads station on 13 July 2024 and charged with both murders.

When the case came to trial, initially at the Old Bailey and then at Woolwich Crown Court, the gruesome footage of Mr Alfonso’s murder was repeatedly played to the jury.

‘It was the worst video I have ever seen’

It is not often a murder is caught on camera.

It is even rarer when they are filmed from multiple angles, with sound.

I was at the Old Bailey for the first trial, where the recording of Mosquera killing Albert Alfonso was repeatedly played to the jury.

The two men are naked, taking part in consensual sex, which was filmed by Mr Alfonso on several cameras, a normal practice for the pair.

Unwittingly, Mr Alfonso recorded his own murder.

We see Mosquera hide the knife.

Then, when Mr Alfonso is at his most vulnerable, Mosquera calmly stabs him in the neck.

Mr Alfonso struggles against Mosquera, screaming, but is overpowered.

Mosquera cruelly taunts him, asking, “Do you like it?”

As Alfonso lay dying, Mosquera bizarrely sings and dances before going to Alfonso’s computer.

The judge warned the jury about the graphic video, reassuring them that, if they felt unable to proceed due to its content, they would be excused.

One jury member did not come back the next day and I could completely understand their discomfort.

The sound of screaming was hard to forget.

A murder is always upsetting to watch, but this felt intrusive.

While many aspects of their sexual relationship could be disturbing to an outsider, Albert Alfonso could never have predicted that his private recordings would be so publicly analysed at a trial into his own murder.

Miranda Jollie, Senior Crown Prosecutor at the CPS, said she found the video “horrific”, but maintained that it was necessary to show the video because of Mosquera’s claims.

Mosquera denied the murders, but admitted killing Mr Alfonso – his defence team argued it was manslaughter by loss of control.

However, the video evidence contradicts this claim.

It shows Mosquera had hidden the knife before sex, showing the attack was premeditated.

He was also calm as he attacked Mr Alfonso, who was taken off guard, and went to Mr Alfonso’s computer to try and steal from him as he lay dying.

In court, Mosquera argued, through a Spanish interpreter, that Mr Alfonso had repeatedly “raped him” and that Mr Longworth had been killed by Mr Alfonso.

But the prosecution argued there was no evidence to support these claims, while the couple’s relationship was unconventional, it was also “loving”, and Mr Alfonso would never have killed Mr Longworth.

UK

‘Broken’ water industry set to be overhauled – nine key recommendations from landmark report

Published

23 hours ago

July 21, 2025

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'Broken' water industry set to be overhauled - nine key recommendations from landmark report

The system for regulating water companies in England and Wales should be overhauled and replaced with one single body, a major review of the sector has advised.

It has recommended abolishing regulator Ofwat as well as the Drinking Water Inspectorate (DWI), which ensures that public water supplies are safe.

The report, which includes 88 recommendations, suggests a new single integrated regulator to replace existing water watchdogs, mandatory water metering, and a social tariff for vulnerable customers.

The ability to block companies being taken over and the creation of eight new regional water authorities with another for all of Wales to deliver local priorities, has also been suggested.

The review, the largest into the water industry since privatisation in the 1980s, was undertaken by Sir Jon Cunliffe, a career civil servant who oversaw the biggest clean-up of Britain’s banking system in the wake of the financial crash.

He was coaxed out of retirement by Environment Secretary Steve Reed to lead the Independent Water Commission.

Here are nine key recommendations:

• Single integrated water regulators – a single water regulator in England and a single water regulator in Wales. In England, this would replace Ofwat, the Drinking Water Inspectorate and water-environment related functions from the Environment Agency and Natural England

• Eight new regional water system planning authorities in England and one national authority in Wales

• Greater consumer protection – this includes upgrading the consumer body Consumer Council for Water into an Ombudsman for Water to give stronger protection to customers and a clearer route to resolving complaints

• Stronger environmental regulation, including compulsory water meters

• Tighter oversight of water company ownership and governance, including new powers for the regulator to block changes in water company ownership

• Public health reforms – this aims to better manage public health risks in water, recognising the many people who swim, surf and enjoy other water-based activities

• Fundamental reset of economic regulation – including changes to ensure companies are investing in and maintaining assets

• Clear strategic direction – a new long-term National Water Strategy should be published by both the UK and Welsh governments with a “minimum horizon of 25 years”

• Infrastructure and asset health reforms – including new requirements for companies to map and assess their assets and new resilience standards

In a speech responding to Sir Jon’s report, Mr Reed is set to describe the water industry as “broken” and welcome the commission’s recommendations to ensure “the failures of the past can never happen again”.

Final recommendations of the commission have been published on Monday morning to clean up the sector and improve public confidence.

Major other suggested steps for the government include greater consumer protection by upgrading the Consumer Council for Water into an ombudsman with advocacy duties being transferred to Citizens Advice.

Stronger and updated regulations have been proposed by Sir Jon, including compulsory water metering, changes to wholesale tariffs for industrial users and greater water reuse and rainwater harvesting schemes. A social tariff is also recommended.

Oversight of companies via the ability to block changes in ownership of water businesses and the addition of “public benefit” clauses in water company licences.

To boost company financial resilience, as the UK’s biggest provider Thames Water struggles to remain in private ownership, the commission has recommended minimum financial requirements, like banks are subject to.

It’s hoped this will, in turn, make companies more appealing to potential investors.

The public health element of water has been recognised, and senior public health representation has been recommended for regional water planning authorities, as have new laws to address pollutants like forever chemicals and microplastics.

A “supervisory” approach has been recommended to intervene before things like pollution occur, rather than penalising the businesses after the event.

A long-term, 25-year national water strategy should be published by the UK and Welsh governments, with ministerial priorities given to water firms every five years.

Companies should also be required to map and assess their assets and resilience

This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.

Please refresh the page for the fullest version.

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UK

Inquiry launched to ‘uncover truth’ behind bloody clashes at Orgreave miners’ strike

Published

1 day ago

July 21, 2025

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Inquiry launched to 'uncover truth' behind bloody clashes at Orgreave miners' strike

A new public inquiry will “uncover the truth” behind the so-called “Battle of Orgreave”, a bloody fight between striking miners and police officers in the 1980s.

One hundred and twenty people were injured in the violent confrontation on 18 June 1984, outside a coal processing factory in Orgreave, South Yorkshire.

Five thousand miners clashed with an equal number of armed and mounted police during a day of fighting.

Police used horse charges, riot shields and batons against the picketers, even as some were retreating.

In the aftermath, miners were blamed for the violence in what campaigners believe was an institutional “frame-up”.

“There were so many lies,” says Chris Peace, from campaign group Orgreave Truth and Justice, “and it’s a real historic moment to get to this stage.”

“There’s a lot of information already in the public domain,” she adds, “but there’s still some papers that are embargoed, which will hopefully now be brought to light.”

Although dozens of miners were arrested, trials against them all collapsed due to allegations of unreliable police evidence.

Campaigners say some involved have been left with “physical and psychological damage”, but until now, previous governments have refused calls for a public inquiry.

Launching the inquiry today, Home Secretary Yvette Cooper told Sky Newsi that she wanted to “make sure” campaigners now got “proper answers”.

“We’ve obviously had unanswered questions about what happened at Orgreave for over 40 years,” Ms Cooper says, “and when we were elected to government, we determined to take this forward.”

The inquiry will be a statutory one, meaning that witnesses will be compelled to come and give evidence, and chaired by the Bishop of Sheffield, Pete Wilcox.

“I’m really happy,” says Carl Parkinson, a former miner who was at Orgreave on the day of the clash, “but why has it took so long?”

“A lot of those colleagues and close friends have passed away, and they’ll never get to see any outcome.”

Mr Parkinson and Chris Skidmore, who was also there that day, were among the group of campaigners informed first-hand by Ms Cooper about the public inquiry at the Orgreave site.

“It wasn’t frightening to start off with,” Mr Skidmore remembers of the day itself, “but then what I noticed was the amount of police officers who had no identification numbers on. It all felt planned.”

“And it wasn’t just one truncheon,” says Mr Parkinson, “there were about 30, or 40. And it was simultaneous, like it was orchestrated – just boom, boom, boom, boom.

“And there’s lads with a split down their heads for no good reason, they’d done nothing wrong. We were just there to peacefully picket.”

In the intervening years, South Yorkshire Police have paid more than £400,000 in compensation to affected miners and their families.

But no official inquiry has ever looked at the documents surrounding the day’s events, the lead-up to it and the aftermath.

“We need to have trust and confidence restored in the police,” says South Yorkshire Mayor Oliver Coppard, “and part of that is about people, like this campaign, getting the justice that they deserve.

“Obviously, we’ve had things like Hillsborough, CSE [Child Sexual Exploitation] in Rotherham, and we want to turn the page.”