Tom Kerridge's top tips for Christmas dinner

Make sure you're prepared with our Christmas dinner planner.

2. Do you have any tips for getting ahead with the Christmas dinner?

Pigs in blankets on tray and parsnips in bowl

Blanch your veggies and freeze them ahead of time, or blanch them the night before and put them in the fridge overnight. Lots of veggies used in a Christmas dinner can be prepared this way, and it takes some of the stress out of the prep on Christmas morning.

Browse our Christmas trimmings collection.

3. What’s the most important ingredient in a Christmas pudding?

Christmas pudding topped with pecans and syrup on plate with spoon

For me its glacé cherries – sticky, chewy and sweet!

Learn how to light a Christmas pudding with our easy-to-follow video.

4. What’s your tip for making the perfect mince pie?

I let my wife Beth do it. She makes amazing puff pastry mince pies every year, dusted in icing sugar.

5. Do you have a secret to the perfect roast potato?

Christmas dinner plate with turkey, gravy and vegetables

A lot of people would suggest parboiling them before they go into the oven, but I cook them all the way through on a gentle simmer. Let them dry and cool on a rack so they get a nice dry skin on them (they can be stored overnight in the fridge at this point if you need), then fry them in hot oil, turning infrequently. I usually choose Maris Pipers and I use English rapeseed oil – it’s clean and crisp, so I prefer it to cooking with fat.

Make the crispiest tatties with our simple video on how to make roast potatoes.

6. What’s your favourite meal to make with Christmas leftovers?

Bowl of gyoza, vegetable sticks and prawns

I love a bit of bubble & squeak on Boxing Day. It’s controversial but I prefer it to the Christmas dinner! Served with cold turkey, cold ham and piccalilli, you can’t get better than that.