Who's going to make the gravy?
Men, women, and Christmas dinner in the 21st Century
Allyson Gofton will be up by 6.30am on Christmas Day, and in the kitchen. First, she'll prepare some toasted panettone, served with a glass of something bubbly. Then, there will be preparations for lunch – fillet steak cooked at a low heat for two hours so it's served rare, deboned turkey stuffed and served cold, a ham glazed with rum, orange and chilli, new potatoes, salad and asparagus.
A few hours later, it'll be on to dinner, where tradition will take over and she will make a traditional Christmas pudding with suet, cooked in cloth, as well as prunes soaked in rum in an almond tart. ‘‘There must be room for shortbread, mince tarts, panforte and chocolates to go with coffee.’’ She's undecided yet on whether the entree will be a prawn cocktail or cheese panna cotta.
It's a long day's work but Gofton revels in it. ‘‘I love to cook, and I love to give through cooking.’’
In her household, it's Mother Christmas making the day happen. ’’I do the lot. Usually because I don't want any input from the men because they are so grinch-like. My husband could be described as the perfect Scrooge. I ask him to turn up and carve then go away. The menu – moi, the presents – moi, the decorations – moi.’’
New data shows that she's not alone. When it comes to Christmas, it's New Zealand women who carry the bulk of the load.
Statistics on the shopping habits of New World Club Cards show that on Christmas Eve last year, three in every four shoppers in the North Island were women. In the South Island, they were 62 per cent of the supermarket's customers. Eighty-six per cent of the New World shoppers buying Christmas cake ingredients were women. Women’s average shopping baskets were 30 to 50 per cent bigger than men’s.
A big thing on Christmas Day is the food. When you’re preparing the meal it’s not just one person doing it, most of the family will get involved in preparing it because it’s a big thing. Ian Yeoman
Gofton isn't surprised. ‘‘My husband pushing a trolley around the supermarket . . . you'd see Santa Claus live before you see that.’’
And, although the data shows that New Zealanders do buy readymade items such as Christmas cakes or cheesecakes, the traditional staples are still popular, indicating a labourintensive spread is still a feature of most households. Ham was the most popular protein across both the North and South Islands but lamb was a close second in the South Island, and followed distantly in the north.
Brett Ashley, Countdown’s acting merchandise manager, said it was noticeable that people were reluctant to let go of the idea of cooking a Christmas feast: ‘‘While we tend to look for more convenience and ways to save time with food during other times of the year, at Christmas, when we're