‘Christmas dinner? It’s just a big roast!’
Dame Mary Berry has turned her hand to festive entertaining – and believes nobody should be getting into a flap this Christmas!
The thought of cooking for hordes of family members on Christmas Day can be a source of anxiety for many – but Mrs Unflappable herself is offering up some sage tips for a stress-free day, ahead of her new BBC show Mary Berry’s Ultimate Christmas.
The Queen of Baking has seen it all, from soggy bottoms to pastry going up in smoke, yet never loses her cool. So, who better to take advice from?!
‘People get into such a state about the Christmas meal,’ she said recently. ‘And there’s absolutely no need to. Tell yourself it’s just a big roast chicken and you’ll be fine. I love making Christmas dinner, and I wouldn’t ever want anyone else to do it for me.’
Mary – who recently did an entire ‘dry run’ of Christmas Day in the kitchen of her Buckinghamshire home – says it’s all about organisation.
Of her new show, which involves visiting friends at the restaurant of chef Monica Galletti, as well as the home of Angela Hartnett and a farm with Strictly: It Takes Two host Rylan, Mary said in a recent interview, ‘You’ll learn all about how to do your Christmas Day meal. And I’m holding your hand all the way.
‘My first tip is to sit down with a piece of paper and think who’s coming for Christmas, how many people and have I got to do any specific meals like vegetarian?
‘Then you start the shopping list and planning when you’re going to prep things. It’s the
Christmas I’ve done over the years… I hope I make it really straightforward and fun to view.’
Mary, married to retired bookseller Paul since 1966, has always started prep weeks before – making a Christmas pudding and cake in November, and freezing batches of mince pies.
The day before Christmas Eve, Mary starts making her trifle, then on 24 December, she whips up a rum sauce and brandy butter to go with the pudding, before preparing stuffing – and trimming her sprouts, leaving them in a plastic bag in the fridge.
Yet again, it’s about staying organised. ‘It’s impossible to cook everything from scratch on Christmas Day because you need different oven temperatures for the turkey and the potatoes… I like to have my turkey cooked at least half an hour before lunch. Leave it alone to rest, loosely covered in foil and it will stay hot.’
She said, ‘I’m cooking the turkey to perfection, the gravy and the trifle. And then taking it to [my daughter] Annabel, who has 22 of us there for Christmas. My messages for Christmas are to not overcook the turkey, sit down as soon as possible and make your plans. It’s all about preparing ahead to take the stress out.’
Then, it’s time to enjoy – with hubby Paul in charge of the wine, son Tom carving the turkey and Mary’s daughter-in-law Sarah doing the crackers. ‘We read out the jokes religiously. And I have some pointy elf hats we put on.’
Comfortingly, for the sprightly 87-year-old it’s not all about the food: ‘Having your family around you is what it’s about. So, if there were to be a culinary disaster, the important thing is not to get terribly upset about it.’
We’ll clink our glasses of sherry to that, Mary….
Mary Berry’s Ultimate Christmas airs at 8pm, 19 December on BBC One.
‘If there is a disaster, the important thing is not to get upset’