Don't buy too much cheese. Be sure to buy enough detergent. Follow the advice of top chefs to make important days stress-free

The butcher’s holiday shifts are exhausting, and customers have the best and the bad. Ben Curtis used to be a butcher and is now the chef at Shoreditch’s Smoking Goat. He remembers people asking, “What should I eat for Christmas?”, but didn’t say who they cook for or what they like, “So you always Can't give a helpful person. Answer". Butchers, fishmongers, and cheesemongers want you to eat delicious food, but they also have to give them something to cook.

It seems obvious, but decides what you want to eat, so you can plan how to shop—whether in specialty stores, online, or in supermarkets—whether it's lavish or instalments. Do you want to shop at home in advance before Christmas or do you want to pick up the meat late on Christmas Eve?

Max Rocha is the chef and owner of Café Cecilia in East London, and they usually start talking about their Christmas dinner in June. "Planning the menu is a great opportunity to meet with someone you are going to spend Christmas with," he said.

"Everyone has their own opinions on Christmas dinner-this may be a sensitive topic," said Gary Usher of the Elite Bistro. "But I think if you are the organizer, the menu is up to you."

Culinary writer Anna Jones said that family favorites should be met to a certain extent, but a boundary needs to be set. "In most families, the Christmas song is often hosted by one person," she said. "Over the years, I have learned that this is who I am, so I asked for help to keep a good day."

Greek Cypriot chef Georgina Hayden asked his family to cook at their place: red cabbage, fish and salmon, hummus, etc. favorites that are easy to reheat. Some people may refuse to accept instructions, she added: “Every year my yiayia [grandmother] brings an octopus stifado to the table. No one wants it, but we let it go.”

Chef Jeremy Lee, head chef of Quo Vadis in Soho, said: "I think people often have a feeling,'Oh my God, it's not that old chestnut anymore', but this is one time in a year you can keep the same record." Bake dinner. "We should be proud of this beautiful tradition; it is one of the most amazing celebrations ever."

Gary Usher is more direct. "There are things you like, but absolutely, absolutely, don't do things you haven't done before—especially when you have someone coming," he said. "Cooking for people is stressful, so you are looking for trouble for new things. Stick to the bulletproof recipes you know."

If you are a cautious chef, please use the first few weeks to practice: know your oven (is the temperature dial accurate and is the heat evenly distributed?); try your Yorkie; test the gravy recipe.

Stephen Harris, chef and owner of the Kent Athlete Restaurant, said that fish—perhaps halibut, grilled and eaten whole—is an exquisite holiday dinner. "Order in advance from a good fishmonger," he said, adding that if you don't order something before December 23 or 24, they may not have what you want. "Provide them with an alternative, because the sea is unpredictable, but they should know what they can get." Since moisture can cause fish to smell, please ask your fishmonger to dry it thoroughly from the inside out. Wrap it in paper, and your fish will sit happily in the refrigerator for a day or two without fragrance.

Harris said that when cooking, draw a diagonal line on the upward side so you can monitor when the meat is cooked to the bone. "That's the point, or if you can do it, just before that, take it out of the oven-turbot may only take about 20 minutes." Then cover the fish with tin foil and leave it for 20 minutes. Finish cooking like a piece of meat.

Although Anna Jones’s family has ranged from vegetarians to omnivores, she still makes a vegetarian Christmas, mainly vegetarian. "Christmas must be a day when no one feels left out," she said, and she wanted to find something that would please all tastes. "Cooking something that everyone can share and enjoy is a generous spirit, and I think it's important."

Instead of a symbolic vegetarian gesture, vegetarian families can make a vegetarian staple with symbolic meat noodles: Felicity Cloake's perfect nut roast can be made in advance, and for those who want them, cover the pig with a blanket Is great.

Married chefs Joe Woodhouse (vegetarian) and Olia Hercules (not) have found an element that fits their menu: The Mary Rose Sauce for Hercules Prawn Cocktail (easy to make in advance) will be Wood House with crispy mushrooms. For the main thing, Hercules believes that if not everyone eats meat, a bird is a good choice. She might roast a duck (stuffed with fried onions, chopped cabbage and carrots, which is a great side dish and good leftovers), and Woodhouse might make a mushroom Düssel Fill some pastries, but will also be satisfied with a large plate of vegetables. Both sides: "I have an onion sauce to tie them together."

Melek Erdal is a chef and cooking teacher at the charity Made in Hackney, where she teaches Christmas feasts in the Middle East. She advises beginners to break down their recipes into processes, which can be written in the columns to be done two days ago, the day before, and the day: "Being able to visualize your schedule will really help you not panic."

Stuffed pumpkin is easy because it can be roasted in advance, and the filling is made of Christmas nuts and spices. Both elements can be refrigerated overnight, put together and heated on the same day. If you are a meat eater, her advice is not to eat expensive beef or turkey for slow roasting-maybe lamb shoulder: "You don't have to worry about keeping it pink or overcooking. You can do it earlier in the day , Even if I did it the night before, it will get better with the rest."

"For many people, turkey can be very stressful," said food writer and chef Jane Baxter. Last year, she made "home heating" boxes, including boneless and stuffed turkey thighs, provided by many butchers, and made delicious slow roasts for two or three people. "You will get the best-tasting meat, and it will not dry out."

Buying off-the-shelf products is not cheating-it saves time and sometimes even money. Hayden likes mulled wine, but for convenience, he will buy good quality, ready-made spice bottles: "Open one and put a small citrus in the pot." In addition, she added, "Some of the best gadgets are Made with off-the-shelf things". Arthur agreed. "Buy your custard, buy ready-made fillings, to eliminate the stress of the day," he said, suggesting that you stick to what you have eaten before so you know it is good. "The desserts in supermarkets are very good these days, even in value stores."

On Christmas Eve, Curtis will test how his bakeware and bakeware can be placed in the oven for maximum efficiency: "It's all about oven Tetris." Rocha will clean the freezer for soft drinks, condiments, and anything that can be enjoyable. Place things in a cool storage room or outside boxes, ready to put meat and fish on the bottom, dairy products in the middle, and vegetables on the top.

Hayden will select the service item and mark it with a sticky note to show what is going on. If there is a side dish that can be kept at room temperature, she usually puts it on the plate: "It's a bit extra, but for me, something like this is very important, and it was much easier to make the day before."

Hercules recommends grouping the ingredients of each recipe and setting up a waste bowl lined with a compost bag on the counter that day to avoid having to walk all the way to the trash can.

When asked which necessities make holiday cooking easier, the answers include: a large number of bowls and spatulas; enough baking trays; microwave ovens; old-fashioned hostess carts (if cooking for many people, Baxter's requirements are very specific); Lots of good detergents. Kirsty Cheetham knows a thing or two about serving epic roasts-her bar, Queen o't' Owd Thatch in North Yorkshire, was the winner of OFM's Best Sunday Lunch Award. She said you want a beautiful deep grill to hold all the grilling juices.

Curtis recommends meat thermometers. Practice every time you cook a barbecue so that you will get used to it. "People don't want the temperature of meat to rise during rest, but it does-up to 10 degrees Celsius."

Everyone says that when your meat rests (and does let your meat rest), you shouldn't cook, just finish the sauce, crispy roast and heated sides. Everything came together at that time; you will have about 30 minutes, so go ahead.

Cheetham said: "Nothing makes you more stressed than under time pressure." She prepared the vegetables the day before: peeled and boiled, then added fat and refrigerated (roasted in a pan). She made Yorkshire pudding batter a day earlier; she pointed out that the blanket-wrapped pigs can be taken out of the frozen state, just like chestnuts with chopped butter, which can be stirred into roast sprouts. Rocha makes the filling and freezes it a month in advance-remember to thaw it in time. He also coated his cooked carrots with a glaze, ready to caramelize in the oven.

"We always eat cold pudding, my mother made it on the 23rd," Curtis said. "Some simple and happy things: you don't need anything complicated by then."

Although your cooking style depends to some extent on your kitchen-"If you only have four burners and an oven, don't try 12 different vegetables, turkey, beef and ham," Cheetham said-choose Cooking fewer dishes means fewer decisions, less cooking and less stress.

Curtis likes roasted potatoes ("They always take longer than I thought") and carrots, and usually cabbage: "This is seasonal, super sweet, and it takes about two minutes on the stove: cut Crushed, boiled, and then quickly sautéed with some brown butter." Woodhouse agreed to choose something that would take a few minutes: "You can destroy the top of Brussels at the last minute."

Hercules will boil papaya for a little bit of water, but will make enough so that it can be used for breakfast during the days between Christmas and New Year, or on a cheese board.

When choosing cheese, Woodhouse will choose two or three and say not to go too far: “Maybe a good cheddar cheese and a good Stilton cheese, or whatever your family likes, that’s it. Otherwise you will end up with so much and it will become expensive."

"If your lunch time is 3pm, then you don't have to have lunch at 3pm," Cheetham said, urging a relaxed approach. "This is not a deal breaker. It's Christmas after all." Most of our contributors choose to have a leisurely breakfast at 4 or 5 in the afternoon.

"Not necessarily everything is hot," Woodhouse said, adding that he didn't like it. His wife agreed. "Culturally, I find this very strange," Hercules said. "Most things in Ukraine are at room temperature, so we are not worried."

Inevitably, things will go wrong. If the pressure is too high, Jones may take a moment to make things look good: “Set the table to clear my mind. Besides, it creates a different atmosphere—the spark tells you that it’s Christmas.”

Limit the danger by not letting children step on their feet or drink too much water around the blades and hot oil, or until the main course is eaten. Going to A&E urgently means that the goose is dry? "The hot gravy saved the day!" is Curtis' Christmas motto.

If a major change in the plan means creating a feast at the last minute, Megan Davis, author of the refrigerator raid, said, look at the staple food in the kitchen to make the dishes special. Butter is another way to save time. She said that it only takes a minute or two to turn brown: "You will immediately have luxurious richness. You can spoon mashed potatoes or fold cooked frozen vegetables."

Before adding the butter, bake the holiday spices in a pan, add a scoop of honey, and you have a warm spiced ice cream sauce. Instead of trying to find cranberry sauce at the last minute, she uses open jars of jam and chutney: heat the mixture in a pan with a little seasoning and a little water to get a sweet and sour fruity sauce roast , Or stir them with roasted vegetables 10 minutes before the end of cooking to help them caramelize.

"It will go wrong," Curtis said. "There is always something. It's time for everyone to squeeze in the kitchen, hinder each other and try to help. Play some Christmas songs. Have fun. It's just dinner-this day is really to have a good time together. "