Jamie’s Cook-Ahead Christmas: How to Save Five Hours on Christmas Day
Revolutionary Approach to Festive Cooking
Jamie Oliver shows us how to prepare a flavoursome festive feast in advance of the big day in his new two-part Channel 4 series, Jamie’s Cook-Ahead Christmas. Jamie’s Cook Ahead Christmas aired on the 8 and 15 December at 8 pm on Channel 4, offering home cooks a revolutionary approach to managing the festive season’s biggest culinary challenge.
The timing couldn’t be better. With a huge 66% of people still searching for festive recipes the week before Christmas, Jamie’s innovative system addresses a genuine need for better planning and preparation strategies.
The Big Four Game-Changers
The main premise is how to give viewers something priceless: more than five hours back on Christmas Day, with Jamie claiming that mastering what he calls the Big Four dishes ahead of time could be the secret to your calmest Christmas yet. The Big Four he wants us to crack are: vegan gravy, perfectly crispy roast potatoes, a stuffed turkey crown with golden legs and a nostalgic chocolate orange Arctic roll.
In the two-part special, Jamie shows exactly what you can prep weeks ahead, days ahead and even the night before. From gnarly gravy, savvy stuffing and flavoured butters to a dessert that’ll have Santa coming back for more, Jamie shows us how to make a freeze-ahead-of-time feast that can be defrosted on the day.
Prep, Prep, Prep: The Key to Success
Jamie’s freezer-friendly festive delights include a ready-to-go veggie side that can be easily transformed into a beautiful centrepiece, followed by epic gravy that’s suitable for everyone, standout stuffing, as well as flavoured butters and a stunning retro pud. The celebrity chef emphasises that preparation is paramount, stating: “to have the calmest Christmas yet, it really is all in the planning”.
Jamie introduces a new technique to prepare the turkey by removing the legs and slow-cooking them in advance, and also makes chicken liver pâté that can be wrapped up in the days ahead, gives the ultimate masterclass in the best Christmas roast potatoes, and rustles up a get-ahead batter that’s in the fridge ready to grow into an epic giant Yorkshire pudding.
Significance for Home Cooks
It’s all about big flavour and zero last-minute stress, making this approach particularly valuable for those hosting Christmas dinner for the first time or anyone seeking to enjoy more quality time with loved ones rather than being chained to the kitchen. From dishes you can make in advance and stash away to jobs you can tick off the list to free up time on the day itself, getting ahead will be the best Christmas present you’ve ever given yourself.
All recipes from the series are available on Jamie Oliver’s website, providing home cooks with detailed instructions to transform their festive cooking experience from frantic to fabulous.