Head Chef shares expert tips on Brits’ favourite Christmas dinner trimming

• Mecca Bingo has conducted a survey [1] to reveal the rankings of Brit’s favourite trimmings for their Christmas dinner, with roast potatoes being crowned the winner 

• ‘Christmas dinner’ has shown an 18% upward trend compared to the previous year [2] and search volume for ‘Christmas dinner bookings 2023’ has seen a +120,900% increase [3], showing that people are already preparing what they’d like to eat and a shift towards going to a restaurant for food, instead of cooking at home 

• As roast potatoes have been found as the top must-have trimming, Mecca Bingo has spoken to Head Chef at Bench, Alfie Cutler, for top culinary tips on how to prep for Christmas dinner and make the fluffiest roasties 

With a festive meal being a key aspect of Christmas Day and it now being less than 2 weeks away, many will be buying the ingredients for their Christmas meal. From cooking at home, to visiting a relative or friend’s house, or even dining out, there are many options on where to tuck into a festive food feast.   

To uncover what Brits consider must-have food items for their Christmas dinner, Mecca Bingo has conducted a survey to find out which trimmings are ranked as the most important.  

Top Christmas dinner must-haves: 

1. Roast Potatoes – 59%  

2. Turkey – 50%  

3. Gravy – 41%  

4. Pigs in Blankets – 37% 

5. Stuffing – 34% 

6. Brussels Sprouts – 34% 

7. Yorkshire Puddings – 24% 

8. Parsnips – 21% 

9. Carrots – 15% 

10. Mashed Potatoes – 15% 

11. Cranberry Sauce – 15% 

12. Chicken – 12% 

13. Beef – 12%  

14. Cauliflower Cheese – 8% 

15. Cabbage – 5% 

16. Gammon – 7% 

17. Bread Sauce – 6% 

18. Meat alternative – 5% 

19. Apple Sauce – 5% 

20. Mint Sauce – 4% 

Over half of the UK population chose roast potatoes (59%) as their must-have Christmas dinner item, crowning this as the number one trimming; mashed potatoes (15%) came in 10th, so it’s time to practice perfecting roasties that are fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside.  

Turkey came in as the second must-have, with 50% choosing this as an essential item. However, other meat options were considerably less favourable including chicken (12%), beef (12%), gammon (7%). As for meat alternatives, only 5% considered this as an essential for their Christmas meal, showing that vegetarian/vegan meat options may be on the decline in popularity.  

Considered a traditional Christmas dinner trimming, it’s no surprise that pigs in blankets (37%) and stuffing (34%) made it into the top 5 trimmings.  

As a nation, it seems that savoury is the way forward for Christmas dinner, with gravy (41%) coming in at third place; the gravy-loving generation was found to be the 55+ age group, with 46% choosing gravy as a staple, compared to only 31% of 25–34-year-olds opting for the sauce on their dinner.  

As for other condiments, cranberry sauce (15%) was the favourite compared to bread sauce (6%), apple sauce (5%) and mint sauce (4%). Surprisingly, mayonnaise (3%), mustard (3%) and ketchup (3%) also made it on the list, but only a small percentage thought these sauces belonged on their Christmas dinner. 

Brussels Sprouts (34%) were the top choice of vegetable, followed by parsnips (21%), however other vegetables were not seen as essential with carrots (15%), cauliflower cheese (8%) and cabbage (5%) coming lower down on the Christmas dinner essentials rankings.  

Yorkshire Puddings (24%) were relatively high up on the rankings, with the residents of Leeds (37%) loving this trimming the most out of all UK cities, which comes as no surprise being the largest city in Yorkshire.  

Expert tips on how to make Christmas dinner like a Head Chef 

With supermarkets offering endless options for ingredients and preparation required, making a traditional Christmas dinner for others may feel like a lot of pressure. However, Alfie Cutler, Head Chef at Bench has shared expert tips on how to make roast potatoes that crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside, in addition to what you can prep ahead of time.  

Preparation is key:  

Alfie explains: “My first big tip for Christmas Day dinner would be to make sure you get all you’re prep done one or two days before the big day. This can involve pre-boiling any vegetables or making up your pigs in blankets. You can even prep your meat of choice, so that all you need to do is pop them all in the oven on the big day. More prep equals less stress so you can enjoy more time with loved ones.“ 

Ultimate Roast Potatoes:  

For making the nation’s favourite Christmas dinner trimming, Alfie advises:  

• “When it comes to roast potatoes make sure you get yourself high quality potatoes that are more suited to roasting. For me, it would be the Maris Piper potato. Portion them into nice size chucks as they will shrink down during roasting.  

• Get these boiled in water that has been salted well the day before, so they are super soft and fluffy then leave in the fridge overnight. This will help them keep their structure, which is super important.  

• On the day, fill your roasting tray with vegetable oil or your animal fat of choice and don’t be shy about it. It’s Christmas so treat yourself to some lovely goose fat or duck fat. You won’t regret it. Pre–heat your oven to 200 degrees and get the oil/fat in the oven to heat up. After 8/10 mins add in your potatoes. Be careful when doing this… no one wants boing goose fat in their eye on Christmas morning. Use a spoon to transfer over gently.  

• Then roast and after 15 mins give them a turn to maximum crispness. Keep doing this every so often. When they start to look golden and crispy add in garlic, rosemary and thyme then roast for another 10 minutes.  

• Take them out and finish with some nice sea salt and there you have it – Merry Christmas!” 

For more information, please visit the Mecca Bingo blog here: https://blog.meccabingo.com/which-christmas-dinner-trimmer-is-a-must-have/