1. Jamie’s Ultimate Christmas, 19 December, 8pm, Channel 4
The big smiler revisits the classics for a markedly trad family feast: a succulent bird, a tasty gravy, an exceptional spud. He’s got sprouts and carrots on the side, gravadlax for starters and chocolate puds to finish. Anyone who’s loved him since 1999 will know the value in his plain-spoken enthusiasm: he doesn’t just make things look easy, he actually does take the headache out of cooking. Even the multi-headache-inducing, multi-dish Christmas Day spectacular.
Drink: Jamie’s own “incredible mulled cider” (with pomegranate, clementine and orange).
Popcorn: topped with salt and vinegar.
2. Food Unwrapped Does Christmas, 23 December, 8pm, Channel 4
Matt Tebbut does a full Felicity Cloake and trials three methods for cooking the perfect turkey (stuffing the skin, turning the bird upside-down and strapping ice-packs to the breast). In France, Kate Quilton quaffs pink champagne in Reims and Jimmy Doherty wrangles exploding chestnuts in the Ardèche. This foodie explorathon also takes in the North American lobster that’s giving our more costly crustaceans a run for their money, and a 380m2 Norwegian gingerbread city.
Drink: a classic champagne cocktail (angostura bitters, cognac, sugar, sparkling wine).
Popcorn: gingerbread popcorn (coated in treacle, ginger, cinnamon and lots of butter).
3. The Great Christmas Bake Off, Christmas Day, 4.45pm (part 1); 26 December 7pm (part 2), BBC1
If you were one of the record 14 million who watched this year’s GBBO finale and mourned the passing of an unlikely hero of a BBC show, don’t miss its last hurrah. Mary Berry and Paul Hollywood will be joined by bakers from previous years for a yuletide two-dayer. They’ll don the requisite festive aprons and gaudy jumpers and, at Mel and Sue’s dulcet “On your marks, get set, bake!”, tackle three challenges. Baking under duress in a wedding tent has never been so watchable.
Drink: as much tea as you can muster.
Popcorn: cake batter popcorn (coated in melted white chocolate, cake mix from a box and sprinkles).
4. Victorian Bakers at Christmas, Christmas Day, 9.30pm, BBC2
“Oh my … WHAT is that?” is how Christmas starts on Victorian Bakers. Our four ye olde bakers – all lamplit tweed and bustle – are tasked with making actual mince pies – from, you know, tongue and calves’ feet and tripe and roast beef. To get the job done, they have only their knives, a stack of dusty cookbooks and their wits. “So do you think this is going to taste better?” asks one baker to another, as real suet and tripe are finely chopped. “Personally, I think this might not … but hey. I’m open-minded.”
Drink: a Dickensian sherry flip (eggs, sugar, nutmeg, oloroso or cream sherry).
Popcorn: mincemeat popcorn (mix half a jar of mincemeat into a bowl of popped corn, spread out on a tray and bake until dry – about 10 minutes at 180C/350F/gas mark 4).
