Christmas isn’t Christmas without some full-on festive feasting. Teagan Bell asked those in the know for their tips on creating your best Christmas lunch or dinner yet. Pictures: Carmel Zaccone, Krystal Torney and Louise Barker
Adam Pritchard – Brass Monkey Restaurant + Bar
“This time of year, especially for hospitality, it’s all go, go, go and then you finally hit Christmas Day and can spend it with your family and cook for them instead of 50 customers,” Adam says.
“It’s nice to spend the time cooking and enjoying the meal yourself – to sit on the other side of the restaurant and to have some wine and some fun.”
Cooking style: Based on Melbourne laneway dining culture and worldwide street food. Inspired by hawker centres in Singapore, with influences from American barbecue and the vibrancy of Asian and Mexican cuisine.
Traditional: “My family is more of a lunch family.
“Our traditional Christmas lunch would be a prawn cocktail style deal, then we usually have a variety of cold meats, so turkey, ham, maybe some chicken.
“We do roast veggies and set it up down the centre of the table to share.”
Vegetarian: “This year, I’ve got family coming so I think we’ll be getting the smoker out.
“So I was thinking a whole, cauliflower with romesco sauce or a za’atar, which is a middle-eastern spice mix with sumac and sesame seeds, as a rub goes really well with cauliflower.
“You can smoke or bake a cauliflower whole – something like that would be nice as the star of the meal.”
Summer: “I would probably do cold prawns with compressed watermelon and Thai basil.
“That was a dish I did years ago.
“You infuse the watermelon in its juices or different juices in a vacuum-sealed bag and it goes ruby red.
“Asian herbs are really vibrant and fresh and that, for me, really screams a summery Christmas dish.”
Alternate take: “I think people should think outside the box and experiment a bit.
“There’s a million and one options and everyone goes back to the same thing.
“You could, instead, use some beautiful Australian produce in a smoker with some Red Gum, which is local to us and gives a really nice flavour.”
Dessert: “As a kid we used to have the pudding with the money in it, but not so much these days.
“Everyone is pretty chockers by the time we get through so we’re not really a dessert family.
“If I had to prepare one though, I would probably do the lime yoghurt dish that’s on the menu.
“It’s a hard, lime yoghurt with coconut snow, fresh lime zest, a digestive biscuit crumble and baked meringue.”
Tennille Chalmers – Chalmers Wines
“I think traditionally there were some old-fashioned food and wine matches that we’ve evolved from now, particularly with more modern-style dining and cuisine in Australia as our food culture has shifted,” Tennille says.
“People are eating those traditional dishes but they’re freshening them up a bit, particularly because it’s so hot here at Christmas. So you might have a lovely roast turkey, but you might be pairing it with some nice, fresh salads, rather than really heavy, roasted vegetables and traditional sides like that.”
Starter: “We love to recommend something that is going to be complementing of those fresh flavours and not creating a meal where you need to nap afterwards.
“So, from the start of the meal to the end of the meal, it’s really nice and traditional to start with a sparkling red.
“It’s such an Australian tradition at Christmas and often sparkling red has no place in the calendar for the rest of the year but it definitely has a place on the Christmas table.
“We’d reccommend a fresher, drier style sparkling to start off – something that isn’t too alcoholic or too concentrated that is more aperitif style, but quite festive at the same time.
“A really big trend in Australia at the moment is rosé, and it has come a really long way from what it was 10 or 15 years ago where it was quite pink and sweet.
“Dry, fresh-style rosés are really popular and also quite delicious and that wine can take you from something like prawns and Aussie seafood to salami and dips.
Main: “Then you can evolve to something to complement your roasted meats.
“I think a really nice, medium weight red that’s got beautiful, juicy fruit kind of characters in it that has some freshness but body to handle those Christmas meats and sides is perfect.
“Some varieties that work really well medium-weight are things like tempranillo, nero d’avola and pinot noir.
“If it’s really hot, it’s totally fine and recommended to pop your wine in the fridge because again it’s going to have that fresh influence on your meal.”
Vegetarian: “If you’re having prosecco to start with, that can carry through to things like roasted cauliflower as well.
“Otherwise a really fresh, aromatic white is really nice as well and goes with a lot of flavours that Australians are now cooking with like Middle-Eastern and South-east Asian.
“So a nice option would be a riesling because its fresh and dry.”
Dessert: “Pudding is obviously very rich, with dried fruit and concentrated flavours, often cooked with alcohol in the pudding as well.
“We would go down the dessert wine path for that and it can be a red or white dessert wine – something that is going to be complementing those richer, fruitier Christmas spices like cinnamon and clove.
“If you’re having a fresher dessert, moscato has fresh, fruity flavours that pair really well with things like pavlova that has beautiful tropical fruit and berries.
“And this can also be applied to Christmas morning.
“Everyone likes to start with a sparkling wine, like a beautiful champagne or prosecco, but it’s pretty early to be having a fuller, higher alcohol kind of wine.
“Most moscatos are about five or six per cent alcohol and have a bit of spritz to them, so you can have a glass and it’s really refreshing, especially if people are having fresh fruit platters or panettone.”
Luxury: “I think there is always a place in the moment of celebration for champagne and obviously proper champagne comes from France, from the region of Champagne.
“But Australia is becoming really well-known for really high-end, quality sparkling wine as well. So it could be recommended to seek out a Tasmanian-made one to support the Aussies, but also have that really celebratory, lashing-out feeling as well.”
Tim Reivers – Chaffey Bar & Restaurant
“Christmas is a busy time of year being in the hospitality industry, so I like to spend Christmas at home with the family,” Tim says.
Cooking style: Fresh, modern Australian cuisine with European influences.
Traditional: “I have Christmas lunch with my family and we enjoy a few traditions such as roast turkey and lots of seafood.
“It’s mainly about being together and enjoying some nice, simple food and a few drinks.”
Vegetarian: “There are many plant-based meat substitutes out there so vegetarians and vegans have the opportunity to enjoy these with all the rest of the trimmings with their family.”
Summer: “I grew up near the ocean so I’d include lots of fresh seafood like prawns, crayfish, calamari and oysters.
“The star of the meal would be a whole, cooked fish with lemon and garlic, topped with a zesty salsa verde.”
Alternate take: “Everyone’s definition of what makes a perfect Christmas meal is different, but so long as you are eating what you enjoy and spending it with the people who are important to you then I think Christmas lunches are perfect the way they are.
“Fresh seafood is definitely essential for a summer Christmas, though.”
Dessert: “I like a traditional Christmas pudding,” he says.
“My mum used to make one every year, soaking the fruit for months in advance.
“On Christmas Day we would all get a slice with a sixpence or threepence in it. It’s an old English tradition for luck.”
