Gordan Ramsay has revealed how he will be spending Christmas this year, revealing he’ll be forgoing the traditional turkey dish and his step-by=step guide to serving dinner for 25.
The celebrity chef, 58, has a big year ahead of him with three new restaurants set to open, as well as a cookery school and central London sky bar – though he is hoping his Christmas will be a laidback ‘no rush’ affair.
Speaking with The Times, the Kitchen Nightmares star explained that he would be spending the day with family in their southwest London home.
Though the Ramsay Christmas meal might look different to many others in the UK, with the chef revealing he will be sitting down with a whopping 24 others and will skip the turkey lunch for an evening beef wellington.
The Ramsay west London home will play host to all their children, who, after a three year refurbishment are reportedly keen to move back in to the family home.
He even said that his four eldest children had put their apartments up for rent’ to return to the Ramsay nest.
Filling up the huge 25 person table, will be the partners of Gordon’s eldest children, with Holly’s fiancé, Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty, set to join in on the festivities.
Attending the turkey-free Christmas will be his wife Tana, 50 (second left), and their six children, Megan, 26, twins Holly (second to Gordon) and Jack, 24, Matilda, 23, (right) Oscar, 5, (with Tana) and Jesse, one
Gordan Ramsay (left) has revealed how he will be spending Christmas this year, sharing his itinerary as well as some quirky food swaps for the big meal
Bringing in the big day, the Ramsay’s will host an even bigger, 300 person soiree at Gordon’s Bread Street kitchen restaurant, on Christmas Eve.
As the sun comes on on Christmas Day, Gordon said he will inevitably by his second youngest child, Oscar, will be ‘bouncing’ on the bed at 6am.
‘So we’ll go downstairs together and do presents for the boys. I never like to rush Christmas Day. For us it is all about enjoying the day and not stressing out,’ he said.
The Christmas meal will have been meticulously planned in advance, with each family member taking on a dish each.
He said: ‘The rule for a happy Christmas is delegate, delegate, delegate. Everybody will muck in. Meg and Tilly love their vegetables so they’re brilliant on veg prep. Holly takes care of decorations and Jack’s obsessed with cooking meat. He does it brilliantly.’
A controversial take, Gordon revealed they will be skipping out on the traditional turkey centre piece, instead opting for a beef wellington – a decision he admitted would make his mother ‘furious’.
But their 25 guests will have a while to wait before they can sink their teeth into the famous Ramsay wellington.
The first meal of the day will be a laid back 11am brunch with scrambled eggs, smoked salmon topped with truffle shavings.
The family will then sit down for ‘at least 30 minutes,’ sinking two a couple of glasses of champagne or buck’s fizz.
Though the Ramsay Christmas meal might look different to many others in the UK, with the chef revealing he will be sitting down with a whopping 24 others and will skip the turkey lunch for an evening beef wellington
Filling up the huge 25 person table, will be the partners of Gordon’s eldest children, with Holly’s fiancé, Olympic swimmer Adam Peaty , set to join in on the festivities
Doing everything to ‘stretch the day out’, the Ramsay’s don’t then eat the big Christmas dinner until 5:30pm in the evening.
Their late dinner is a controversial choice for many Brits, who typically settle down to enjoy their meal between 1-3pm, with the King’s Christmas Day speech airing at 3pm.
The family will continue to celebrate until New Year’s Eve, when they will celebrate the birthday’s of twins, Holly and Jack, who will turn 25 this year.
Gordon and wife, Tana, will then head to Cornwall with their youngest son’s to relax by the sea.
Offering his culinary advice on how to spread the festive meals throughout the day, the chef said he avoids trying ‘to cram too many meals and too much food into one day’.
For their starter, the Ramsay’s will dig into a vibrant starter of fresh figs, beetroot and ham, doused in balsamic vinegar and olive oil, which will be spread across the table for people to help themselves.
Suggesting festive treats to indulge in on the day, Gordon suggested batch roasting a tray of mixed nuts with cayenne pepper and smoked paprika.
He also recommended roasting rather than boiling sprouts – the most divisive of festive trimmings – and sprucing up bread sauce recipes with a dollop of clotted cream.
Defying tradition again, Gordon also recommended ditching the Christmas pudding and instead indulging in a chocolate bombe, made at home using a supermarket bought swiss roll and a jar cherries in kirsch-flavoured syrup.
Gordon shared that his favourite tipple on the day is a glass of champagne, prefacing that by insisting he doesn’t like to ‘over do it’ and wake up to find Oscar has drawn whiskers on his face.
Finally, the hailed celebrity chef insisted that nothing is ever thrown away, with all of them tucking into a plate of leftovers with cold meats, piccalilli and salad, the next day.