Christmas cooking tips: MasterChef semi-finalist Anastasia Brown shares her secrets

We’ve spoken to Masterchef The Professionals semifinalist and top cook Anastasia Brown - who has shared her top Christmas cooking tips with us.

If you’ve ever been in charge of cooking Christmas dinner, you’ll know it can be a job that comes with its fair share of expectations.

From timings to techniques there can be a lot to keep on top of.

Luckily LondonWorld is here to help this Chrsitmas.

We’ve spoken to Masterchef The Professionals semifinalist and top cook Anastasia Brown - who has shared her top Christmas cooking tips with us.

Her own Christmas dinner is “traditional”, she said, featuring a turkey with all the trimmings, pigs in blankets, chestnuts and red cabbage, followed by a Christmas pudding and Yule log.

Anastasia Brown. Photo: LondonWorld
Anastasia Brown. Photo: LondonWorld
Anastasia Brown. Photo: LondonWorld

And Brown, who trained at the Leiths School of Food and Wine, in London, shared some of her advice on making the meal prep as stress-free as possible.

Top Christmas cooking tips

  • Make your gravy ahead of time;
  • Put butter under your chicken skin;
  • Prep beforehand, such as pre blanching your veg;
  • And make sure you’ve got a good knife for carving the turkey.

Keeping costs down

  • Make your own pigs in blankets from chipolatas cut in three;
  • Use the very cheapest wine you can find for gravy;
  • And shop at market stalls for your fruit and veg so you can get the exact amount you need.