Jamie's Cook-Ahead Christmas: Best TV Tonight
Jamie's Cook-Ahead Christmas is a brand new two-part special, starting tonight at 8pm on Channel 4.
Jamie Oliver presents the Christmas 2025 culinary countdown designed to help us stay organised and enjoy the most stress-free festive feast ever. No home cook will be left stuck in the kitchen while the celebrations unfold — Jamie guides us through clever make-ahead dishes to prepare in the weeks leading up to the big day, the ultimate gift to ourselves and our loved ones.
In this episode, he reveals indulgently festive mains, sides and sauces that can be prepared well in advance, with the freezer becoming our greatest ally. He starts with a super-versatile gravy that begins completely vegan and gluten-free, ensuring it’s ready for any guest; bursting with flavour, it can be served as is or enriched with turkey juices on Christmas Day. Keeping flexibility front and centre, Jamie also shares a do-ahead stuffing — adaptable for meat-lovers or vegetarians — that can be frozen until it’s time to unwrap the festivities.
He then shows how to prepare a selection of flavoured butters to give vegetables an effortless upgrade: a fresh parsley, watercress and fiery horseradish butter to melt over steamed greens, and a zesty Prosecco, orange and cumin butter to bring carrots to life. For a show-stopping side to rival the turkey, Jamie creates a stunning potato and fennel al forno that can either be frozen as a ready-to-bake dish or transformed into a spectacular vegetarian centrepiece by wrapping it in short walnut pastry.
Finally, he sprinkles in some Christmas magic with an easy homemade ice cream that can be turned into a beautiful Arctic Roll — a dessert so irresistible even Santa would come back for seconds.
Recipes from Jamie's Cook-Ahead Christmas
Subscribe for more TV recommendations: