Christmas is a magical time of the
year. Streets are brought to life with eager shoppers buying gifts
for loved ones, being illuminated by the beautifully lit festive
decorations. Homes feel cosier, even in the freezing temperatures as
the warm glow of fairy lights from the Christmas tree echo around the
living room.
But the most important part of this
tradition is the mouthwatering palette of delicious food served with
family and friends on Christmas day. Weather you prefer the
traditionally served turkey and ham, or the many vegetarian options,
Christmas dinner is something to marvel at. So what is it that makes
Christmas dinner so special?
“Tradition”, says Jill Barrett, who
regularly cooks a festive feast for her extended family. “One of my
favourite things to do is to have people around the table, family and
friends chatting and having a good time.” She continues, “We live
busy lives, we tend to eat by ourselves or go out to dinner.
Everybody's rushing around so its a really nice tradition to have
everyone sitting down and having the craic around the table.”
Christmas dinner is a nice time to
relax and enjoy some company, but for many it can be a hectic time of
the year. Jas Samra, who runs The Roost restaurant in Maynooth is
understandably frustrated when it comes to Christmas dinner. “Because
I work in the cooking industry, I hate cooking at home. I work right
up until Christmas Eve, then right into Christmas dinner. Its like
being back at work.” However she does share Jill's sentiment, “I
do enjoy the whole family being together, its not as stressful as
work, its more laid back.”
Jas who hails from India recounts, “I
had more or less a strict upbringing, we weren't allowed any friends
over for dinner, just immediate family.” Now however, her table is
packed to the brim on Christmas with up to 19 people feasting on some
delicious food, in which there's always enough left over for dinner
on Stephens Day. “There's usually plenty, you never know who could
turn up”.
As for the meal itself, Jill and Jas
both tackle the task with different approaches. Jill is more of a
traditionalist, “I would start with a melon or salmon with cream
cheese, then a turkey with all the trimmings and for dessert, plum
puddings and mince pies.”
Jas was brought up vegetarian by her
mother. She recalls that, “it was always vegetarian food, she
didn't allow meat into the house.” After growing up, half her
family converted to meat while the other half are still vegetarian.
This can prove to be challenging when it comes to serving Christmas
dinner, “Christmas day is always difficult because half our family
is vegetarian, we not only have the traditional turkey and ham in the
works, but we need to have a vegetarian dish or two as well.” These
dishes include, “Chapatis and curries, and on top of that there
will always be the vegetarian chicken, sausages or burgers, because
its not only the adults that are vegetarian, some of the children are
as well.”
The task at hand can be a challenging
one especially if there are 19 people lining the dinner table.
However for Jas and her great experience in the cooking industry, it
isn't really a difficulty in making the meal itself, “With me, its
nearly mechanical. You know what to do and you just get on with it.”
Its also a help being in charge of your own restaurant, “I get some
menial tasks done in The Roost when I'm working. So on Christmas Eve,
I'll have the vegetables ready, I just have to put heat on the next
day and finish it off.”
Weather the food is traditional or not,
it is the tradition of celebrating Christmas dinner with friends and
family that makes it so special.
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