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Tommy Banks' five top tips for the perfect Christmas lunch
Published 18 December 2024

From parboiling potatoes on Christmas Eve to getting the rise right on the Yorkshires, Tommy Banks shares his tips for cooking Christmas dinner like a top chef.

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Tommy Banks is the owner of The Abbey Inn in Byland, North Yorkshire, winner of The Good Food Guide's 50 Best Sunday Roasts 2024.


⁠⁠What should you do to make the perfect Yorkshire pudding, ensuring it rises every time?

To make the perfect Yorkshire pudding batter, you need equal quantities of everything by volume not by weight, for example a cup full of eggs would need a cup full of flour and a cup full of milk and that will work perfectly every time.

Make sure you only add the salt just before you use the batter to ensure it doesn’t break down the eggs.

My trick is to preheat the tin so the fat inside gets really hot, but also I will turn the oven right up so it is on full blast just for the first five minutes of cooking which ensures the yorkshire puddings rise. Then I turn it down from about 220° to 160° for the rest of the cook so they get a gentle cook through but still get the initial rise.

⁠How should you cook meat at home to get the best results?

I think the most important thing to remember about cooking meat when you’re at home is the resting time, a lot of people don’t rest meat. But in order to get a really even cook and to ensure that a meat such as beef doesn’t bleed a lot, is to remember to rest the meat for as long as you have cooked it for.


Is there a method to getting the perfect gravy?

For making the gravy, you need to make sure you aren’t roasting the meat too high therefore you can add water to the bottom of the roasting tray and it won’t burn. But actually, buying some really good stock is the perfect base - I use TRUEfoods stock for my gravy at home.
How do you make the perfect crispy roast potatoes?

For perfect crispy roast potatoes, I like to par boil the potatoes the day before serving and leave them uncovered in the fridge - this means that they are nicely roughed up, can properly dry out and it's one less job to do on the day. I cook the potatoes in beef fat and make sure it is super hot before adding the tatties to the tray. The result is super crispy and delicious!

How can you elevate your Christmas dinner to make it more special than your regular Sunday roast?

I think when it comes to Christmas dinner it’s about adding elements you wouldn’t have on a typical Sunday, like pigs in blankets are just amazing! If you’re having turkey, I think bread sauce and stuffing work brilliantly.

Also, you have to go all out on desserts for a real celebration. I just don’t think one pudding is enough. A Christmas pudding absolutely should be served, but then there should also be something super decadent like a chocolate mousse or tiramisu. You want your guests to be having two desserts on Christmas!

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