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For magical feasts

HARRY POTTER: OFFICIAL CHRISTMAS COOKBOOK by Elena Craig and Jody Revenson

The kids who grew up on a steady diet of Harry Potter are by now introducing their own kids to those books and movies. This book should slot nicely onto the shelf until it’s time to please both generations come Christmas dinner, with recipes modelled on dishes served at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, or otherwise inspired by the series. Many are magic-themed variations on British yuletide classics, from Professor Sprout’s Superior Sprouts to Christmas Figgy Pudding and the Great Hall Floating Candle Cake.

For fans of Dickens

CHARLES DICKENS’S A CHRISTMAS CAROL: A BOOK-TO-TABLE CLASSIC by Tisha Cherry and Vega Hernando

The beloved ghost story by the great Victorian novelist probably did more than any other cultural artefact to make the Christmas customs of that era permanent fixtures of the festive period. This edition combines the original text with recipes for roast turkey, pecan pie and other holiday favourites by chefs such as Ina Garten and Martha Stewart. Textile designers Cherry and Hernando add in special Dickens-themed tableaux: the face of Marley’s ghost sculpted in mashed potato, for example.

For the love of Scandinavia

SCANDIKITCHEN CHRISTMAS by Brontë Aurell

Relative proximity to the North Pole and an elf-heavy regional mythology tends to lend the Scandinavians greater authority than others in dictating what gets eaten over Christmas. London’s ScandiKitchen Café serves and sells produce from across Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Finland, with a goodly portion held in reserve for the darkest and jolliest days of midwinter. In-house chef Brontë Aurell compiles 60-plus festive recipes from the roof of the world: smörgåsbord, breads, biscuits, edible gifts and more.

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SELENA + CHEF: HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS

Having compounded her status as a superstar of streaming TV with her smash-hit crime comedy Only Murders in The Building and her HBO Max cooking show, Selena Gomez is now spinning off the latter into a four-episode seasonal special for the Food Network. The format remains simple, with our host inviting more professional chefs to share recipes, tips and amusing kitchen anecdotes from Christmases past, while the show’s custom of donating large sums to chefs’ charity of choice seems especially welcome in the season of goodwill.

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SEASON’S EATINGS

Since 2020, certified baker Greg Warren has created his own year-long countdown to Christmas with podcast episodes exploring the origins of particular festive dishes and snacks from various national and cultural traditions.

He’s very good on the arbitrary twists and turns of fate that have somehow made certain foods historically essential. Recent selections have ranged pretty far beyond the old familiar staples of England, the US and continental Europe to India’s Allahabadi cake and Icelandic laufabrauð flatbreads.

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