Cooking Christmas dinner away from home might sound daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. In fact, with a little planning, preparing a festive feast in a farmhouse kitchen can become one of the highlights of your holiday.
Whether you’re faced with a modern gas-fired range cooker after only ever using an induction hob, a traditional AGA with seemingly no heat controls, or a rustic kitchen that’s less than well-equipped, these tips will help everything run smoothly, leaving you plenty of time to enjoy the day with family and friends.
Every holiday cottage is different, so before your stay, ask your host whether they have an inventory of the kitchen equipment and utensils provided.
Then, if you’ve already decided what you’re cooking on the big day, work through each recipe and check that you’ll have everything you need. If something is missing, you’ll have time to plan ahead or bring it with you.
You may also want to ask your host some specific questions such as
How large is the main oven?
Is there an AGA or range cooker?
Does the oven run hot?
Is there a microwave?
Is there an air fryer or slow cooker?
How many saucepans and roasting tins are provided?
Is there a food processor or hand blender?
How large is the fridge?
Does the freezer have enough space for more than just a few essentials?
Knowing exactly what you’re working with means there shouldn’t be any unwelcome surprises on Christmas morning.
On holiday, the last thing anyone wants is to spend Christmas Eve queuing at the supermarket. And when you’re staying on a farm, not only could the nearest supermarket be several miles away, but the local shop where you’d normally pick up those last-minute bits could also be just as far away, or have much shorter opening hours than you’re used to. Plus you don’t have any friendly neighbours to call upon or well-stocked cupboards to get creative with. So it pays to plan ahead.
If possible, arrange for a supermarket delivery to arrive at your holiday cottage shortly after you do. Most rural areas are now covered by supermarket delivery services, and your host should be able to provide any specific instructions needed to make sure your order reaches you.
Better still, find out whether a local farm shop or butcher offers a click-and-collect service. It’s a great way to support local producers while ensuring your turkey is not substituted for a chicken. You may even discover some delicious local specialities while collecting your food, perfect for adding a little extra flavour to your Christmas table.
Just remember, order your bird after you’ve established the size of the oven to ensure it will fit comfortably.
Every cook has a few kitchen essentials they always reach for, and if you’ve already planned your menu and worked through your recipes, you should have a good idea of what you’ll need and what to bring from home.
There’s no need to pack the kitchen sink, but a few small, familiar tools can make a big difference when you’re cooking in an unfamiliar space. Consider packing:
Your favourite carving knife
A really sharp kitchen knife
A corkscrew
A fine grater or zester
A vegetable peeler you know works well
A meat thermometer
A really good spatula
Kitchen scissors that are sharp enough to cut more than butter
Oven gloves
Ice cube trays
These little items take up very little room in your luggage, but can save you the frustration of trying to make do with a blunt knife or a tea towel as an oven glove.
Again, a small box of kitchen essentials won’t take up a lot of packing space but could save the day on Christmas morning.
Think about bringing:
Extra baking parchment
Cling film
Turkey foil
Freezer bags
Food clips
Disposable foil trays are also incredibly useful, and the cheap ones you can pick up from the pound shop are perfect. They weigh practically nothing, take up very little room, and can be used for all sorts of things such as roasting vegetables, holding cooked food while you finish everything else, storing and heating leftovers, and even serving nuts, crisps, or biscuits. They’re particularly useful when the kitchen doesn’t have enough cookware or serving dishes for a crowd.
You may also want to bring a supply of paper plates, cups, and napkins just in case.
If you’re only arriving at your farm stay on Christmas Eve, or you’re planning to eat out for most of your holiday, Christmas dinner may be the first meal you cook in the kitchen. So, beforehand, take a little time to get to know the oven.
Turn it on, open the doors, and familiarise yourself with the layout of the shelves. If it’s an AGA, work out which oven is which and what each one is best suited to. Double check that your roasting tin and turkey will fit. Locate the grill and give the hob controls a twist.
If you’ve already cooked a few meals, you’ll have a head start. Make a mental note of how quickly the hobs respond to temperature changes, whether there are any areas of the oven that cook more quickly than others, and what all the different settings do.
Christmas dinner only comes around once a year, so even experienced cooks forget the odd detail, and in an unfamiliar kitchen you won’t have your favourite recipe books to hand.
Print or scan the recipes you’re going to cook or save them offline before you travel. Mobile signal can be unreliable in rural areas, and it’s much easier to glance at a recipe than trying to remember exactly when the stuffing should go into the oven.
It’s also worth making a simple Christmas Day cooking schedule before you leave. Work backwards from the time you want to eat and note down when each dish needs to be prepared, cooked, and served. This can be particularly helpful when you’re working with an unfamiliar oven, limited oven space, or an AGA, where cooking times and temperatures may be very different from what you’re used to at home.
Christmas Day becomes much more relaxed if some of the preparation has already been done. When you’re cooking in an unfamiliar kitchen, reducing the number of jobs you need to tackle on the day also means less pressure on the oven, hob, and limited workspace.
Where possible, prepare anything that can be made ahead before you travel. Sauces can be made in advance and frozen, while Christmas cakes, puddings, and desserts can all be prepared at home. You could even make your stuffing and pigs in blankets ahead of time, depending on your recipes.
Once you arrive, use Christmas Eve to get as much of the remaining prep done as possible:
Peel and chop the potatoes and vegetables, storing them correctly until needed.
Prepare the stuffing and keep it chilled.
Assemble any dishes that can be cooked or reheated the following day.
Make sure serving dishes, utensils, and glasses are clean and ready to use.
Get the table set, or at least lay out everything you’ll need.
Take anything you’ve prepared ahead out of the freezer in plenty of time to defrost safely.
The more you can do in advance, the more time you’ll have to enjoy Christmas morning, chat with family and friends, and actually be part of the celebrations, rather than spending the whole day rushing between chopping boards, saucepans, and the oven.
Christmas dinner can be challenging enough in your own kitchen, so attempting it in a kitchen you’ve never used before can feel like a daunting prospect.
And if, despite all your careful planning, the potatoes are ready before the turkey, the oven has other ideas, and someone realises you’ve forgotten the cranberry sauce, don’t panic. If Christmas dinner starts to feel like more trouble than it’s worth, put a Camembert in the oven, open the mulled wine, and gather everyone around the table with plenty of warm, crusty bread.
Christmas isn’t ruined: you’ve simply changed the menu.
Browse our collection of holiday cottages on working farms that will all be decorated for Christmas. Or if you think you’re up for a challenge why not choose a farm stay with an AGA?
