Jimmy's Christmas Dinner

21 November 2011

TX: Monday 12th December, 9pm, Channel 4

 

Our Christmas dinner feels like it's been around forever, but in fact much of it is a surprisingly recent invention. In this one-hour programme, Jimmy Doherty goes on a personal journey to discover where the food on our Christmas plate historically comes from and how it has evolved in the age of mass production. 

To find out, Jimmy has spent months growing and making his own traditional dinner from scratch; all to discover if it tastes better than the modern turkey and trimmings provided by the giant supermarket farms and factories that go into overdrive to feed millions at Christmas. 

Jimmy's Christmas Dinner is a real labour of love and probably the most time consuming and expensive ever eaten.  How will it really compare to the same menu plucked from the aisles in a matter of minutes? 

What will happen when his traditionally reared, leggy free-range turkey goes head-to-head with the fatter, fast-growing supermarket best seller?

Jimmy's 1845 original recipe for Christmas pudding with silver trinkets and cow stomach may have matured for months before being served, but will it taste better than a microwaveable modern pud?  And can he nurse his knobbly heritage variety vegetables (potatoes, sprouts and carrots) through the attentions of numerous farm pests just to compete with their washed, graded, uniform and packaged modern counterparts from the supermarkets?

It's daunting enough cooking one Christmas dinner, but Jimmy's juggling two in this ambitious, noble and experimental festive cook-up.  Friends, family and the farmers who've helped him along the way gather for a festive feast that is spiced further by the not-so-helpful appearance of his best mate Jamie Oliver. Together they decide which one's better: the dinner we used to eat back in history...or today's familiar supermarket favourite.

Jimmy said: "I think that we've lost the real point of Christmas dinner - it should be a celebration of food and people historically have saved up to make it the most special meal of the year. The lunch traditionally was the main feature of the day, but in modern times a television programme, or a new presents in the form of the latest game, seem to be more the focus."

"This programme is a fun look at yesteryear Christmas dinner where recipes originated from.  People used to grow their Christmas dinner from scratch as opposed to buying it as we do now. So I look at the origins of potatoes and growing your Christmas turkey."

"There are many differences - but the main one must be that there was much more planning. You would go to your local butcher for your turkey - the slow growing variety rather than your supermarket and there was much more preparation. You'd be up at 5am in the morning to start working on the meal. Pre-World War II, people would grow a goose in the back garden for Christmas. The goose was always seen as the poor man's bird - turkey was the exotic choice. Now turkey and goose have swapped position."

"I've known Jamie for years - we grew up together and who better to ask? The two meals I was preparing were being judged by friends, family and the farmers who helped me throughout the making of the programme.  As well as being my best mate, a friend of the family and Molly's godmother, I thought it would be quite interesting that the idea of him being a chef would be a good judge of my results. Jamie in particular was in and out of the kitchen - he couldn't resist putting his ‘two-penneth' in - which in fact worked out quite well as he ended up helping me with the gravy!"

Production company: Fresh One

Executive producer: David Wise

Series producer: Charlie Clay

Commissioning Editor: Nick Hornby