Cooking up a storm

From the turkey and the ham to the roast potatoes and gravy, Joe McNamee kicks off our Christmas food special, cooking up a traditional festive feast under the watchful eye of Darina Allen.

THROUGHOUT the year it seems there are always an inordinate amount of foodie futurists, game ball for a shot at the latest trend, no matter how outrageous or outré - from breast milk ice cream to body sushi, from garlic lollipops to edible dirt. (And, no, I didn’t make those up.)

But come Christmas, with the passing of each shorter, darker, colder day, that dormant craving for familiar old comfort blankets stirs within - old traditions are wheeled out and buffed up anew, none more so than the roast turkey.