Gordon Ramsay has explained why 5pm is the optimum time to enjoy one of the best meals of the year: Christmas dinner.
There's a large divide across the UK about what exactly 'dinner' refers to - for some it means the meal in the middle of the day, while for others it's the large evening meal and 'tea' is nothing more than a beloved hot beverage.
When Christmas Day rolls around, though, all of those arguments go out the window.
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I'm pretty sure no one has 'Christmas tea' - unless you do mean the hot beverage. Instead, the turkey, roast potatoes, pigs in blankets and sprouts come together to form the immense 'Christmas dinner', which can begin basically any time after 12pm and continue long into the night.
Some eat at 2pm and allow the abundance of food to see them through the remaining hours of the day, while others make it a real dinner (or tea) by having it as their evening meal.
Everyone has their own preference but as a renowned chef, Ramsay does have a bit of authority on the subject and he believes Christmas dinner should be eaten at 5pm.
Drawing on his own experience celebrating Christmas with five children, Ramsay explained: "We’re such a big family, everyone stresses out about that time. You can’t eat that lunch too early.”
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“When I hear about people eating at one o’clock... you do not want to eat that much food at 1pm," the chef continued, per Wise Living Magazine.
"And the pressure – do you have any idea what you’ve got to do before?!”
By scheduling the big meal for the late afternoon, Ramsay explained that his family have time to lie in bed in the morning - evidently they're good at resisting getting up to see whether Santa made an appearance in the night - before opening up their stockings.
He said: "Then we’ll have scrambled egg, a little bit of smoked salmon as a treat, fresh croissant, bread or toast – a really nice, relaxed breakfast, and then we’ll focus on Christmas dinner around 5 o’clock.”
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The 5pm dinner allows the family time to 'get out and do a walk before, go in the back garden do an activity', with Ramsay adding: "And so you look forward to this lunch/dinner, and you eat slower, and you enjoy it better."
My only argument against Ramsay's recommendation is that if you eat at 5pm, you'd surely be far too full to enjoy a bit of chocolate log, Christmas cake or (/and) some cheese and crackers later in the evening - and they're just as important as the dinner itself, if you ask me.
Topics: Christmas, Food And Drink, Gordon Ramsay
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Emily Brown