How Chefs Celebrate the Holidays

At the holidays, chefs and celebrities are just like the rest of us — albeit with a little more pressure on them. These celebrations are so often steeped in personal nostalgia or the expectation of "perfection" that it can seem like an impossible task to make everyone happy. But over the past four and a half decades, Food & Wine has been in the business of chatting with culinary and entertaining mavens, tastemakers, and even in one case, an A-list gorilla. They shared the tips, tricks, and personal touches that make the season shiny and bright for them.

Here are a few of our favorite pieces of holiday entertaining advice, recipes, and nostalgia from expert merrymakers like Julia Child, Jacques Pépin, Carla Hall, Common, Andy Warhol, Nadine and René Rezepi, Koko (yes, the gorilla), and others.

1979 A Very Cajun Christmas With Paul Prudhomme

"I'm a Cajun from Opelousas, and the youngest of 13 children. Holiday dinners are very much a family occasion, with brothers, sisters, and their children numbering from 25 to 100 people. We start about 2 p.m. with a gumbo (made with chicken, smoked sausage, and brown roux) poured into bowls containing some rice, and potato salad. The men cook the meat, and we have at least two kinds — some sort of fowl, and perhaps pork étouffée. The wives prepare the vegetables: black-eyed peas cooked with tasso, baked eggplant stuffed with fresh crabmeat and oysters, and seasonal sweet white squash. We also have steamed rice with gravy, Idaho potatoes, and sweet potatoes. 

The women make the desserts — fig cake, pecan pie, pecan cake, and, for the children, custard with burned brown sugar sauce. We make most of our own spirits in Cajun country; we generally have homemade anisette before dinner, and, with it, a local muscadine wine, which is similar to rosé." — Paul Prudhomme, chef

1980 A Rule of Thumbs for Bert Greene

"In my lexicon, party comestibles are dubbed 'hoof food,' since the viands are, more often than not, wolfed down from a vertical position with plate at arm's length and napkin tucked into the closest breast pocket. Even if one should be lucky enough to find sitting space, consumption is hardly pleasurable if tableware must be delicately balanced at the knee. All of which gives rise to the primary rule of thumb for hosts-to-be: Never serve anything at a buffet that requires more than a fork — or fingers — to eat." — Bert Greene, cookbook author and food stylist

1984 It's a Long-Haul Holiday for Peter W. Prestcott

"There must be enough time to take a leisurely hot bath, dress and mix a very dry Martini in pleasant anticipation of the coming evening. Because the midnight hour is the focal point of [a New Year's Eve] celebration, I like to start the festivities at a later time than is usual for a dinner party. I find that if guests arrive around 9:30 or 10:00, the meal is usually coming to an end just as the clock begins its twelve-chime. creating a dramatic climax to the dinner." — Peter W. Prestcott, longtime Food & Wine entertaining editor

1985 Savor the Season With Julia Child

"Christmas is certainly time for a big self-indulgence, particularly for those like me, just over 29 years of age [note: Child was 73 at the time], who now have to watch every calorie. I vote for my own special Soufflé Malakoff, rich with chocolate, butter, whipped cream and hazelnuts. Normally, I would savor only one small spoonful, but Christmas is the time for two double helpings. Maybe I shall keep the rest just for myself and finish it two days before the New Year." — Julia Child, author and Food & Wine contributor

1985 Craig Claiborne Let the Good Times Roulade

"One of the dishes that invariably comes to mind at the year-end holidays was served to me more than a quarter of a century ago by a friend. It was a caviar roulade, a sort of fallen souffle, which was filled with a sour cream and cream cheese dressing, rolled up and cut into slices. Caviar was spooned on top, and with it we drank a bottle of well-chilled Champagne. It was a short while after Christmas, and she had dismantled the holiday tree, cut it into pieces, and with this she fueled the fireplace in the living room. I will never forget that combination of glowing flames, the good wood scent of burning pine, and that incredibly tender and blissful roulade." — Craig Claiborne, restaurant critic and food editor of the New York Times

1985 Koko the Gorilla Dreamt of Champagne, Andy Warhol Went Cuckoo for Coke, Liz Smith Was Jazzed About Giblets

"Koko, the gorilla whose comprehension of over 1,000 words in sign language helped her to capture the imagination of the American public. We asked Dr. Francine Patterson, Koko's teacher and author of the recently published book Koko's Kitten to sign the question to Koko for us.

'Champagne,' Koko responded, 'because it's like candy and Coke on my lips.' In other words, because it's sweet and bubbly. (Koko loves carbonated sodas, which are a forbidden treat, and she has been allowed sips of the real bubbly only twice in her life. She was offered a glass one New Year's Eve so she wouldn't feel left out of the festivities, and evidently it made a great impression on her. For her last birthday, she was told she could choose any special treat she wanted, and Koko, a woman after our own heart, selected Champagne.) 

Artist Andy Warhol, synonymous to many with the avant-garde, aligned himself in this instance with the traditional. 'I'd drink the old Coke from a can.'

Syndicated newspaper gossip columnist Liz Smith says, "My all-time favorite is the traditional Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner! It's all-American and nonpareil at the same time. I mean the whole bit — roast turkey, cornbread stuffing (sorry about that, but having been raised in the South I can't help it), cranberry sauce, giblet gravy, mashed potatoes, creamed turnips and onions, sweet potatoes with tacky little browned marshmallows on top and pumpkin and mincemeat pies with hard sauce. Nobody has ever improved on American know-how with musical theater and jazz, and nobody has ever improved on the art form of this perfect dinner." — from "Food Fantasies of the Rich and Famous" by Susan Wyler

1992 Larry Forgione Thinks Your Goose Is Cooked

"American cuisine has come a long way from hot dogs and hamburgers to the richness it shows today. I myself have tried to develop a style of cooking that shows off the bounty of the American harvest." He offers this pointer for making the goose or duck on his holiday table: ''Take your finger or a rubber spatula and loosen the skin (and fat) from the meat. After loosening the skin, plunge the bird, for no more than a minute, into boiling water with a little vinegar in it. Put the goose on a rack and let a fan blow on the skin to dry it. You'll have a much crisper bird." — Larry Forgione, chef

1993 Julia Child, Sticking to the Plan

"We alway start Christmas dinner with oysters, either an oyster stew or fresh on the half shell. For oyster eaters as well as abstainers, there are rounds of buttered pumpernickel with smoked salmon and nicely cut and easy-to-eat raw vegetables. We always have a few carrot sticks for health mavens, but no zucchini or cucumber — they too often remain untouched on the platter. Our friends really go for thin strips of red and orange bell pepper and tender hearts of celery. (The large, outer stalks of celery are reused in the soup, the sauce for the meal and the stuffing for the squash.)" — Julia Child

1995 Patrick Clark Had a Taste for Tradition

"In this household there is a must-taste rule, which applies even to the joyous throng of relatives and friends. Despite the fact that his kids — Preston, Aleia, Ashley, Brooke, and Cameron — are undaunted by even the most sophisticated foods, chef Patrick Clark is minimizing exotica today. 'I try to reach a broad spectrum of the family's taste,' he says, 'so for holidays, I stick to turkey. I'm allowed to add one extra dish every year, and this year it's standing rib roast of pork.' Center-cut racks of pork, to be exact, with a cider-and-pepper glaze. The accompanying chutney, a sensuous stew of dried figs steeped in port with tart apples and spices, is Clark's version of applesauce. Some applesauce." — from "Patrick Clark's Christmas Dinner: A Down-Home Menu from a Celebrated Chef" by Ellen Stern

1998 Daniel Boulud Gets Plum Foolish

"When Daniel Boulud visits his parents at Christmastime, the whole family pitches in to create multicourse mega-dinners. In the winter, appetites are hearty, especially those of the Boulud men, who rise early to hunt in the snow-dusted fields behind the old farmstead.

After dinner, there is always a well-fed and well-lubricated contingent who adjourn to the numerous couches and easy chairs for a nap. They soon sound like a choir of bullfrogs, and they cannot be stirred from slumber by a caterwauling infant or the most teasing teenager. The rest of the group gathers for a few hands of cards. Neighbors and relatives drop by throughout the evening, sometimes bearing a batch of homemade plum or pear liqueur." — from "Daniel's Homing Instincts" by Peter Kaminsky

2004 Jamie Oliver's Twist

"Make a list of everything you need to do. Get rid of the keys, the cookie jars, all the sweet, lovely family clutter, and put it in a cabinet so you have room to lay out your plates." — Jamie Oliver, chef and TV personality

2005 Jacques Pépin’s Food for Thawed

"When I was growing up in France, the only time I remember ever having goose was on Christmas Eve. For that reason, I always associate goose with other traditional holiday foods: chestnuts, oysters, foie gras, bûche de Noël and oranges. (Yes, oranges, which were a delicacy imported from North Africa only at Christmastime.) Goose is now sold year-round but about 75 percent is prepared during the holidays. You can buy fresh birds, but most of the geese at stores are (or were at one time) frozen. I've had wonderful luck cooking thawed geese, which are young and quite tender." — Jacques Pépin, chef and author

2007 Enjoy the Fruits of Jacques Pépin’s Labor

"Usually we finish our meals together at home with a wedge of cheese, or sometimes, a piece of fresh fruit. Dessert is what distinguishes these family meals from those we serve guests, which for most of the year generally include custards, tarts or fruit dishes. When the weather starts getting cooler, however, we serve richer desserts like pound cake, and as we approach Christmas, we like to make sweets that can do double duty as holiday gifts.

Sometimes, for instance, we serve our guests pound cake studded with orange, lemon or lime peels that we’ve candied in sugar syrup and rolled in granulated sugar; presented in decorative jars, these peels make wonderful presents. Other times we prepare pâtes de fruits, or fruit pastes rolled in crystallized sugar. These are very popular in France and a special treat during the holidays." — Jacques Pépin

2010 Scott Conant Pops the Pork

"If he wanted to, Scott Conant could lay claim to the iconic New England scene that occupies the American imagination — all floral aprons, chimney smoke against a vivid blue sky and American flags fluttering in the cold air. 'My great-great-great-great-great-grandfather Roger Conant founded Salem, Massachusetts,' he explains, then adds wryly, ‘It's been downhill ever since.' Conant grew up in Connecticut, 'on the border between Yankees and Red Sox territory — I was on the Yankees side,' but during the holidays, the family visited his father's relatives at their farm in Maine. 'It was very Norman Rockwell, with mincemeat pie.' Then they'd head back to Connecticut to his mother's family, the Varrones, who emigrated from Italy just before World War II. 'Christmas there meant Italian-American classics," Conant says. 'A huge antipasto plate with meats and cheeses, soup like stracciatella, homemade cavatelli — which they called macaroni — and of course, braised pork.'

This year, Conant's main course is a tribute to both his New England and Italian roots: a slow-cooked pork loin glazed with molasses (a New England staple) and balsamic vinegar. 'I am in a really porky mood,' Conant chuckles." — from "A New York Chef's Global Christmas Dinner" by Joshua David Stein

2011 Jean-Georges Vongerichten's fridge is UN-Believably Festive

"A peek inside Jean-Georges and Marja Vongerichten's refrigerator says a lot about who they are. Containers of her homemade kimchi ferment alongside beautiful French cheeses he brings home from his Manhattan restaurants. Containers of Korean hallabong juice (which tastes like extreme tangerines) are lined up next to bottles of rosé and sake. Gochujang is right next to Jean-Georges's chocolate stash.

The contents of the Vongerichtens' fridge grow exponentially before Christmas, when the couple prepares one of the best and most eclectic holiday dinners I've ever been to. Marja and Jean-Georges have been sharing a kitchen since they were married in 2004, and their holiday table always has a mix of Korean, French and American food — 'our UN meal,' Marja calls it. Dinner starts with a quiche-like bacon and cheddar tart, almost a meal on its own. The tart is a spin on Alsatian tarte flambé, a dish that Jean-Georges helped popularize years ago at Mercer Kitchen, one of his many New York City restaurants. The next course, a Korean seafood stew packed with lobster, clams and kimchi, is a complete contrast, and directly influenced by Marja's Korean heritage." — from "Marja and Jean-Georges Vongerichten's Holiday Menu" by Julia Turshen

2015 Carla Decks the Halls

"At Christmas, chef and TV personality Carla Hall is in charge of the dinner at her sister Kim's house in Maryland. 'As my gift to my family, I make everyone's favorite dish and teach them how to make it,' she says. 'I want to be sure my grandmas' recipes get passed on, so no more showing up just to eat — everyone's gotta work for it!' For Kim, that means preparing a potato-beet casserole with a Parmesan-cheese crust; for Hall's husband, Matthew, it's glazing ham in apple cider and spices. And for her myriad nieces and nephews, it's tangy pimento cheese." — from "A Soulful Southern Christmas" by Genevieve Ko

Get the Recipes

Pimiento Cheese with Salt-and-Pepper Butter Crackers

2 hrs 45 mins

Ombré Gratin with Potatoes and Root Vegetables

3 hrs

Carla Hall’s Spiced Cider–Glazed Ham

3 hrs

2016 Common Drops Knowledge

"Food is a big part of celebrating Christmas. Eggnog is one tradition I really enjoy. I've found some nondairy versions that are pretty good, especially spiked with a little liquor. My mother has learned to cook healthy food for me, but she also makes me her fried catfish. I know it's not the best for me, but I love it." — Common, rapper and actor

2016 Daniel Rose Brings the 'Pagne

"For chef Daniel Rose, New Year's is the night when he wants to join the fun and not be stuck in the kitchen the whole time. 'You've just come from Christmas with all its ceremony and its rules,' he says. 'New Year's has to be free-form.' Kids are allowed to stay up late, and guests, he feels, should come to the table when they please, if at all.

A New Year's done right, according to Rose, leaves its mark well into January. 'There have to be Champagne glasses left in places where you won't even find them for a week or two," he says. "That's how you'll really know you had a good time.'" — from "Ring in the New" by Howie Kahn

2016 Will Guidara Is Board, No Tears

"Put together a playlist and pay the extra few dollars so that the songs aren't interrupted by ads. Set the table; make it nice. People aren't coming over for a life-changing dining experience; they're coming to spend time with you. There's something beautifully connective about friendly competition. Don't be afraid to do this at home. Everyone has a stack of old board games somewhere. When you pull one out (not Monopoly) there will be groans. Once that game gets going, though, the fun will continue for hours. Trust me here! 

At [Guidara's former restaurant] Eleven Madison Park, every guest goes home with a jar of our housemade granola. It's a humble way to end a special meal, but, more importantly, it's a way to relive the experience the next day. Also, it's just nice to give someone a present. The best part of doing this at home is that it's unexpected. It could be anything: some freshly baked cookies, a copy of that evening's playlist, even a soigné doggie bag (you're not going to eat all of those leftovers anyway). Or feel free to steal the granola idea — it's a good one." — Will Guidara, restaurateur and author

2017 For René Redzepi, Holiday Hosting Is Noma Big Deal

"Few occasions at Nadine Levy Redzepi and Noma chef René Redzepi's can compare with their annual Christmas Eve celebration, when they host upwards of 20 guests at their home in the city's Christianshavn neighborhood. A 17th-century former blacksmith's workshop, the space features lots of rustic timber beams and a forge that's been repurposed as a kitchen fireplace — perfect for roasting an apple-and-prune–stuffed goose while truffled porchetta cooks in the oven.

By the time guests start arriving mid-afternoon, Champagne has been opened and tables are arrayed with snacks. 'We always have lots of smoked fish, cured fish eggs and fresh cheese that has been smoked in hay,' says Nadine, who likes to scoop salmon tartare onto her homemade potato chips ('my biggest weakness,' she admits). The kids get to open a few gifts, and then everyone sits down to enjoy the feast.  Accompanying the traditional goose and tradition-twisting porchetta are classic savory-sweet side dishes like caramel potatoes and braised red cabbage — which René spends days making — plus plentiful bottles of red Burgundy and Vin Jaune.

Afterward, the Danish custom of singing and dancing around the tree is usually supplanted by a lively gift-exchanging game involving lots of animated dice rolling that lets everyone work up an appetite for the rice pudding dessert. Not to be forgotten are the walnut crescent cookies — irresistibly crunchy and generously dusted with powdered sugar — a recipe Nadine picked up from an old friend of her mother's and has been enjoying since childhood. 'For me,' she says, sounding more than a little like a kid, 'these cookies are Christmas.'" — from "The Night Before Christmas" by Stephen Wallis

Get the Recipes

Walnut Crescents

50 mins

Pork Belly Porchetta with Truffles

2 hrs

Caramel Potatoes

1 hr