Rachel Allen: 

"Planning really is crucial, just for an easy life. I always make a list two weeks before Christmas, and that makes me sound like a schoolteacher, but it helps so much. It doesn't matter if you've had a few sherries then. Think about the days after too - maybe make extra roast potatoes, so you can make tartiflette (roast potatoes with ham and melted cheeses) on Boxing Day. If you're making a ham, get one big enough so you can make a turkey and ham pie as well, or use other leftovers for a bubble and squeak. Do it all at once."

Jamie Oliver:

"Buy heavy stuff online and get it delivered a week before. Leave fresh stuff til the last minute, so shopping really late or early is a good idea - that way you can avoid the hordes of people at the supermarket. You can get so much done online. You can go direct to a farmer for geese or turkeys or even box schemes for fruit and veg."

Marco Pierre White:

"Don't forget to put white wine and fizz the fridge a couple of days before December 25 so it's lovely and chilled."

Gizzi Erskine:

"You want something to nibble on but when you’re at home you don’t want it to be so formal. What we like to do, which is really simple, is 'Devils On Horseback' - wrap some dates and/or prunes in bacon, alongside smoked cheese wrapped in smoked bacon on platters." 

Gordon Ramsay:

"Before cooking a turkey, mix lemon, parsley and garlic into a block of softened butter. With your hands, loosen the skin on the breast from both ends of the bird so that you'll be able to stuff the flavoured butter underneath it, making sure you keep the skin intact. Repeat with the legs. From the lower side of the breast, feel your way under the skin and out towards the leg, loosening the gap.

Stuff half the butter mix into the opened spaces under the skin. From the outside of the skin, massage the butter around the breasts so that the meat is evenly covered. Place the bird in a large roasting tray, breast side up. Spread the rest of the butter all over the skin. Season well with salt and pepper, drizzle with a little olive oil, then roast."

Jamie Oliver:

"I’d rather have two 6-8 kilo than a bigger one. The bigger they get the harder it is to cook them to perfection. Why make your life hard? It’s definitely a big tendency to buy a massive turkey. Also, if you want crisp skin and delicate, moist meat all the way through, you should stick to 6 kilos. It’s not that bigger ones can’t be great, it’s just that the science behind the cooking makes it tougher."

Heston Blumenthal:

"To get your turkey golden on the outside without it becoming dry, cook it longer than you normally would, at a lower ­temperature, 60°C or so. Then take it out, put the oven up to 250°C and put it back in. Really keep your eye on it though as the skin will crisp up very quickly. It depends on the size of the bird and the oven, but a 4kg (8.8lbs) turkey will take six to eight hours."

Angela Hartnett:

"Take your turkey out of the fridge the night before you cook it, and keep it in a cool place. The meat will be better if not cooked straight from chilled. Once you have cooked your turkey, don’t be scared to let it rest for a decent amount of time while you cook your potatoes and veg. The birds are large enough that they will retain heat and resting the meat will improve its tenderness."

Marco Pierre White:

"Sauce makes the dish. You're wasting your time cooking if you obliterate a plate of perfectly good flavours by drowning it in brown syrup. Don't ruin your roast, read up on how to make a great gravy or use my Rich Beef Gravy recipe for the ultimate result."

Nigella Lawson: 

"A huge tray of lasagna always is pretty festive. It's very basic, the sweet and the sharp ... there's the tangy sauce and then of course that incredible comforting smoothness of a lasagna." Find a recipe here. 

Jamie Oliver:

"For the ultimate roast potatoes you should get Maris Piper or King Edwards. Peel and cut them to just bigger than a golf ball. Most important is to parboil them ‘til nearly cooked in heavily salted water, til just undercooked. Drain, let them steam for five minutes, then give them a shake so the first layer gets crumbled and scratched up a bit, then get a nice big tray and put them in the oven. Measure your oven and get the biggest roasting trays possible.

"Buy two nice roasting trays as opposed to s**tty ones, which bend and kink and give bad heat. They’re not mega-expensive about 15 quid and you’ll have them for the rest of your life and they will make roasting potatoes better. I just spoon out fat from the turkey. It’s naughty but nice, or use olive oil."

Yotam Ottolenghi:

"My top tip is to roast your sprouts. Boiling just makes them lose too much flavour and go all mushy, so I put them in a roasting dish with salt, black pepper and olive oil, nice and simple. Cook them on a high heat for 20-30 minutes until tender but still with a bite. You'll never boil them again, I promise."

Nigella Lawson:

"Try undercooking sprouts, and tossing them in crisp pancetta cubes and buttered chestnuts, then splosh with marsala and carpet with parsley."

Rachel Khoo:

"Simplify things. People always think you have to have all the trimmings. It’s better to have one piece – a roast turkey or roast duck, and then roast potatoes and maybe two vegetables on the side. People always take too much on: less is more."

Lorraine Pascale:

"There is no need to cook everything from scratch... there are some things I buy ready-made with no shame whatsoever - things like pigs in blanket, easy to make at home, but still take up time. I buy cranberry sauce and then just add some orange zest or Cointreau at home. And with stuffing and canapés - if you buy the best ones you can afford and then scatter them with fresh herbs, no one will be any the wiser."

Raymond Blanc:

"My top three tips for making the perfect Christmas pudding are: use really good quality ingredients, make it in plenty of time so all the flavours really mature together and use plenty of good quality booze."

Nigella Lawson:

"Replace traditional Christmas pudding with a ­chocolate steam pudding. I have never met a child who likes Christmas pudding. Don’t be put off by ­having to steam another pudding. It’s easier than trying to find oven space, and what makes the chocolate pudding Christmassy is that it looks like traditional pud."

Rachel Allen:

"Mince pies can be made in advance and frozen, where they will keep for a couple of months. You can then bake them straight from frozen, they'll just take a little extra time to cook but you know then they are done when they're golden and crisp."

Angela Hartnett:

"As well as cold cuts, we make a salad with oranges, pomegranate and mint, and a red wine vinegar, olive oil and mustard dressing. It feels healthy after the indulgence of the day before, and is very tasty. I love oranges at this time of year."

Lorraine Pascale:

"We all love the turkey sandwich, and for me the perfect post christmas sarnie is a combo of turkey, goat’s cheese, bacon and cranberry sauce all toasted in a pan. Christmas flavours simply ooze out of this sandwich."