Sabrina Ghayour would build her ideal Christmas meal around grilled fish and seafood. She favors tuna, swordfish, squid, prawns, lobster and langoustine cooked over charcoal with sauces ranging from aïoli to Thai and garlic butter. She needs no sides, only good fizz to wash it down.
Francesco Mattana serves li puligioni for his primo course, Sardinian mezzaluna ricotta ravioli with sweet tomato sauce. The filling blends savory and sweet notes with citrus and saffron. He and his mother make large batches together, though they rarely freeze any because everyone asks for seconds. He included the recipe in his cookbook, Eat Like a Sardinian: Live to 100.
Ping Coombes would construct a menu of memorable meals she has eaten. She'd start with garlicky steamed prawns and glass noodles from a seafood restaurant in Hong Kong. For the main, aged ex-dairy rib-eye cooked over an open fire with charred leeks, which she first ate at Casa Julian in Tolosa. She'd finish with baked alaska from the restaurant at her childhood swimming club in Malaysia, which her mother allowed her to order on special occasions after winning MasterChef.
Barney Desmazery would open with prawn cocktail, followed by Kelly Bronze turkey. He confits the legs and thighs and dry brines the crown for two days before roasting it to 65 degrees Celsius. He'd pair it with braised red cabbage and roasties, add cheese selected by Perry Wakeman from Rennet & Rind, and finish with profiteroles and hot chocolate sauce.
Maunika Gowardhan's dream meal draws from her childhood visits to old Delhi in the 1980s. She wants butter chicken from Aslam Chicken near Jama Masjid, a no-frills restaurant that adds cream, black salt, chaat masala and garam masala to its recipe. The chicken pieces cook over hot coals for a smoky flavor. She'd serve it with roomali roti and salad.
John Torode and Lisa Faulkner would include clams, the first dish Torode cooked for Faulkner. She ate them all before he sat down. Torode loves clams and spaghetti, and recalls eating bowls of clams daily in Spain with chips mixed in to absorb the juice. Faulkner would also want her mother's chicken tarragon.