Almost here...

By Paul Fulford on Dec 23, 08 05:20 PM

A mountain of spuds lurk in the cellar alongside many bottles of wine, a heap of sprouts lie in the fridge next to the cranberries and the free range turky will be delivered tonight by my supplier Simon.

This time in 48 hours, Christmas lunch will have been eaten and - fingers crossed - the 16 people who are invited will be full and happy.

Unlike previous years, I've had a dry run - namely when I cooked a full Christmas dinner for an edition of the Central telly programme Real Cooks screened last Thursday (a trailer is available on this website's video section and on You Tube for anyone interested).

I learned a lot while making the show so I'm quietly optimistic that Christmas Day's meal is a success.

I hope your feast is, too. Have a great Christmas.