Have yourself a ‘tasty’ little Christmas... pick up our special WoW! supplement tomorrow

OUR WOW! Christmas Food special is back again this year - and it is bursting with lots of recipes, tips and advice, to have a tasty, affordable, hassle-free and sustainable Christmas dinner.

Out tomorrow, Wednesday November 29, we have some wonderful contributors this year - including food writer Kate Ryan, recently shortlisted for three awards in the Irish Food Writing Awards, for feature series she wrote for The Echo.

Our regular columnists Di Curtin of The Weekend Foodie, every Saturday and Mercy Fenton, who has a desserts page every Wednesday, also have contributions included.

They have all outshone themselves again this year, with some fantastic content that is sure to whet your appetite ahead of December 25.

We have you covered when it comes to starters, mains, sides and dessert.

Also, you won’t have to look any further than here if you want to pick the perfect Christmas gift for the foodie in your life... 

We have gone back to MTU again this year and asked some of their culinary students to put together starter recipes - and what a trio they have come up with. 

These are the future stars of Cork’s culinary scene. We have no doubt you will struggle to pick one of these starters, as they all look so good!

Also we have some leading women on Cork’s food scene providing us with recipes for our main courses on December 25 - from the doyenne of cooking, Darina Allen of Ballymaloe, to up and coming chef Nell McCarthy from West Cork, who works in Cashel Place in Tipperary.

We also have contributions from women working in the hospitality industry in Cork - Dorothy O’Tuama, of O’Tuama Tours, and Kela Hodgins of Dunowen House. They all featured in Kate Ryan’s WOW! Bites column during the year and are back with delicious recipes, from the traditional turkey, to a roast ham, a twist on spiced beef, and a lovely fish dish.

And we are not forgetting about the sides. Kate Ryan went back to some more of the women who featured in WOW! Bites, for some recipes. We have Meadhbh Halton of Meb’s Veg (formerly from Paradiso) and Niamh Hegarty of Niamh’s Larder - who both share some great veg dishes you can serve on the side.

Darina Allen also tells us about some super sauces that you should make for the special day.

Meanwhile, Cork-based chef Shauna Murphy - who was named Young Chef of the Year by Euro-Toques - tells us about the festive must-haves that she will be cooking up on Christmas Day - from sausage stuffing to roast potatoes and more. Shauna currently works at the Michelin star Terre restaurant in Castlemartyr.

A super feature this year, is a big interview with Cork Chef Ali Honour, on how to have a no food waste Christmas.

Did you know food waste at Christmas is 15 times higher than for any other celebration - that is a shocking figure really when you think about it. We should all do our bit to minimise food waste as much as possible, all year around - but especially at Christmas time.

“Bad planning and human error contribute to much of this food waste,” explains Ali in her big interview.

She’s even made it super-easy for us and put together a shopping list for you to cut out all the waste - good for the environment and good for your pocket.

Also on the same page, we have a feature on how your air fryer might take some pressure off on Christmas day, save you some space on your cooker top, and make way for some more pots! Some great tips there too, from another Michelin chef.

Meanwhile, Kate Ryan has done a great job on making some suggestions on what to buy the foodie in your life this year. There’s something in her gift guide for everyone - wonderful, unique ideas, that are sure to bring a smile to your loved one, or friend.

From sea salt subscriptions, to a brewery tour, Christmas at a top resort, beautiful crafted kitchen items and her top four picks of hampers - and much more - all available here in Cork and beyond.

We have also dipped into our archive to find some delicious desserts to round off your dinner. Mercy Fenton, a columnist in The Echo for many years, shares two recipes - one for chocolate lovers and one for meringue lovers. We love the meringue Christmas tree - I am sure children in the family would have great fun trying to put all of that together!

Christmas puddings are not for everyone, so Kate Ryan has spoken to a trio of women, who all offer something different in their various businesses - alternatives to puddings.

Staying with all things alternative - Kate also suggests some Christmas wines: these are not just any wines though, they are Irish wines. I see some people scratching their heads here... but these are not your traditional wine made with grapes.

Di Curtin, who files a regular column in The Echo, The Weekend Foodie, every Saturday, shares some drinks options for Christmas Day. Not only does she advise on what you need to pop in your drinks cabinet, where to get them and how much they will cost, but she also shares some wonderful cocktail recipes.

Last, but by no means least, Kate Ryan gives us some easy peasy party nibbles we can whip up in no time, that are so delicious they are sure to impress and give the idea to our guests that we’ve been slaving all day in the kitchen. There’s a big local focus on producers here - something which many of our contributors have concentrated on this year. Pick some of the suggestions and you are sure to be the hostess with the mostest!

All the recipes and ideas will be going online in the days and weeks ahead on EchoLive.ie

There are also recipes there from years past, just search under ‘Christmas Food’ or ‘Christmas Recipes’ in the search bar.