I LOVE this time of year in both my personal and work life – it’s a time for families and friends to get together and have a great time, usually over a culinary feast.

And for me, that’s the starting point of achieving the perfect Christmas dinner, to share and be with your loved ones.

This month I’m giving away some top tips to help you create the perfect Christmas dinner.

Despite its reputation for being a dry, bland meat, with turkey it is possible to achieve a combination of crispy skin and juicy meat accompanied by some very tasty trimmings – method is key.

My top tip would be to purchase ‘butter muslin’ which you soak in a bowl of melted butter, then drape it over a well seasoned turkey before cooking.

But remember, you shouldn’t cook your turkey and your potatoes together because the potatoes need to be crisp and the steam that the turkey gives off will make them soggy.

And a good roast turkey dinner wouldn’t be the same without a well flavoured gravy, and for something a bit more special add a few cheeky dashes of Madiera to liven it up – the rich honeyed flavour complements the turkey really well.

People always ask me about preparation to save time on the big day – most people don’t want to spend most of their Christmas stood over a cooker, missing out on present opening and games.

Working in a domestic kitchen means that often you’re limited to just four rings on your hob and two ovens – this can make it very difficult when trying to cook everything at once.

Try blanching all your vegetables about three days in advance and then drop into iced water to stop the cooking process.

Drain and dry with kitchen paper and put into the fridge under cling film.

On Christmas Day you can pan fry them so they'll taste really fresh.

When it comes to potatoes, once peeled, parboil them for about 10 minutes, shake them to roughen up the edges, and freeze them on a tray, spaced well apart.

Once frozen, they can be transferred into a plastic bag to save space.

But a Christmas dinner doesn’t always have to stick to the traditions – I know a lot of people prefer different types of meat or a fish dish as an alternative.

Liven up your stuffing by adding apricots and chestnuts, steering away from the old favourite of sage and onion.

Even changing Christmas pudding to mulled wine poached pear with white chocolate and crème fraiche mousse can really give your guests the wow factor.

Whatever you do this Christmas, have fun, enjoy cooking and be among friends and family.

Happy Christmas, all the best, Aiden Byrne