The Good Food guide to a last-minute Christmas feast
Has 2020 taken it out of you? No energy left to prepare a gourmet festive feast? You can still have a cracking Christmas by doing what you have done all year: finding the sneaky tips and tricks and ordering online.
Fake it like you kinda made it
Almost-ready meals by top chefs with the finishing touches by you...
A feast from Mr Wong (NSW)
Forget the turkey and embrace pork neck char siu instead. Along with that Chinese-style pork, the Mr Wong almost-ready feast (pictured) includes mixed dumplings, steamed barramundi with black bean, steamed lettuce, special fried rice and hazelnut tiramisu for dessert. Place your order before midnight on December 21 to receive on the 24th. merivaleathome.com
Atlas Masterclass box (Vic and NSW)
Chef Charlie Carrington has put together a Christmas edition masterclass. Start with Queensland prawns with mango relish and move onto smoked turkey with cranberry sauce, roast beef fillet, char-grilled broccolini and plenty more, with baked mince pies and vanilla ice-cream for dessert. Cut-off is December 19 with deliveries to your door on the 23rd. atlasmasterclass.com.au
Large groups saved by Chin Chin (Vic and NSW )
Chin Chin has created a saviour for large groups that includes lobster dumplings, prawn and crab net spring rolls, coconut poached chicken, whole twice-cooked duck, king salmon in banana leaf, wagyu beef brisket, heirloom tomatoes, roast pumpkin, and jelly mess with strawberry and champagne jelly, meringue and custard for dessert. There are even cocktail packs to add on if you want to get schmancy. Order cut-off Saturday, December 19, for delivery on the 24th. makemefeedme.com
Di Stasio at home with matched wine (Vic)
Recreate the Di Stasio vibe at home with an Italian-style banquet of slow-cooked lamb shoulder, arancini, seafood lasagne, roast vegetables and a dark chocolate mousse for dessert. Matched wines from Di Stasio's own vineyard. Place your order by December 23 for delivery on the 24th. providoor.com.au
Maha Festive Soufra (Vic)
This may be the easiest Christmas ever, thanks to Shane Delia and the Maha team. Their Middle-Eastern banquet includes kingfish sashimi, poached prawns, cured salmon, smoked trout, roast chook, Maha-style taramasalata, roast vegetables, chicken fat potatoes and a dark chocolate and peanut butter mousse for dessert. Last orders December 23 for delivery on the 24th. providoor.com.au
Almost Like YiaYias (Vic)
Go the full Greek this Christmas with Alex Xinis' (Hellenic Republic) Greek food delivery service. Choose two types of meat (roast lamb shoulder, honey mustard turkey or a whole Mediterranean-style snapper) and hook into the accompanying pita bread, taramasalata, saganaki, garlic prawns, roast eggplant, Greek salad and sweet walnut cake with vanilla custard for dessert. Last orders December 17. alyfood.com.au
Christmas breakfast and peace on earth
For all those Christmas grinches who would prefer to sleep in, but who will not turn their nose up at a baked good
Festive butter and crumpets from Pepe Saya and Crumpets by Merna (NSW)
Get the big day started right with a Christmas tree-shaped crumpet slathered in salted, cultured butter. Or go all out and order a slab of brandy butter and make a real time of it. Last call for delivery around Sydney is December 20. pepesaya.com.au
All Are Welcome for Christmas panettone
Is there anything better than a thick slice of panettone, toasted and buttered with a side of poached fruit for Christmas breakfast? No. No there is not. Especially if it's from Northcote bakery All Are Welcome. Festive bakery treats, including their mince pies and rhubarb jam, are available for pick up all the way up to Christmas Eve, but remember – orders close at 3pm on December 21. all-are-welcome.com
Bourke Street Bakery's fruit mince tarts and gingerbread people (NSW)
Cut off for orders is December 20 and, while they don't deliver, there are stores all over Sydney for pick up, which means you can also grab a lamb and harissa sausage roll for the trip home. bourkestreetbakery.com.au
Keep that oven off
It's summer in the Southern Hemisphere. Be sensible and keep it chill
A Stokehouse seafood platter delivered straight to your door (Vic)
Take Christmas Day stratospheric with a seafood platter from Clamms seafood and Stokehouse. The platter for two – packed with oysters, half a marron, a prawn cocktail with all the fixings, ocean trout tartare crumpets and smoked mussels – is $110 but extra serves can be bought for $60 for minimum prep and maximum effect. And they're delivering right up 'til Christmas Eve. stokehouse.com.au
Sydney Fish Market to your door (NSW)
If the idea of visiting the Sydney Fish Market during the Christmas period fills you with the festive horrors, help is at hand. Many of the vendors such as Claudio's are offering home delivery (cut off is December 22). Cooked lobsters for lobster rolls! Prawns without the queue! What a world! sydneyfishmarket.com.au
Oysters and champagne and damn the expense (Vic and NSW)
Look. You're not going skiing in Aspen this Christmas, so why not take what you've saved and treat yourself to a feast of Wallis Lake oysters and Dom Perignon from East 33 (pictured)? The oysters come unshucked, along with a complimentary shucking knife – there's nothing quite like skilling up at Christmas. east33.sydney
A show-stopping mezze platter under $50 (NSW)
Kepos Street Kitchen has taken the trouble out of snacking with a mezze platter packed with hummus, eggplant dip, zucchini tzatziki, labne zaatar, crisp pita, olives, pickles and crudites for $45. Love their work and hate making dessert? Buy their baked meringue cake for an extra $80, and then make someone else do the main course. All orders are pick-up only, with last call at 5pm on December 18. keposstreetkitchen.com.au
The Otto summer snack pack (NSW)
Want to capture the vibes of this jewel of the Woolloomooloo Finger Wharf? Order the summer antipasti pack with Otto's own house-marinated olives and grissini, plus hunks of good parmesan and ribbons of silky prosciutto. Last orders December 23. ottoristorante.com.au
Level up your Christmas game exponentially
Big ticket items for ticket players
A whole suckling pig from Vic's Meat Market, delivered (Vic and NSW)
Imagine being the legend who provides a whole eight kilogram free range Melanda suckling pig and all the trimmings on Christmas day. That legend could be you, with a little advanced planning and some gentle roasting. Cutoff for ordering one of these special piglets is December 15. online.vicsmeat.com.au
A very merry Meatsmith (Vic)
An absolute cracker of a Christmas box filled with so many luxury meats, your guests will think you planned ahead. On top of those proteins, there's ham glaze, cumberland sauce, two potato gratins, a panettone and a ham bag. Feeds eight people comfortably, or two people with an apocalyptic amount of leftovers. The final order cut off for Christmas Eve delivery in Victoria is 4pm on December 23. providoor.com.au
A Christmas goose (NSW)
Stop what you're doing, and hit Add to Cart on a Saskia Beer goose – three kilos of corn-fed deliciousness to be roasted, confited and sausaged – imagine the goose fat potatoes! They deliver, too. hudsonmeats.com
When you're told to bring something and you've organised nothing
We've all been there. These hampers make great gifts but can also double as Christmas lunch
Lucio's Italian Christmas hamper (NSW)
For $250, you'll receive two of Lucio Galletto's cookbooks, two bottles of sparkling, house-made pasta and sauce, a bottled cocktail, olive oil, a ham bag designed by Luke Sciberras, olives and biscotti. In fact, if you wanted to be super sneaky, you could break this up over two separate family meals and no one would be the wiser. Pick-up only. luciosdeli.square.site
Fireshop's hamper to the stars (NSW)
Lennox Hastie's Christmas hamper is coming to you live and hyper local, packed with candied native fruit Christmas cake, smoked poor man's orange ham glaze, candied macadamias, honey mustard, bush tomato sauce and cherry relish; and, to really come in swinging, there's a pavlova gelato collaboration with Messina – and Christmas Negronis. Order cut-off is December 15, with pick-up on December 17. firedoor.com.au/fireshop
Rochford Wines' Christmas Day hamper (Vic)
Enjoy a three-course Christmas lunch with all the trimmings, including duck terrine, poached prawns, roast pear salad and a loaf of sourdough bread, a roast chook with chestnut stuffing or maple-glazed ham topped off with fruit mince pies, Christmas cake, shortbread, poached summer berries and gingerbread custard for dessert. Deliveries made up December 24 to Melbourne and the Yarra Valley, with order cut-off midnight December 20. rochfordwines.com.au
Babajan's Middle Eastern snacks (Vic)
Carlton North hotspot Babajan has curated three special hampers filled with house-made Babajan snacks and preserves, as well as locally made wine, Turkish and Middle Eastern cheeses and sweet treats such as Hey Tiger chocolate. Pick-up is available on Christmas Eve, with cut-off for orders December 23. babajan.com.au
iPantry delivers (Vic)
Shop local with the help of digital food market iPantry – choose from a huge range of ready meals, ingredients and pantry treats from small producers across Melbourne; have them all bundled together and delivered for free the following day if you spend over $50. Want fresh coffee from St Ali for Christmas breakfast, a Woodstock pizza for Christmas lunch and marinated prawns from Clamms for Christmas dinner? You can totally do that! ipantry.com.au
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