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  5. How to hack the holiday meal, according to 9 professional chefs

How to hack the holiday meal, according to 9 professional chefs

Rachel Askinasi   

How to hack the holiday meal, according to 9 professional chefs
LifeThelife3 min read
  • Holiday hosting can be stressful, time-consuming, and expensive.
  • So Insider asked nine professional chefs to share their top tips for making the meal a breeze.

The holiday season can be a joyful, carefree, calming time for some. But for those who are hosting big gatherings and family get-togethers, it can be pretty stressful.

So Insider asked nine professional chefs to share tips for making holiday hosting preparations easier this year.

1. Get organized

"Make really good lists," said Jonathan Waxman, chef and owner of Barbuto in New York City. "The more organized you are in advance, the easier the whole holiday cooking process will be."

Camari Mick, executive pastry chef at The Musket Room in NYC, said organization should even be built into your menu planning. She said that cross-utilizing ingredients will help you stick to a budget and minimize your shopping trips.

"If you plan to make a carrot cake," she said, "put some carrots aside to roast with garlic and rosemary as a side dish."

This way, Mick said, you get two dishes out of one grocery item.

2. Make use of your freezer, both in advance and after your meal

John Paul Wadibia, the owner of Lagos in NYC, recommends hosts start as early as possible, stressing the importance of make-ahead items.

Pie crusts and broths or stocks are easy to prepare beforehand and freeze, Ana Castro, executive chef at Lengua Madre in New Orleans, told Insider.

Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel, chef and co-owner of Birdie's in Austin, Texas, agreed that stock is easy to make and freeze. She suggestes dedicating a day to making stocks early in the season.

Castro also suggests freezing martinis ahead of time. "Pre-mix and freeze, so cocktail hour is easy," she said.

When the meal is over, Sung Park, executive chef at Fandi Mata in Brooklyn, suggests using ice cube trays for freezing leftovers. Park said you can store single servings of gravy, pan jus, chicken stock, chopped herbs, and garlic.

"It saves space and money," he said.

3. Put your guests to work

"When people start to arrive, hand them a drink, lay out the snacks, and give them something to do," chef and TV host Marcus Samuelsson told Insider while promoting his new Audible documentary series "Seat at the Table."

He suggests having them act as your sous chef, picking herbs or chopping veggies.

"Don't let people just sit on the couch," Waxman similarly told Insider. "Even if they're pretending to watch football, they can help peel potatoes, shuck beans, or similar tasks."

Samuelsson recommends getting kids involved by way of decorating the table or making name cards, which he said can also help younger children practice spelling.

Castro said delegation is an important key to holiday hosting success. She said letting someone else handle dessert, for example, takes one thing off your to-do list, keeps your kitchen clearer, and frees up space in your oven.

Plus, she said, "most guests are happy to have a job to do."

4. Serve dishes with different temperatures, so not everything needs to be hot at once

Malechek-Ezekiel told Insider that having multiple hot dishes can get overwhelming and will likely cause a problem when it's time to serve everything. So she recommends designing a menu with varying serving temperatures.

A mix of chilled salads, some room-temperature vegetables, and a hot item or two should do the trick, Malechek-Ezekiel said.

As far as salads go, Castro and Tyler Akin, chef-partner at Le Cavalier in Wilmington, Deleware, both dub them a mealtime superpower.

"Some good lettuce, some crispy blanched green beans, sliced shallot, and a bright vinaigrette can be a great counterpoint to all the excess," Akin said.

5. Wash dishes as you go

Cleanup is a hassle, no matter how you look at it. But Castro recommends washing dishes as you cook to minimize the pileup. "Future-you will thank you," she said.

Bobby Yoon, owner of Yoon Haeundae Galbi in NYC, even has a hack for saving yourself dish soap. Instead of putting the soap directly on your sponge or dirty plate, he recommends mixing it with some warm water in a container as a dip for your sponge between dishes.

"This is more efficient and will result in less dish soap/dish soap residue to be left on your dishes/glasses," Yoon said.

Regardless of whether you're hosting, cooking for someone else's home, or just trying to get through multiple holiday meal plans this year, these chefs want you to have as easy a time as possible.


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