Yemi Adelekan is a food writer and blogger who was a semi-finalist in the 2022 series of BBC TV’s Masterchef competition.

Every Saturday Yemi writes on the Stray Ferret about her love of the area’s food and shares cooking tips – please get in touch with her if you want her to review a restaurant, visit your farm, taste the produce you sell or even share a recipe.

Christmas celebrations can easily become predictable with gifts bought from the same places, the same games played every year - and the same food eaten during the festive season.

And while traditions are valuable, my goal this year is to think about more unusual gift ideas, change up what I serve on Christmas Day and look for food experiences that you can check out.

Here's some events that I've already attended on the run-up to Christmas, and some suggestions to get you in the festive spirit.

Christmas Dinner Masterclass at Syke’s House Farm

First on my list is the Christmas themed experience at Syke’s House Farm where guests will start the event with drinks and canapés including a choux bun filled with chicken liver pate and Welch rarebit followed by a butchering demonstration of how to break down fresh turkey.

The butchery is mesmerising and educational to watch with guests learning about options to prepare their turkey or request them prepared to order.

This is followed by two starters of beetroot cured salmon with soda bread and shredded confit duck leg with brioche. 

Chef Greg Lewis shared tips on how to create a fuss-free Christmas dinner from preparing the veggies in advance, making and freezing the gravy in November, and cooking and resting the turkey to achieve juicy meat.

One of my takeaways was cooking the Brussels sprouts with Nduja which meant for the first time in my life, I enjoyed eating them.

The butchering class continued with carving the cooked turkey which we all sat down to enjoy with hassle-back parsnips, spiced carrot, and roast potatoes. 

The experience ended with a hands-on activity with guests decorating their own desserts of pavlova. Options of tea or coffee perfectly rounded up the experience before guests left with a goodie bag including money off voucher and recipe cards.

Festive Afternoon Tea at Grantley Hall

No one does pastry like Executive Pastry Chef Stefan Rose at Grantley Hall, and their Christmas themed afternoon tea complete with a penguin is almost too good to eat.

The Grantley Hall Penguin is filled with a vanilla, white chocolate and Baileys centre, a Baileys and dark chocolate mousse, a cocoa nib sponge and chocolate and nutmeg crunchy. 

The new festive afternoon tea includes savoury canapés of chicken liver parfait speculoos and Mandarin tart and lobster, crab and caviar crumpet.

Festive signature afternoon tea cost £65 per person and is available until January 5. You can upgrade to include champagne or non-alcoholic alternative.

Yorkshire Appetite Food Tours – voucher and goodie box

After my Q&A with sisters Kay Atkinson and Jill Laurillard from Yorkshire Appetite Food Tours about their new book, it got me thinking about what could suit the adventurous foodie in your life.

While it might not be a recreation of their French adventures, we all know that I'm a great champion of Yorkshire food, and Yorkshire Appetite Food Tours offer vouchers to go on tours in different towns across the region. 

This year, the ladies have produced the Yorkshire Appetite Goodie Box of delicious Yorkshire products sourced from over 112 of Yorkshire’s finest food businesses.

Yemi's verdict

It's always nice to try and give something a bit different at Christmas, be it an experience or a unique gift. Equally, it's great to support local businesses.

Keep an eye out for next week's festive instalment of Yemi's Food Stories.