Sussex


<p>Hands up if it’s your turn to host Christmas Day this year. Now keep your hand up if the prospect of feeding everyone already has you in need of a large slug of festive courage&#8230; </p>



<p>Fear not, Muddy’s here with expert advice on everything from planning your menu to avoiding kitchen meltdowns. Our source? None other than Andrew MacKenzie, Executive Chef at <a href="https://sussex.muddystilettos.co.uk/eat-out/restaurants/best-sunday-roasts-in-sussex-muddy-reviews-pearly-cow-brighton/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Pearly Cow</a> in Brighton.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1500" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2025/11/PearlyCowchef.jpg" alt="Festive menu tips from a chef" class="wp-image-81751" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2025/11/PearlyCowchef.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2025/11/PearlyCowchef-533x800.jpg 533w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2025/11/PearlyCowchef-667x1000.jpg 667w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2025/11/PearlyCowchef-768x1152.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Executive Chef Andrew MacKenzie</figcaption></figure>



<p>Andrew apprenticed at Gleneagles and has cooked in kitchens from Tbilisi to Sydney, working with the likes of Michelin starred Anton Mosimann and Paul Heathcote. His new home, Pearly Cow, has swiftly established itself as a destination for sophisticated seafront dining. It specialises in seafood, steak and serious cocktails, and its Christmas menus are all about exquisitely executed tradition with contemporary flourishes. Think starters like a pork and partridge terrine in pastry with a quince chutney, followed by a monkfish and truffle Wellington with red wine butter sauce. And of course there’s turkey.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Grab yourself a mince pie –&nbsp;or better yet, pour yourself a glass – and read on for tips and inspiration to save you from feeling the culinary heat this Christmas.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1000" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2025/11/Untitled-design-338.jpg" alt="Christmas menu inspiration from Executive Chef of Pearly Cow, Brighton" class="wp-image-81754" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2025/11/Untitled-design-338.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2025/11/Untitled-design-338-800x800.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2025/11/Untitled-design-338-400x400.jpg 400w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2025/11/Untitled-design-338-768x768.jpg 768w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2025/11/Untitled-design-338-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">The bar at Pearly Cow</figcaption></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-when-do-you-plan-pearly-cow-s-festive-menu"><strong>When do you plan Pearly Cow’s festive menu? </strong></h3>



<p>We try to get it done by the end of January. We’ll review it later in the year but there’s nothing worse than sitting in a kitchen in August when it’s 30 degrees outside, trying to get your head round Christmas.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-the-main-challenge"><strong>What’s the main challenge? </strong></h3>



<p>The festive menu’s a strange one because you’ve got to please everybody. You’ve got granny coming, you’ve got kids, and here at Pearly Cow we’ve also got a&nbsp;few&nbsp;office parties. So it’s a step to the safe side, really – we can’t push the boundaries too much, and I don’t think getting really wacky and putting purées on a roast dinner works.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-i-see-goose-is-on-offer-as-well-as-turkey"><strong>I see goose is on offer as well as turkey. </strong></h3>



<p>Goose is a great bird. It’s wild, it’s seasonal, it has the flavour. I personally prefer it and once they eat it, people realise how good it is. It went down really well last year, that’s why we kept it this year.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-it-difficult-to-cook-at-home-nbsp"><strong>Is it difficult to cook at home?&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>It’s becoming harder and harder to get hold of but it’s actually really easy to cook. Baste it, season it, put it in a hot oven, turn it down and roast it. You can take the breasts off and cook them like duck breast, and you can confit the legs. You get all the&nbsp;goose&nbsp;fat and trimmings, too.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-you-ve-also-got-fish-on-the-menu-nbsp"><strong>You’ve also got fish on the menu.&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>Yes, I love it. By the time you’ve got to Christmas, a lot of people don’t want to eat turkey at all. It can be difficult because if the weather’s bad, I won’t be able to get it locally, but then it can be blowing a gale here and sunny in Cornwall, so we can usually&nbsp;source fresh fish.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-do-you-have-any-festive-recipes-with-secret-ingredients-that-you-can-share-nbsp"><strong>Do you have any festive recipes with secret ingredients that you can share?&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>Red cabbage is always quite a nice one – everyone’s got their own version of it. I like to add pears and spices. Dried cranberries are quite nice as well but you can get too clever with it.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-s-changed-most-about-festive-menus-over-the-course-of-your-career-nbsp"><strong>What’s changed most about festive menus over the course of your career?&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>Christmas puddings have lightened up. We put a lot less brandy in ours and it’s more of a steamed&nbsp;pudding, but when I was an apprentice, we started soaking the fruit in brandy in September. You’d steam them for days and it was almost burnt, the flavour. It’s just a mad dessert – after you’ve eaten your starter and then a full roast dinner, the last thing anyone really needs is half a pound of dried fruit and flour!&nbsp;That&#8217;s why we have a few other puds on our menu too.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-speaking-of-which-tell-us-about-the-chocolate-negus-on-your-christmas-party-menu-nbsp"><strong>Speaking of which, tell us about the chocolate negus on your Christmas party menu.&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>It’s a triple layer chocolate mousse with layers of&nbsp;delicate&nbsp;ponge soaked in Grand Marnier and coated in chocolate. You freeze it and it defrosts on the plate. It’s lovely – quite rich but you don’t eat a lot of it and the mousse is very light. That’s the kind of dessert people want these days – it’s intense but not heavy.&nbsp;</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img decoding="async" loading="lazy" width="1500" height="1000" src="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2025/11/Untitled-design-337.jpg" alt="Christmas menu inspiration from Executive Chef of Pearly Cow, Brighton" class="wp-image-81750" srcset="https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2025/11/Untitled-design-337.jpg 1500w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2025/11/Untitled-design-337-800x533.jpg 800w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2025/11/Untitled-design-337-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://dev.muddystilettos.co.uk/sussex/wp-content/uploads/sites/11/2025/11/Untitled-design-337-768x512.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 1500px) 100vw, 1500px" /><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">Private dining at Pearly Cow</figcaption></figure>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-do-you-most-enjoy-cooking-during-the-festive-season-nbsp"><strong>What do you most enjoy cooking during the festive season?&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>Mince pies. They’ve got to be deep for me and they’ve got to be warm. My granddad was Scottish and used to eat his with milk, never cream.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-is-there-a-trick-to-getting-them-right"><strong>Is there a trick to getting them right? </strong></h3>



<p>Don’t buy budget flour, use really good butter, and lighten up the filling. We use golden sultanas and I&nbsp;like the sharpness that cranberries bring. Add candied peel, a&nbsp;little&nbsp;suet and&nbsp;some warming&nbsp;spices to give you that smell of mulled wine. </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-as-home-cooks-what-do-we-mostly-get-wrong-about-christmas-day-nbsp"><strong>As home cooks, what do we mostly get wrong about Christmas Day?&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>Don’t make a monster of what’s essentially a roast dinner. Most people still do it most Sundays, I think, but suddenly you’ve gone to Waitrose and bought four lemon tarts and a Christmas pudding, trifle because granny likes it, choux buns… I imagine probably 50 percent of the food gets&nbsp;thrown away.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-what-will-you-be-eating-on-christmas-day-nbsp"><strong>What will you be eating on Christmas Day?&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>I’ll be in the kitchen here at Pearly Cow and then I’d drive down to my mother-in-law’s in time for a cheeseboard, cold cuts and a glass of wine.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-tell-us-your-favourite-leftovers-dish-nbsp"><strong>Tell us your favourite leftovers dish.&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>Going to the fridge for a stuffing sandwich. Also, no one ever does it anymore but my nan used to make&nbsp;agreat bubble and squeak from the leftovers.&nbsp;</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading" id="h-and-if-you-had-just-one-piece-of-advice-for-keeping-your-culinary-cool-this-festive-season-nbsp"><strong>And if you had just one piece of advice for keeping your culinary cool this festive season?&nbsp;</strong></h3>



<p>Either simplify your Christmas or go out. You’re supposed to enjoy it, not be stuck in the kitchen for nine hours. Most of it can be done beforehand, it’s what chefs do – just&nbsp;prepare.</p>



<p>Otherwise come here. Sit at the bar with a cocktail, have your dinner and a bottle of wine, walk out the door. We’ll wash up, you go home to a nice clear house and you can have some nice mince pies on the side – or we’ll give you some to go.&nbsp;</p>



<p><em>You can read more about Pearly Cow’s six-course Christmas Day menu (£140pp)&nbsp;</em><a href="https://pearlycow.co.uk/pearly-cow-brighton/christmas-new-year-at-pearly-cow-brighton/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>here</em></a><em>, and found out about its Christmas Party menu (beginning at £55pp)&nbsp;</em><a href="https://pearlycow.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/PC-Christmas-Party-Menus-2025.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>here</em></a><em>. Head&nbsp;</em><a href="https://pearlycow.co.uk/pearly-cow-brighton/pearly-cow-brighton-private-dining-and-events/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>here</em></a><em>&nbsp;for private dining details.&nbsp;</em></p>



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<p><strong>In the mood for more? </strong></p>



<p><a href="https://sussex.muddystilettos.co.uk/life/people/broadcaster-and-wine-writer-olly-smith-reveals-his-favourite-sussex-vineyard/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Muddy meets TV wine expert Olly Smith</a></p>



<p><a href="https://sussex.muddystilettos.co.uk/eat-out/restaurants/best-sunday-roasts-in-sussex-muddy-reviews-pearly-cow-brighton/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Review: Sunday roast at Pearly Cow, Brighton </a></p>



<p><a href="https://sussex.muddystilettos.co.uk/things-to-do/its-a-wrap-christmas-wreath-making-workshops-in-sussex/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Hop to it! Festive wreath workshops to book now</a></p>



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Your turn to cook this Christmas? Chef Andrew MacKenzie shares sanity-saving tips and inspo

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