Mary Berry Christmas Specials

Mary Berry teaches three hopeless kitchen novices to create surprise festive feasts for those closest to them. Mary's pupils - Jake, Jess and Claire - all have one thing in common: they have never cooked a meal from scratch in their lives.

Mary teaches Somerset zoo keeper Jake her recipe for butternut squash, stilton and sage tart, so he can attempt to treat his bosses with a surprise feast to thank them for all of their support this year. But he struggles from the off, failing to follow Mary's instructions and serving up something that even his animals wouldn't go near.

Customer services rep Jess has spent much of this year living with her parents in Hull and now faces a Christmas without her mum and dad, who are travelling back to her mum's native Philippines. She is keen to show them how much they mean to her with a big festive send off in the form of Mary's turkey crown with bacon lattice and Christmas vegetable gratin. But given that the last time Jess tried to heat a ready-made roast she nearly burnt the house down, Mary has got her work cut out.

For years, bra fitter Claire has relied on her husband Tony to do the cooking. Now she is keen to wow him and their friends with her first ever attempt at a homemade desert, Mary's spectacular mango, passion fruit and limoncello pavlova. Mary makes it look easy, but can Claire follow the recipe to the letter when left to her own devices?

Mary is keen that her novices' feasts go without a hitch, and so she has enlisted three celebrity elves to help them. She brings The Repair Shop's Jay Blades, comedian Tom Allen and presenter Angela Scanlon together to brief them before sending them out across the UK to each surprise one of the non-cooks and act as their sous chef for the day.

Dame Merry Berry knows a thing or two about cooking up a festive feast, and this year she is sharing her cooking skills with three novice cooks, cousins James, Jack and Leah, who want to throw a spectacular surprise feast for their respective mums and bring together their whole family for the first time in two years. With Mary's help, can they pull it off and give their mums a Christmas surprise they will never forget?

Mary has also enlisted the help of Alex Jones and Patrick Grant. While Mary focuses on getting the novice cooks up to speed in the kitchen, Patrick and Alex oversee the extras that will make this Christmas reunion special. They are also on hand to offer moral support when temperatures rise in the kitchen.

Much-loved home cook Dame Mary Berry is joined by some famous friends for her ultimate Christmas feast, packed with tips to plan and get ahead for the big day. Planning is Mary's top tip for a successful and enjoyable day, and here she shares her definitive recipes, perfected over 50 years.

Her festive feast begins with a deliciously simple stilton and sage mini scone canape, followed by her traditional Christmas feast, including her lemon and herb roast turkey with all the trimmings. Her crispy roast potatoes, honey glazed carrots and parsnips, ruby red cabbage and apricot and chestnut stuffing are all complemented by turkey gravy. To complete the meal, Mary is joined by Rylan Clark. They visit a pick-your-own vegetable farm and cook up brussels sprouts with peas and cashews to try to convert some brussels-hating kids.

Mary is also joined by some chef friends who share festive recipes from their own heritage. She visits Angela Hartnett at home, where she cooks rich pumpkin ricotta tortelli, a seasonal tradition for her Italian family. Monica Galetti welcomes Mary to her restaurant kitchen, where she prepares a twist on Samoan palusami with smoked haddock, cavolo nero and sourdough, which she'll be serving to her family on Christmas Day.

To create the perfect table setting, Mary shows how to create a sustainable and cost-conscious centrepiece from foraged greenery before Rylan joins her at home to share a festive cocktail with fizz and cranberries.

To complete the festive feast are two sumptuous desserts. Mary's traditional British Christmas pudding recipe goes back to medieval times – a rich mix of dried fruit and nuts that is steamed for eight hours before being served alongside a boozy cream. Alongside this is a festive trifle with layers of custard, cream, sponge and pear, topped with spun sugar.