With a little extra effort - and a few tricks from some of the country's leading chefs - your Christmas meal can be traditional and unforgettable.

Michael Bateman helps you get cracking

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Henry Harris's whole baked Vacherin

Caroline Waldegrave's truffle toasts

Lorna Wing's pumpkin squares

Halloumi & herb triangles

Chris Galvin's iced oysters and hot spicy chorizo

Paul Merrett's gravadlax sashimi with beetroot sorbet

Fruit & nut stuffing

Chicken Stuffing

Ricotta stuffing

Armagnac and chestnut ice-cream

Lorna Wing's syllabub with dried fruits

Port-poached pears

Christmas pudding soufflé

With a little extra effort – and a few tricks from some of the country's leading chefs – your Christmas meal can be traditional and unforgettable. Michael Bateman has the recipe

What are you going to cook this Christmas? OK, let's take it as read that you've got all the obvious bases covered (you don't need me to tell you that turkey is a good starting point for a main course), but amid all that eating there's bound to be room for a few flourishes, a sophisticated touch here and there that will stick in people's minds and mark this year out as something different.

I dare say that, every Christmas, you try to find something never-before-seen. Doesn't get any easier, does it? So I asked for some ideas from original thinkers including Henry Harris, chef at Racine and Caroline Waldegrave, of Leith's School of Food and Wine, and co-author of Leith's Complete Christmas (Bloomsbury, £14.99).

Some of the suggestions are a bit fiddly but worth the effort if you have the time. Others, though, won't add much to the day's labour but will transform your Christmas meal. Together, the list provides everything you could need – snacks, starters, alternative stuffing and pudding. Just don't forget the turkey. *