Watch the Waitrose Christmas TV advert with Heston Blumenthal

The ad features a jazz classic

Waitrose has beaten its sister store John Lewis to releasing its Christmas advert with a one-minute clip that focusses on the food that "makes Christmas".

"What is it that makes Christmas, Christmas?" a voice asks, before close ups of mince pies bubbling in the oven, crumbling cheese and Heston Blumenthal putting the finishing touches to a chocolate cake.

The ad is soundtracked by the song 'Everybody east when they come to my house', a jazz classic released in 1948 by Cab Calloway and his Orchestra.

Waitrose used an agency for the first time this year. They chose Adam&Eve, the agency behind many of the most famous John Lewis adverts. Richard Brim, executive creative director of Adam&Eve, said: "Our advert for Waitrose celebrates all those little moments that make Christmas, Christmas, and nine out of ten times, it's all about the food."

The campaign includes the hashtag #makeschristmas. Waitrose is encouraging shoppers to share their photos of what makes Christmas using the hashtag. The supermarket has promised a Christmas dinner for 12 to the best one.

Waitrose is one of the first in a run of Christmas adverts scheduled to appear online and on TV this week in what has become a race to get ahead of the competition as retailers vye for shoppers' cash. Lidl and Asda are ahead of the pack. John Lewis, the most anticipated of the lot, is due to release theirs on November 6.