A bottle of vintage Champagne might sound like the best match for your decadent feast, but a fancy cocktail allows you to show off your mixing skills. Le Coup D’etat is an incredible drink, combining your best champers with elderflower liqueur, port and Suze bitters, while Vivek Singh’s Parisian Pisco Punch is full of exotic, tropical flavours that are sure to brighten up any chilly Christmas Day. If you fancy going down the classical route, then Luis-Rene Orozco’s take on a rum Manhattan will certainly do the trick.

Once everyone’s had their fill of posh tipples and nibbles, kindly ask them to move into your grandiose dining room for their starter. Smoked salmon is obviously far too simple for a meal such as this – a carpaccio of hand-dived scallops in a truffle vinaigrette sounds much more suitable. If you like the sound of truffles but not the shellfish, then Pascal Aussignac’s double-baked Parmesan and truffle soufflé is perfect, and if you’d prefer a meatier beginning to the meal then try Paul Welburn’s beautiful cannelloni, stuffed with venison, kale and wild mushrooms.

The main course should be a real showstopper of a dish, enough to put any thoughts of turkey to the back of your diners’ minds. That’s all but guaranteed with Marcus Wareing’s goose recipe, including a homemade sausage roll made from the leg meat. Few ingredients are more luxurious than meaty lobster tails, and William Drabble’s butter-rich dish puts them centre-stage. Or for a prime cut of beef that’s sure to get tongues wagging, follow in Alyn Williams’ footsteps and serve up a perfectly pink chateaubriand (James Mackenzie's five-bird roast is worth a look too).

There’s nothing particularly elegant about a Christmas pudding, and it would make for a bit of a bullish end to such a luxurious starter and main. Instead, why not serve a multi-layered sundae with all the traditional flavours? For a touch of retro-elegance you can’t go wrong with Andy McLeish’s Black Forest gâteau, or why not plump for something a little more exotic with a pineapple upside-down cake.