At Christmas - The Goff Family Eat Well for Less?

-I think it needs a bit of...

-'Christmas?

-'Gregg Wallace...

-Great!

'..and Chris Bavin are facing their biggest challenge yet.'

-Ho-ho, hello!

-Hello, how are you?

'They've been touring the country,

'helping families to eat well for less...'

High five!

'..and now, they've asked one family

'to take on an extraordinary experiment...'

Cheers.

-Merry Christmas!

-CHEERING

-Are you up for it?

-Yes.

-We are, definitely.

'..to see if they can learn tips and tricks

'to bring down their festive food spend...'

12.. that's 36.

'..without scrimping on indulgence.'

Mmm.

'This family are making the same mistakes we all do...'

-More?

-They'd better go and get another trolley.

-'..buying way too much...'

-Whoa. Mate, look at this.

My worst nightmare is if we didn't have enough food.

'..chucking food in the bin...'

-That is shocking.

-That is shocking.

'..and relying on convenience over cooking.'

-It just always comes down to time.

-Really good.

'Gregg and Chris are going to show us all how to save time...'

-BALLOON POPS

-Ooh!

Frozen food can be as nutritious as fresh food.

-'..money...'

-We have to change and that's for sure.

-'..and our sanity...'

-Ha-ha!

'..this Christmas.'

There's a lot at stake here.

In fact, Christmas for this family is at stake here.

MUSIC: All I Want For Christmas by Mariah Carey

'We're in Richmond, London, with the Goff family.'

Wee!

-GOFFS:

-We love Christmas, yay!

'Childminder Angela and heating engineer Richard have two sons -

'Elliot, eight,

'and Lewis, ten.'

We're going to get some decorations put out today.

'And the whole family's Christmas mad.'

-There we go. High five.

-High five.

I love Christmas.

I absolutely love it.

It's the best time of the year.

It's the one time when you can go crazy.

'And crazy they do go,

'putting on an enormous spread for friends and family every Christmas.'

Christmas is a big blow out. We do go to town.

I like to make sure that I've got lots of nice food,

which tends to be expensive.

-Maybe we should take these.

-You take them, I'll grab these ones.

'But it hasn't always been this way.'

It was a really tough few years for us.

We were really on a shoe string.

We went for the budget Christmas.

-It was bland.

-It was bland and it was disappointing.

We couldn't afford to do Christmas, but wanted to do it,

so we could have everyone around us, and it was awful.

'These days, they save up all year

'so they can have the Christmas they want.

'But Richard has to work extra shifts to pay for it.'

I do have to do overtime to afford the Christmas we have.

Family time is the most important time for me.

You know, the kids grow up so fast.

So, if I could have that time back, you know, it'd be great.

'Like many of us, Angela buys way more than she needs.'

-That'll be £10, please. Thank you.

-Lovely, that's great. Thank you.

My worst nightmare is if we didn't have enough food.

So that one, that one and that one.

When I was younger, I did a surprise party for my mum,

and my auntie was very much like, "There's not enough here"

and I remember that anxious feeling of, "Oh, God! I do need more food".

'Plus, to avoid being a slave to the kitchen,

'Angela orders in expensive ready-made food.'

I love convenience - party food and picky bits.

So, if somebody does come round,

I can open the freezer or the fridge, get some stuff out.

Ta-dah! It's all there.

'But these indulgent habits come at a cost.'

The problem with the over-catering that we do is,

we do throw away a lot of food.

'That's right.

'A hefty chunk of the Goffs' Christmas food ends up in the bin.

'This classic Christmas mistake is costing them a fortune.'

It's really, really wasteful.

And it is money being put in the bin.

I'm in a mess!

ANGELA LAUGHS

Gregg and Chris, please help.

MUSIC: Christmas Time (Don't Let The Bells End) by The Darkness

'In the fortnight leading up to Christmas,

'it's estimated we'll spend £6.5 billion in supermarkets.

'It may be the time of year to treat ourselves,

'but do we have to spend so much?

'In the festive spirit,

'Gregg and Chris head to the Goffs' local supermarket

'to spot the typical traps we all fall into at this time of year.'

We're supposed to indulge at Christmas, aren't we?

Yeah, definitely. I don't think anyone doesn't.

This is probably your biggest shop of the year, isn't it?

It's easy to get carried away. You know, if you're cooking for four

and then suddenly, you're having to cook for ten,

I think people do go over the top, don't they?

I suppose the point is, can you get everything you need

without actually going crazy and spending a fortune?

I think there must be a way, mustn't there?

Not with that hat on(!)

'The Goffs are heading to the supermarket to stock up

'on what they think they'll need for their practice Christmas.'

Right, so do we want to go...?

-Yeah, go on, then, I don't mind.

-Yeah, go down there.

'Unbeknownst to them,

'Gregg and Chris are spying on every penny of their festive spend.

'For this experiment,

'they'll be throwing a Christmas party for 16 friends,

'hosting Christmas lunch for ten

'and enjoying their traditional family Boxing Day.'

Does seem strange, doesn't it? Shopping for Christmas.

'The boys have taken cover in the store room

'to scrutinise Richard and Angela's every move.'

-Ready?

-OK, let's have a look at this, shall we?

Ooh, sprouts. Right, so, what are we getting them for?

-Just Christmas Day?

-Just for Christmas Day.

-We've got to think...

-The much-loved sprout.

It wouldn't be Christmas dinner without it, would it?

-You, me, Mum, Dad...

-Five or six for each.

Oh, I don't know. I'll just grab.

-That's enough.

-Do you think?

Oh, that's a lot of sprouts. That's a good kilo and a half.

More?

GREGG LAUGHS

It looks like Angela doesn't really know

how much to buy for each person.

It's going to cost you a fortune and it's going to end up in the bin.

If we go for this, because it's two layers.

I think that one is more Christmassy, Ange.

They're very much drawn to anything that looks Christmassy.

-Get one of those smaller ones.

-Yeah.

Beware the Christmas wrapping!

Have you noticed what's missing here?

-Yeah.

-A list.

'And without a list, you can't accurately meal plan.'

Do you want chicken?

Well, I think we'll have turkey left over, won't we?

Turkey's dry the next day, isn't it? So...

OK. Well, what sort of ones are you thinking?

Chuck away the leftover turkey and cook a fresh chicken?

That's a bit decadent. It's like Henry VIII.

That is. That's outrageous, isn't it?

-"I don't want that. Cook me a fresh one."

-LAUGHTER

Pigs in blankets. We need them, Ange.

-So, one, two, three.

-12... that's 36.

Have they just bought 36 sausages?

-That's not enough.

-One more then, one more.

-48 sausages?

-When do you want the sausages for?

Every day for the next three months, by the looks of it(!)

'How many of those sausages will end up in the bin?'

Right, roast potatoes. They're the ones. And that is enough.

-That's plenty.

-Yeah, fine.

Ready roast potatoes?

Oh, come on.

Right, shall we get some booze?

-BOTH:

-Booze!

My favourite bit!

I've got a horrible feeling this is about to get incredibly expensive.

'Who doesn't like some fizz at Christmas?

'For her party, Angela's plumped for a leading brand.'

How many bottles do we want? I'm thinking...

-Eight?

-No, I think ten.

-OK, then. Go on, then.

-Yeah?

-No, they're cleaning them out!

-That's a lot of money.

-Seven...

-No, hang on, hang on, I don't think you...

One, two, three, four, five, six, thank you very much.

No kidding you, then.

Oh, my gosh! These guys are out of control.

Oh, dear. This may be the biggest bill we've ever seen.

-Right, are we done?

-We are.

-Shall we go and meet this family?

Yeah, I've definitely seen enough of that.

'The Goffs heave their groaning trolley to the till.

-OK, if you load them up first.

-Yeah, that's the heavy stuff.

'Let's see what Gregg and Chris make of it all.'

-Hello!

-Jingle bells!

Where's all that booze? Right, let's open a bottle.

-Nice to see you. You all right, mate?

-Yeah, very well, thanks.

-How are you?

-I'm good, thank you.

Have you got enough sausages?

No, I don't know. We have, definitely.

-Oh, no! Was you really listening?

-No.

We were watching.. We watching the shop.

We watching in the back of the shop

-and this is a lot of food here, isn't it?

-See, I don't think there is.

-No?

-No, honestly. I'm nervous.

Nervous you may have undercooked it a little bit?

Yeah, definitely. Don't you think?

Well, I don't know.

Well, I think we've got bits and bobs for all occasions

-and for everything really, so...

-What, Easter?

-Yeah, probably.

-Halloween?

-LAUGHTER

I'd really like to ring all this through the till.

I'm fascinated to see how much this comes to.

-Let's do it, let's do it.

-Let's do it.

-Yeah, OK.

'Time to tot up the damage.'

Would you say this shop is dissimilar

to the way you would shop normally?

Normally, I'm quite good. It's just Christmas I'm really bad.

-So, normally, you'd come with a list?

-No.

-Right.

'Will the Goffs blow their Christmas budget on this one shop?'

I'm guessing you have absolutely no idea how much this has come to.

No.

-Do you?

-Somewhere... I'm thinking £400.

Right, OK.

What you spent was...

..that.

-SHE GASPS

-My God!

'Yes, your eyes aren't deceiving you,

'that's £577.44.'

Oh. And we haven't even done it all!

'That's right. This is only the Goffs' trolley dash.

'It doesn't include the heap of Christmas food

'and drink they order online, or even the turkey.'

-Does that surprise you?

-Yeah.

-Definitely, it's a big figure.

-Yeah? Let's go.

-Let's go.

'Their spending is through the roof.

'Time to head back to their house to see the full extent of the damage.'

I thought, sort of £500 all in.

The fact that we've done that and we still have more...

..has kind of shocked me.

'Before the Goffs get home,

'Gregg and Chris want to take a sneaky peek at what else they buy.'

Hang on a minute. I think it needs a bit of...

That's quite impressive. Can you teach me to do that?

Nah. Come on.

'As well as their colossal supermarket spend,

'they order in more than £400 worth of high-end party platters

'and another 256 quid on more booze.

'Yep, that champagne's only half the story.'

Mate, look at this!

This is incredible, isn't it?

What are all those trays at the front, there?

Ready-made party platters.

Mate, that is not cheap.

You really do not need to spend this amount of money

in order to give everyone a good Christmas.

No, I think it's time we got them in and had a little chat.

Most certainly. Angela, Richard?

Let's be having you.

So, here it is.

What do you think, when you see it all laid out like this?

-Have we got enough?

-LAUGHTER

On this table, it doesn't actually represent everything you've bought.

You're spending £400 on those trays of platters.

That's only 100 quid's worth.

Right, OK.

We buy this food because we want nice food that we can give to people

without me then having to say, "Right, you all sit and have a chat

"while I go off and cook for an hour".

You want everyone to have a nice time, right?

You don't want to spend all day in the kitchen

and we are pretty sure you're chucking a load of food away.

Because I'd hate to be here four days after Christmas,

to see the size of your bin liners.

-Yeah.

-Yeah.

But don't beat yourselves up, you're not the only ones.

It comes from the right place, it's with the best intentions,

but I think, with a few minor changes that you probably won't even notice -

and your guests certainly won't notice -

we can cut this bill down dramatically.

Are you aware of how much your Christmas food and drink bill is?

I thought, all in, £500 - but obviously not.

I've always known it to be greater than that

and I'm thinking 800 quid, I think.

-No way.

-Well...

Well, we estimate your food and drink spend at Christmas

to be over £1,400.

-No way!

-No way!

-That is shocking.

-That is shocking, that's terrible.

No, not happy at all, that is disgusting.

-No, it's... That's embarrassing. That is...

-It is embarrassing.

-That is a ridiculous amount of money.

-Yeah, it's so much money.

And it takes us a long time to earn that sort of money.

I know that my parents and Angela's parents

would have given us a nice Christmas

and they never spent money like that,

but we all had a great time and yeah, that's...

That's quite a shock really, yeah.

What would it mean to you, if you could save a fair amount of money?

It would mean I would have to do

less overtime at work to pay for it, you know?

If I could save some time

and have that quality time back with the family, that would mean a lot.

It's a lot of money, so we definitely need to do something.

No, no, we have to change and that's for sure.

We can't do that every year.

Can I tell you the good news?

-OK. Please, yeah.

-Please.

We honestly believe that you can have the Christmas you want

and save money

and save time

and cut down on a tonne of waste.

-Perfect situation.

-Happy days.

-Definitely. Yeah, yeah yeah.

-Yeah.

It's going to be challenging. We're going to swap some of your foods.

There's certainly going to be some surprises along the way.

-Are you up for it?

-Yep, definitely.

-Excited, thank you very much.

-Thank you very much.

-Looking forward to it.

'For this Christmas dry run,

'we'll be trying to break the Goffs' bad habits

'without stinging on indulgence.

'So, we've barred the family from most of their kitchen cupboards

'and replaced their usual Christmas shopping

'with like for like alternatives.'

-Oh, my God!

-ALL GASP

Oh, my goodness me.

"No entry until Boxing Day."

'Yep, that's a no-go area until the day after Christmas.

'Well, the day after their practice Christmas.'

The fact that I'm not allowed makes me want to go in there even more.

Mince pies, yay!

Which ones look better, the mini ones or the big ones?

I would say the mini ones.

-Look, baking powder.

-Oh, no!

Ooh, we're cooking from scratch.

You make it sound like I've never cooked from scratch.

How very dare you(!)

'That's the food cupboards.'

Oh, let's have a look at our wines.

'What about the drink?'

What do they mean, sparkling wine?

-Is that my replacement for champagne?

-Champagne.

That could just say "sparkling wine".

-Well, it does, doesn't it?

-It could be champagne.

'Well, you'll have to wait to find out.'

I'm very worried about quantity.

I hope we won't run out of food, because that would be mortifying.

'The Goffs' festive spending is out of control.

'Will Gregg and Chris be able to bring down their Christmas bill?'

Wow. I mean, that was incredible. £1,400?!

That spend is horrendous.

Mate, we have got our work cut out here.

This is a big job.

The fact that Richard's doing overtime to pay for this food,

that's invariably going in the bin...

Yeah, that is a little bit upsetting,

that Richard's got to work so hard.

Everyone wants to indulge at Christmas,

but can this family indulge without spending that much money?

I mean, if we could get that bill down to £700...

Half? You are not going to save them half their Christmas shopping.

All right, maybe half's ambitious,

but even if we could knock £400 off, that's a big saving, isn't it?

I think it's going to take at least two wise men

to sort this problem out.

I'd best phone one of my mates, then.

Hello?

'It's time to kick off the Goff's big Christmas experiment extravaganza.'

Right, let's see what we've got, eh?

'Tonight, Angela and Richard are hosting a party for 16 friends.'

-One each.

-Please tell me that is not the only packet.

Is there any more? Have a dig down there.

Let's have a look... No.

'As well as the usual swaps,

'Chris has another idea to try and bring down their whopping £165 spend

'on high-end platters just for the party.'

So, have we had a look at the canapes?

-We have, yeah.

-And what do we think? Are we happy?

-No.

-No?

No, there's nothing there.

Well, don't worry. There is going to be more.

-OK. OK.

-But we're going to be making it.

I still think there's not enough in that bag.

Trust me.

'Have faith, Angela.

'Our Chris wants to tackle that habit of buying far too much.'

So, how many canapes do you think you should give, per person?

-Seven?

-I'd have gone ten.

-Ten?

You were buying around 379 canapes,

which was a staggering 21 each.

'And that's on top of all the cheese, crisps and dips they serve too.'

So, it's no wonder you were throwing food away.

Yeah, you make us sound really bad.

I don't think you should feel bad. I think so many people do it.

Especially at this time of year.

So, we're going to bring it down a little bit, so let's get stuck in.

-Maybe half of that in there.

-OK.

'First up, Tandoori chicken skewers.

'A bargain at 31p each.'

So, would you have ever thought to do your canapes yourself,

-instead of buying them in?

-Never.

-Never.

-Never?

-No, no.

'Simply add some tikka spices to natural yoghurt and marinade.'

Do you want to taste that a little bit?

-Do you want to have a little...?

-Can I?

Oh, my God. That's good.

Apart from putting the chicken on some skewers

and sticking that in the oven for 20 minutes, that's that.

-That's it?

-How simple's that?

-Simple.

'Next on Santa's... Sorry, Chris's list -

'Hasselback potatoes.'

Basically, baby potatoes wrapped in bacon and then roasted in the oven.

-OK.

-Sounds good.

But just nice little slices

and then, that will allow the heat to go right through the potato

and this is so quick and easy and very, very cheap to do.

'To make 30 of these costs just £3 for the savvy shopper.'

And there's something more satisfying as well,

about doing it yourself.

'Even Richard, who doesn't cook much,

'is getting wrapped up in the festive spirit too.'

-I must admit, it's making me hungry.

-Would you like to get involved

and take a little bit of pressure off of young Angela's shoulders?

-I could do this, yeah.

-It would be a massive help if Richard... You know.

-Does he cook at all?

-No.

He can - he's amazing, but he doesn't.

I quite like making my own things

and seeing the fruits of my labour, I do.

-This is what I mean.

-That's brilliant. Well done, fantastic.

'Two canapes in the bag.'

Right, Lewis, Elliot, come on.

'Time to get the kids involved for the third -

'puff pastry pizzas.'

Superb. Can I have a high five? Well done, good man.

What we're making here, we're making mini pizzas.

-Cool!

-'With the ingredients costing just £3.68,

'these come in at around 10p a bite.'

If you could just put a little bit of pesto

in the middle of those for me.

So, guys, what's the best bit about Christmas?

-Families.

-Aww!

Is it nice to see the kids getting involved, as well?

I love it when they help.

You don't need to pay someone to make your canapes.

-You've got a whole team of people here!

-Exactly.

'As well as cheese and tomato,

'the boys are also making some with sour cream, onions and prosciutto.'

They look brilliant, chaps. Well done.

I think you've done really, really well. Well done.

'Come the real Christmas, just a bit of preparation

'could help save the Goffs nearly £130 on canapes alone.'

-Oh, they look all right, they do.

-They look great, don't they?

-You and the boys.

-Brilliant. Kids done well.

'Just time for one more tip.

'Angela normally buys a posh party pack of cheese

'along with chutneys and crackers,

'then buys even more cheese for the rest of Christmas.'

'At £75, that's not to be sniffed at.'

What we've done is, we've just bought the cheeses separately,

but actually, you get quite a bit more, so I think what we should do

is cut some of it in half, wrap it up and stick it in the fridge.

-We can use them for another day.

-OK.

-Yeah?

'Buying larger individual cheeses, we've only spent £22.29.

'A very tasty saving of just over £52.'

I think I'm going to go even under half.

-Oh, now you're saving, aren't you?

-I tell you.

'Time to get this party started.'

Wow.

What's this?

We made the pizzas, me and Louis.

Ooh, did you?

Just for you guys.

With more than 200 canapes on offer, there's plenty to go round.

-Lovely.

-Hmmm, I like that.

They're not bad. They're good.

-Oh, they taste nice!

-They do actually taste really good.

But are their guests impressed by their offerings?

Enjoying the spread?

Very nice, yeah.

-Yeah, the chicken's lovely.

-Is it?

-Yeah.

-Any favourites?

-This one.

-You know, the kids helped make that, actually.

-We heard that after we'd eaten it.

-It's brilliant, isn't it?

-It's brilliant.

OK, well, I think I've sprinkled some festive cheer.

-You have, indeed.

-I think I'm going to leave you to enjoy the party.

Thank you very much.

With the food fast disappearing, it's on to Mum's favourite tipple...

Champagne.

-Ooh!

-Ooh, it went...ooh!

The Goffs usually splash out on ten bottles of a brand leader...

Merry Christmas.

..Setting them back £300.

What will they think of the fizz we've given them?

-What do you think?

-I quite like that.

So, do you think they've swapped it?

Oh, I don't know! It is very nice.

It is, it's a winner.

Well, it IS a swap.

A supermarket own-brand Champagne at £10 a bottle cheaper.

That could mean a £100 saving on their Christmas bill.

But what if they could save even more?

As a nation we quaff more than £141 million of Champagne a year.

But a great value alternative is Cava, made in the Catalonia region

of Spain in the same traditional way as its French rival.

In a blind taste test, will Richard

and Angela's friends be able to spot the difference?

And more importantly, which will they prefer?

I'm not really a Cava type of person

but not that I've actually tried it that much.

I tend to like Champagne or Prosecco.

I like to think I could taste the difference between a Cava

and a Champagne.

I'm not sure though, I'm not sure. Time will tell.

Up for scrutiny are:

Aldi Cava at £4.79 a bottle.

Morrison's vintage Cava at £7.

Asda's Champagne at £19.75

and Moet & Chandon Champagne

at £32.50 a pop.

Which glass of fizz will take the party goers fancy?

First up, a luxury-branded Champagne.

That's quite nice.

-Do you like that?

-Yeah, I think that's a Champagne.

Personally, I think it's a sparkling wine.

I don't like this one. I'm not keen.

No, I don't like this.

-I do. I do like this one.

-Really?

-Yeah.

I like it. It's nice, but I think it's Cava.

Next, the lowest priced Cava.

That's my favourite so far.

-It is.

-This is my favourite.

I think it's Champagne.

I think that's really cheap Cava.

I think it's Champagne. If it's not, I like it.

And finally, a supermarket Champagne.

-That's Cava.

-Yeah, definitely?

-That's Cava.

I think that's definitely one of the better ones.

-Do you?

-Yeah, it's nice.

-Yeah, again I'd go with...

-Yeah?

-..I'd say that's a Cava.

I'm going to go Champagne.

Are you?

Yeah, I am.

So, which glass of bubbly tickles their taste buds?

And the winner is...

Aldi Cava!

-ALL:

-No!

There you go, that's all you need to buy.

It was the Aldi Cava that came out as the favourite, and nearly

two thirds of the party goers actually thought it was Champagne.

In second place was brand favourite Moet & Chandon.

Coming in third was Asda's Champagne and in fourth place Morrisons Cava.

I found the results absolutely shocking.

For that to be underneath a fiver as well...it's unbelievable.

I was confident I'd get the Champagnes right

but, yeah, now I'd definitely buy the Cava.

It just shows that you shouldn't just buy what you think you

should buy for everyone.

You should buy what you like.

So, Cava won the day and the party's been a resounding success.

-Yeah, I really enjoyed myself.

-I did, yeah.

It was good and every single person preferred the home-made stuff.

I'm really shocked that I made food that people ate

and were happy to eat, I really am.

Are you? Really.

Well, I've never done anything like that in my life and it was

so easy to make that...

Fabulous, are you going to help cook?

-Yeah, I think I will.

-Good.

-I could, I could do that.

Gregg and Chris are meeting up to take on the big day...

Christmas lunch itself.

I think Angela and Richard have got stuck into a rut

with their Christmas food, relying far too heavily on pre-prepared

convenience foods which is costing them so much more money.

You know what the issue is.

Angela doesn't want to spend all Christmas in the kitchen, who can blame her.

And Richard, I think, is a little bit nervous of the kitchen.

A little bit reluctant to get stuck in.

OK, so, I think we should split up and attack this from both ends, what do you think?

Good plan.

Oh, hello! Aww. Do you want a carrot? I tell you what,

if we get this right, it'll absolutely SLEIGH 'em. Get it?

-Oh...

-No, no good?

-Oh, dear.

Chris wants to give Angela a timely lesson in planning ahead

for the big day

and he's getting a little help from resident dietician, Lucy Jones.

And, Lucy, you're always moaning that you never get to meet

-the family, so as it's...

-I know!

-Here I am!

As a special Christmas treat I've brought one here for you.

So, Angela, is it fair to say that you've got a love-hate

relationship with cooking at Christmas time?

Yes, it is fair to say that.

What we can actually hopefully share with you today is a way

to prep things in the weeks and even months in advance,

use your freezer and then just re-heat everything on the day.

Well, it's not something I've ever done before,

but, yeah, I'd be up for that, definitely.

And where better to start than the perfect roast potatoes?

Lucy's parboiled them ready for the oven.

Do you want to drain those off for me?

When we saw you in the supermarket you actually bought

frozen roast potatoes, didn't you?

I did.

So, you might be surprised to know that actually we're going

to get you to do exactly the same thing with these,

but the difference is, you haven't had to pay someone else to do it. Yeah?

Can you give them a really good shake in the colander,

so you start to get them quite fluffy?

So, the more fluffy bits you're getting,

-they're going to going really crispy when we're roasting them.

-Fabulous.

They're basted in beef dripping before Chris pops them in the oven

for around 45 minutes, then they'll be frozen ready for Christmas.

But do you know what else I'd worry about?

Is I'd think would it lose its crispness?

Well, because you're going to reheat it in the oven, you're going to crisp it up again.

It's exactly the same process as the frozen potatoes that you've bought

from the supermarket, so if you're happy with those, you'll be even...

-Going to be happy with them.

-Yeah.

Angela can even make the gravy up to three months in advance,

roasting cheap cuts from the butcher with carrots and red onion.

Once cooked, simply add cornflour, wine and stock and leave to simmer.

Basically, what freezing does is it stops bacteria

and mould from growing,

and it does this by taking the water that the bacteria and the mould

needs to grow and it locks it into ice, and then it's not available.

Time to take the potatoes out.

So is that them cooked fully or is that just partly cooked?

Because we're going to freeze them and then reheat them,

we've taken them out a little bit early.

Ten minutes early is perfect.

And then we'll finish them off on Christmas Day.

I say "we", I mean you.

Yeah, I know...please.

You can do the same with your parsnips and carrots.

Angela's adding a sprinkling of Parmesan.

Come the big day, the potatoes can be cooked

straight from frozen for 25 minutes, and the root veg 15.

Easy peasy.

Up next, it's a Christmas classic, braised red cabbage.

It's really good to remember that the more colourful your veg

the more it's got of something called phytonutrients in it

which are very good for us.

Frozen food can be as nutritious as fresh food,

and that's because once a food is frozen, actually, you don't get

that day-to-day degradation of vitamins and minerals.

Red wine vinegar and sugar are added alongside cinnamon and nutmeg.

-It smells so Christmassy already.

-Yeah, it does.

Just a couple of simple spices really brings it to life, doesn't it?

Yeah, it smells amazing.

Chris drops in some chopped apples and leaves to stew.

Angela, are you sort of...a little bit amazed at how easy it all is

to get prepared in advance?

Yeah. Loving it. I'm absolutely loving it.

Because I do love cooking, I love cooking,

and it is...just always comes down to time.

The most important thing to remember is to let everything

cool before freezing.

Particularly anything with meat,

we want to rapidly cool that as quickly as we can.

So, Lucy sits the gravy in a sink of cold water.

Whilst it's warm, those sort of bacteria

and microorganisms can thrive and grow, so the quicker

we get it cooler and the quicker we can get it frozen, the better.

With everything ready for the freezer, Angela's good to go.

Did you ever think you'd be having a Christmas dinner

out of Tupperware boxes?

Never. Well, it'll be interesting to see if it tastes any different.

Over to Gregg, can he sprinkle some Christmas magic too?

Right, this is where I wanted to bring you. Morning, Stuart.

He's brought Richard to his local fishmongers.

We'd like to put together a seafood platter for Christmas.

At the moment you are ordering...

and that is coming to over 100 quid isn't it?

It is, yeah. Yeah.

£108 for premade premium platters, to be exact.

Can Gregg whip up something just as luxurious

for a fraction of the cost?

-Right, prawns.

-OK.

Yeah, we've got some nice wild ones from Greenland.

Some of those.

And...smoked salmon.

Yeah? Got some Scottish ones there, all done for you.

-Or you've got the trimmings here..

-Ahh. Yeah, yeah, yeah.

-I've got an idea, can we have both?

-You can do both.

I think that'll do us.

-If I save you money, will you buy me a pint?

-I will do.

There you go, guys.

That's wonderful, thank you.

Time to tackle the platter, it should be made on the day

you want to eat it, but luckily for Richard, it couldn't be simpler.

-First of all, you and I are going to make a smoked salmon pate.

-OK.

Look at that, that's beautiful fish and that's just all the trimmings.

Top tip, Gregg! At around £13 less a kilo than smoked salmon slices,

these trimmings taste exactly the same.

Perfect for the pate.

Open up the cream cheese, put a little bit of the sour cream in.

Do you do much cooking, Richard?

I don't do enough, really.

Not anything from fresh, nothing like this.

-But your father was a chef?

-He was, yeah.

So it should be in your genes, mate, shouldn't it?

You'd have thought so, yeah, yeah.

-Mix in, brother, keep mixing in.

-I think it's just a...

a matter of being a little bit scared of what to do,

I don't really know any recipes or anything like that.

I think the best recipes are the simple ones.

A splash of lemon and seasoning and it's ready to go.

How easy was this?

Very easy, very straightforward, I can...I can remember that.

Well, I think that took us about three minutes, chef.

-Didn't take long.

-Cheers.

-Cheers.

Back of the net!

Mmm, lovely.

Next on Gregg's fish list, roasted garlic,

added to supermarket own-brand mayo to go with the prawns.

-That's good.

-Yeah.

Right now, we're going to put the last plate together,

mini blinis, OK?

A spoonful of sour cream, slices of smoked salmon.

Won't taste any different to our offcuts.

Roll it around, bit of lumpfish caviar, right?

Much cheaper than the posh stuff,

this lumpfish caviar comes in at just £2.50 for the jar.

Gives your plate a bit of bling.

Taste that and tell me what you think.

-That's lovely.

-Does that work, chef?

-That works lovely.

That's one seafood platter a-FISH-cionado.

Aren't they good? Do you think Angela will be impressed?

I think she will. I think she's really going to like that.

The pair of you are really going to love it when you find out how much you've spent.

They'll be reeling. It cost just over 23 quid,

but will Angela like it?

It looks so posh. I love it.

Cheers.

-Oh...

-Good?

-Oh, my God, that is actually really, really good.

Do you think it would be worth doing this or buying the platters?

No I'd definitely do this, this is 100%,

and the fact that you know how to make it, so it's down to you.

Right, OK, yeah!

It might not be December the 25th,

but it's Christmas morning at the Goffs.

# Here comes Santa Here comes Santa... #

Very exciting Christmas morning.

The boys are really excited about their fake Christmas.

Merry fake Christmas!

And their whole family's dressed for the occasion.

Who likes everyone's jumpers?

Oh, you lot have all got really, really great jumpers on.

All in the festive spirit.

Normally, Angela would be slaving away in the kitchen

on Christmas morning, but not today as all her veg is prepped.

Merry Christmas and a...

Happy New Year.

Happy New Year! Ta-da!

So, just the turkey to get ready.

Turkey in.

Every Christmas in the UK, we eat 10 million turkeys, but with

prices ranging from £10 to £100 how do you choose which one to buy?

Gregg has come to Essex to meet free-range turkey farmer Paul Kelly.

-How are you?

-Very well, happy Christmas.

-Good to see you.

Now, tell me, how long have you been farming turkeys?

Since I was four, and I love it.

It's really sad, isn't it?

There's lots of different breeds, free-range turkeys,

bronze turkeys, white turkeys, and the reason all these turkeys are

grown in different ways is really to suit people's purses at Christmas.

Paul's farm caters for the higher end of the turkey market.

PAUL SCREECHES LIKE A TURKEY

-GREG SCREECHES LIKE A TURKEY

-Don't be so rude, they didn't like that.

He breeds traditional slow-growing bronze turkeys.

What's a slow-growing as opposed to a fast-growing?

How can you alter that?

Well, what's happened is, I mean, the turkeys, like all livestock,

like chickens, pigs, has been bred for growth and food conversion.

These breeds haven't been selected for any growth rate.

It's not just the breed alone, you know, it's how long you grow it for.

What has the biggest single impact on flavour is maturity.

The older the bird, the better the flavour.

-Is that right?

-Yeah.

Typically, a slow-grown turkey will live up to six months,

compared to around 12 weeks for a fast-grown one.

So how many turkeys can I see around me now?

1,500.

And how many turkeys do you breed every year?

-1.3 million.

-GREGG GASPS

But how do Paul's slow-growing turkeys compare to

other supermarket options?

We've got a standard fresh turkey,

we've got a slow-growing traditional breed, and we've got a turkey crown.

This is a big fast-growing breed, getting into its teenage years

and it hasn't filled out.

It's laid its bones down,

it's just starting to put the meat and the fat down,

and then it's killed because it's the right weight.

This bird has grown an extra three months

and it's laid all that meat down,

laid the fat down, and then it's killed.

They're the same weight but this is three months older

so it's got an awful lot more meat on it.

So with a faster-growing bird, basically is a much bigger breed?

Exactly. Look at the difference in the size of the wing.

-GREGG CHUCKLES

-Yeah?

These are identical weight birds and that just shows you

the difference in the breed.

How much do they cost?

This is 5 kilo - typically that would be 25 to 30 quid.

This will be anything from 55 to 60 quid,

and that will be the same price as the whole bird.

-Cos the farmer needs to get the same money.

-Money, that's right.

So if you want to take the legs off, that's fine,

he's going to charge you more for the crown.

-Is that right?

-That's exactly right.

When it comes to the taste, does age really make a difference?

HE SMACKS HIS LIPS

First up, Paul's slow-grown mature turkey.

-The taste is good but the texture is very, very good.

-Mm-hmm.

Very good turkey breast.

I'd like some gravy and a roast potato.

Next, the fast-growing younger bird.

The texture is so much drier.

It's because of that maturity.

There is no comparison in those two meats, none at all.

The more expensive bird is far better quality,

however, come Christmas, with a glass of wine

and a big stack of roast potatoes and gravy,

you've got to make your own mind up whether you want to

-pay twice the price, that's the thing.

-Mmm-hmm.

So the turkey is the one place you can spend a bit more money.

'There are cheaper alternatives that you don't'

have to feel bad about buying.

I suppose the answer to the turkey question is simply this -

you spend as much money on your Christmas turkey as you want to.

Back at the Goffs', Mum's taking the turkey out of the oven.

We're definitely cooked.

The family were already buying a slow-grown turkey

from their local butcher, so we haven't swapped it.

While the turkey rests,

it's off to the freezer to grab the ready-prepared veg.

All I've got to do is put it in the oven.

It's as simple as defrosting the gravy and cabbage,

and chucking the frozen potatoes, parsnips and carrots

straight into the oven.

Mmm, it's all smelling very, very good.

It really helps having this stuff done in advance.

It's a matter of just putting in, putting out, serving up, done.

Angela loves her premium stuffing,

but we've swapped it for a supermarket own-brand

that could save her over £6 every Christmas.

Ah, it smells good.

In it goes. Christmas lunch prep is looking pretty easy so far.

It smells fantastic in here.

Why, thank you very much.

I will be quite interested to see, though,

now it's been frozen and reheated,

if it still tastes as good,

cos I think that's a lot of people's concerns.

As the Goff boys lay up...

-Hi! Happy Christmas.

-Happy Christmas!

..Richard's family are at the door.

Very nice.

-Hi, Olivia.

-Hello!

-Hi!

The feast is ready.

Some red cabbage.

-Oh, this looks good.

-Good, good, good!

What will the family think of Angela's all-new Christmas dinner?

-It looks beautiful, well done.

-Looks very nice.

Oh, thank you very much.

Merry Christmas!

CHEERING

So what's the verdict, guys?

It's amazing.

I think the turkey's really good, Mum.

-The roast potatoes are lovely.

-Mmm.

Good, because those potatoes are £1.25 cheaper than your usual

branded bag of frozen roasties.

Mmm, that stuffing's good.

And what about the frozen veg?

The parsnips taste just the same as if they'd done them fresh.

We're really surprised. It holds its taste.

It really holds its taste, yeah.

-CORK POPS

-Treat yourself.

The family are enjoying the fizz, but we've been a bit cheeky

and swapped Angela's branded champs again,

this time for the taste-test-winning Cava.

-Good.

-OK? So you like that one?

-CHILDREN SQUEAL

Yes, I do like that.

Well, that's good, because it's a staggering £25.21 cheaper a bottle.

Would you be happy if I served this every year?

-Yes.

-Even if it was Cava?

-Whatever, you wouldn't...

-Even if it was Cava, it doesn't matter.

-Merry Christmas!

-Cheers to that! Merry Christmas.

Out comes the Christmas pudding.

We swapped mum's luxury deli pud for a supermarket own brand

that costs over £4 less.

That is delicious, really delicious.

I do like it.

-ALL:

-Merry Christmas! Cheers!

-CHEERING

'100%, I will definitely take on board'

the freezing before for Christmas dinner.

'Yeah, it's definitely going to give me my Christmas morning back.

'It's going to give me time with my family and my husband.'

This, for me, has been the best day over the whole Christmas so far.

Christmas dinner, though, wouldn't be complete

without a festive classic -

the beloved mince pie.

This Christmas, we'll eat tens of millions of them,

but which one comes out on top?

# Deck the halls with boughs of holly... #

Who better to ask at this time of year than

the Hackney Empire Community Choir,

busy rehearsing for the Christmas season?

What makes a good mince pie for me is

if there's not too much pastry and a lot of filling,

cos then you get the flavour of the mincemeat more than the pastry.

I want something that's got a lot of spice

cos my mother used a lot of spice.

Really what I'm looking for is the mince pie that

my mother used to make, really.

I'd like to think I could tell a cheap mince pie

from an expensive one but I'm not so sure.

Up for scrutiny are...

Aldi, the lowest priced,

at just 19p per pie,

Mr Kipling at 25p,

Tesco's Finest at 33p,

Marks and Spencer's, costing 42p,

and Fortnum & Mason,

the most expensive,

at a whopping £2.33 each.

Which mince pie will make the choir sing for joy?

First up, a value mince pie.

-That sort of feels soggy.

-Oh, it's the bottom.

-It's a soggy bottom, isn't it?

-A soggy bottom.

The filling is not very nice at all, is it?

I'm not sure what it is but I don't like the filling.

I don't like it at all.

It's sort of sticking to the inside of my mouth.

I don't like the feel of it.

Next, a supermarket own brand.

-I really like this one.

-This one's got alcohol in it.

-Lemony.

-Has it got brandy or something?

-It's got alcohol.

-There we go.

I love the fruit. It's more citrusy, I think.

I think it might be one of the more expensive ones.

Yeah, I agree with you there.

Finally, a luxury product.

This one's very sweet compared to the rest.

It's too sweet.

It's too sweet for me.

-It's very strong, isn't it?

-Yeah, it is.

-The flavour of the fruit.

-I like that one.

Don't care where it's from but that was a good mince pie.

It doesn't taste like it's one of the top brands

-as far as I'm concerned. It's not very nice.

-Yeah.

But which mince pie has hit the high notes with our singers?

# On the first day of Christmas My true love gave to me

# Tesco's mince pies. #

-Wow!

-Ah!

Top of the table is supermarket own brand, Tesco.

In second place was popular brand Mr Kipling.

In third place was the most expensive from Fortnum & Mason.

Coming in fourth was Marks & Spencer,

and finally Aldi.

I was very, very surprised.

I didn't expect Tesco's to come out on top at all.

I thought the Fortnum & Mason's would have come higher

and it would have been noticeably better quality.

It does go to show that you don't have to spend huge amounts to

get a really, really good-tasting product.

# Fa-la-la-la-la

# La-la-la-la. #

The Goffs wake up to the last day of the experiment

in time for one more surprise.

OK.

JOLLY MUSIC PLAYS

-Right.

-Are we going to see what we've got for Boxing Day food?

-RECORD SCRATCHES AND MUSIC STOPS

-Oh.

-Hmm...

Not much. Ha!

Where's all our Boxing Day food?

I don't know where all our Boxing Day food is.

-Shall we go and see if there's anything in the fridge?

-Yeah.

They usually spend close to £250 buying in party platters,

picky bits and even a whole ham,

but not this time.

-Oh...

-We've got to open these drawers.

Oh, it's the leftovers.

Our elves have stashed all the Christmas Day leftovers

in the fridge, where they'll keep for up to three days.

Potatoes, turkey..

Turkey.

Blurgh!

Morning.

Fear not, Goff family -

Santa's little helper hasn't clocked off yet.

Happy Boxing Day, mate!

-Happy Boxing Day.

-How are you, you all right? Yeah.

-Got any leftovers left?

-Oh, we've got plenty.

What do you think of all the Boxing Day ingredients you've got?

-Doesn't inspire me.

-Why?

Because I don't want to eat it. I had it yesterday.

I don't want any more.

-Well, it's an awful lot of food to throw away.

-It is.

-Mmm.

But the Goffs aren't the only ones.

In the UK, 4.2 million tonnes of good food goes to waste every year,

and Christmas time is no exception.

We're going to make a few things today.

Gregg kicks off with a recipe using yesterday's bird.

-Angela, you are going to make a turkey pate.

-Oh, OK.

Richard, we're going to get you onto coronation turkey.

You've got everything you need here.

Angela blends turkey with cooked onions,

adds cream, seasons,

and in just a few minutes, voila, the pate's done.

Mmm. Mmm, that tastes good.

Meanwhile, Richard fries some onions for the coronation turkey.

Right, let's add a bit of curry powder.

Smells good.

We want 450g of turkey.

-Lovely.

-Right.

I'm going to give you a pot of yoghurt to stick in there.

You need about 200g of mango chutney.

I like chutney, so be bold, Rich.

Over the course of their Christmas experiment,

Gregg's seen one very big change.

You love cooking, mate.

Do you know what? I think you're right, I think I do.

I have enjoyed this, I really have.

I should do more and I can do more.

There is a chef in me somewhere.

To use up the leftover veg, they're also knocking up a hearty soup...

LIQUIDIZER BUZZES

..and Gregg's vegetable scones.

I would never in a million years do something like this, ever.

Simply mix your leftover veg with flour...

There you go. Go on, son.

Lovely.

..add milk, and shape into small balls,

sprinkle with leftover cheese and bake in the oven.

Lovely.

And finally, a bit of Christmas flavour to the leftover ice cream.

The ice cream's been softening nicely.

Break up the Christmas cake.

OK.

Into this one, we're going to break mince pies.

Break up the big lumps.

-I'm excited by that already.

-ANGELA LAUGHS

You want to get the tubs back in the freezer within 30 minutes.

-That makes me happy, that does.

-Does it?

Right, we've used up most of your Christmas leftovers.

And I was quite happy to throw the lot this morning.

-Were you?

-Yeah, I really was.

A couple of finishing touches, get the plates together

and we can get the boys down for dinner.

-Fabulous.

-OK.

-Let's do that.

The extra ingredients to make these dishes have only cost £21.09,

so let's put all that hard work to the test.

Oh, my God, that soup is amazing.

-The pate is really good.

-Yeah, isn't it?

-It's beautiful.

Richard's serving his coronation turkey in yesterday's

leftover Yorkshires.

Oh, my goodness. Mmm.

Ten out of ten.

Ten out of ten! There you go, Dad.

Wow, high praise,

and the bonus is, we'd swapped their usual Yorkshire puddings

for a supermarket own brand,

at a saving of 35p a pud.

Win-win.

-Would you love some ice cream?

-Mmm-mmm-mmm!

So not only are the Goffs using their leftovers for this dessert,

that ice cream was also a swap.

What do you think?

Amazing.

We switched their premium ice cream to a supermarket own brand

that could save them £2.

Sweet.

OK, you lot, what do you want?

Your new Boxing Day dinner or your old Boxing Day dinner?

-New.

-New.

-Stick with the new.

Hmm...

New.

I never thought my mind would be changed about the leftovers,

but he just done things that I'd never think of doing

and the fact that Richard was so excited about it,

it was really, really nice.

My Christmas food will not be going in the bin this year.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

-Merry Christmas!

-Yeah!

The Goffs have come to the end of their festive food swap experiment,

but have Gregg and Chris managed to save them any money?

Well, these are heavy, shall we put them down?

-GREGG GROANS

-Big day ahead of us, I think.

Yes. This has been a really interesting experiment

because these guys are not alone in overspending at Christmas.

Do you think we've convinced them that they were buying too much food?

Well, how much did we want to cut it by? I mean, half would have

-been lovely, wouldn't it?

-But, I think, achievable.

What if they didn't like anything that we suggested?

Then you and I are going to be left a little bit red-faced

-and pulling our own crackers, I think.

-Humbug. Humbug!

Come on, let's go and spread some festive cheer, shall we?

MUSIC: Just Like Christmas by Low

'As their practice Christmas draws to a close, how are the Goffs feeling?'

Something that's really come to light for me

is the burden that Richard feels to give us the Christmas that he

feels we should have as a family, which actually quite upsets me.

# It was just like Christmas... #

I would never, ever want you to feel that way.

'If we can still have a lovely Christmas,'

and he doesn't feel that burden, then we've won.

# It was just like Christmas... #

So Angela, Richard, did it feel like Christmas?

-It did.

-Yeah.

I feel like we're done, dusted, right, you know?

What would you say you've learnt?

-I've learnt I can cook.

-ANGELA LAUGHS

I can get in a kitchen and actually make something.

I'd say the biggest things I've learnt would definitely be

the freezing, a little bit more planning,

and I'd be interested to see about the alcohol,

because I'm hoping that's going to be a big thing

that I'm going to be able to save on.

Oh...

'Time now to reveal what Christmas food and drink was swapped

'and what wasn't.'

You were spending over £100 on premade seafood platters.

-Yes.

-Yeah.

Was there enough on that seafood platter?

-Loads.

-There was, yeah.

-And you liked it?

-Loved it.

Would you like to see the saving?

-Yes.

-Yeah.

-Oh!

-Oh, right, really?

£85 cheaper.

-Right, OK.

-That is shocking, and embarrassing.

-Would you say you're shellshocked?

-I am shellshocked!

Eh?

-Isn't that phenomenal?

-That is.

-So that's a definite swap?

-Absolutely.

'Well, they snapped that up.'

How did you get on with your Christmas pudding?

Yeah, I really liked it.

I'm glad to hear that because..

-that was £4 cheaper.

-Oh, my God.

-I can't believe that.

-Wow.

Are you going to keep that Christmas pudding?

-I think so, yeah.

-100%, yeah.

'It's ta-ra to the expensive deli pudding.

'What about the Boxing Day food?'

Were you pleased with what happened to your leftovers?

Yeah, I was really pleased.

I loved the soup and I loved the coronation turkey,

they were my two favourite. Loved them.

-Do you know what the saving would have been?

-Go on.

-£227.

-SHE GASPS

Oh, my God.

That's frightening.

That is just ridiculous.

I'm shocked, to be honest with you.

So what are you going to do?

-Swap.

-Get busy in the kitchen.

I tell you what, if you say Angela does

the cooking on Christmas Day and Boxing Day's yours...

Yeah, get me a hat and an apron.

-We'll have that as a deal.

-Shake on it.

'There were a few swaps that the Goffs turned down flat...'

-No good?

-No, no.

-Not keeping it?

-Yuck.

'..but most were a winner.'

So the saving on cheese alone actually comes to 52 quid!

-Cheese!

-On cheese, yeah.

Stupid, isn't it?

'In fact, Richard and Angela took on over 80% of

'Gregg and Chris's ideas, including swaps and overbuying.'

I actually cannot believe that.

'And what did they think of the turkey?'

I was convinced it was the same.

You're absolutely right, it's exactly the same.

-Oh, was it? Right, OK, then.

-Yay!

We think you should spend as much as you can afford.

-ANGELA LAUGHS

-Suits you.

Now, Angela, I know a subject very close to your heart -

how did you get on with the champagne we gave you?

Yes, it was very nice.

Can I show you what we gave you?

-Yes.

-That.

Oh...

Swapping the ten bottles will save you £10 a bottle -

that's 100 quid on champagne.

Right, OK.

Oh, OK. Oh, it's a definite swap.

Actually, before you agree to keep that,

how did you get on with the bubbles we gave you on Christmas Day?

Yeah, we liked that as well.

-Yeah.

-Well...

it was in fact Cava,

-and it's only £25.21 a bottle cheaper.

-Wow.

-Wow.

-That's over £250.

Right.

Would you like to swap the Cava for the champagne?

-I would, yep.

-100%.

For the whole ten bottles?

-Ten bottles, yep.

-Yes.

That's a mega saving. Well done.

'Chris and Gregg's strategy was to reduce the Goff's Christmas waste,

'get them cooking again and bring down their festive food bills,

'so how much money have they saved them?'

When we first met you,

you were spending around £1,400 on your Christmas food and drink,

and you mentioned, Richard, that on the build-up to Christmas,

you've got to do quite a lot of overtime to pay for it.

Yeah, I do, yeah.

Yeah, and if we could make any savings then, obviously,

I've got that time back - time to spend with the family.

-We have made some savings.

-Right, OK.

So we've managed to save you, on your food and drink...

-around £860.

-Oh, my God.

-Wow.

-Are you serious?

Yeah.

-Wow, that's...that's impressive.

-No way.

-Yeah.

Oh, it was a big shock, yeah.