Laois native and renowned chef Rory O'Connell stars in RTÉ Christmas cooking special
The chef will be returning to RTÉ One this year with yet another must-watch two-part Christmas special.
Laois native and chef Rory O'Connell will star in a two-part festive cooking special on RTÉ One over Christmas.
How to Cook Well at Christmas with Rory O'Connell will see the renowned chef share seasonal recipes and creative cooking tips to help make cooking over Christmas a stress free and enjoyable experience.
The seasoned professional, Rory, has been teaching people how to cook for 40 years with the Ballymaloe Cookery School in Cork, which Rory co-founded with his sister Darina, celebrating its 40th anniversary last year.
Commenting on the upcoming Christmas special, Rory said: "The ritual around eating and meals is about so much more than just the food itself. And I suppose that's never more true, really, than at Christmas.
"It's the time of the year when you pull out some of those dishes that you only use once a year, and most of the preparations can be done before your guests arrive, allowing you, the cook, to enjoy the event as much as everyone else."
The first of the two-part special will feature on RTÉ One at 7.30pm on Sunday, 22 December. In this episode, Rory will prepare a salad of roast butternut squash with chickpeas and salmoriglio, an Italian and herb sauce.
And of course, it wouldn't be Christmas without some turkey and ham inspired dishes. Rory will follow his starter dish with a savoury turkey and ham bread and butter pudding, and finally a chocolate and pear flan.
Part-two will air on RTÉ One at 7pm on Monday, 23 December. Here, Rory's first recipe will be choux pastry and rings with smoked trout and almonds. He then will prepare three cheese mille feuille with cranberries, followed by a seasonal Christmas ice-cream with whiskey soaked prunes.
Rory's Christmas special last year managed to pull in over 553,000 viewers.
Make sure to tune into the show over Christmas for what is sure to be a mouth-watering watch!