What’s On is delighted to announce that one of the world’s most famous chefs, Marco Pierre White, has joined us as a columnist from January 2014.

The legendary British restauranteur, who is credited with pioneering the culture of celebrity chefs, will impart his signifiant expertise on us every month in our Eat section, delivering new recipes and insider knowledge on the latest food trends and talking points.

Marco, whose Wheeler’s in DIFC and new MPW Grill in the Conrad Hotel are among the most popular spots in Dubai, became the youngest and first British chef to be awarded three Michelin stars when he was just 33, and has been a leader in the field ever since. To say that we’re excited doesn’t quite cover it.

I’m sure you will all join us in welcoming him on board.

To celebrate his arrival, we’ve asked Marco to give us a little helping hand this Christmas, though he insists it shouldn’t be a time to stress over the stove.

He says: “I’m a great believer that when it comes to cooking Christmas lunch, you have to make things easy for yourself. I like recipes that are quick to make, but packed with flavor. That’s what Christmas is all about.”

So with that in mind, here’s an easy guide to making the perfect bread sauce, because “turkey without bread sauce, for me, is not a turkey”.

He explains: “Lots of people think making bread sauce is difficult. What is it… it’s milk, a pinch of nutmeg, one stock cube, an onion studded with some cloves and a bay leaf. And a bit of butter. You just scold it, lift out the onion and add the breadcrumbs. All you do then is stir it up and cook it out slowly. What you don’t want, is don’t make it too wet, we want it a little firm – let’s not forget it’s a bread sauce. If you stick to 3 to 1, (what I mean by that is 600ml of milk and 200g of breadcrumbs) you wont be far wrong. It’s almost foolproof. And that’s what we’re looking for, something very simple. It takes 5 /6 minutes to cook and is ready to be passed around the table.”

INGREDIENTS
600ml milk
1 bay leaf
1 onion
4 cloves
1 pinch nutmeg
15g unsalted butter
1 chicken stock cube
200g breadcrumbs

METHOD
1. Pour the milk into a pan
2. Peel and cut the onion in half
3. Secure the bay leaf to the onion by using the cloves as pegs and put it in the pan
4. Add the butter, nutmeg and stock cube
5. Stir it all in and bring to the boil
6. Remove the onion (with the bay leaf and cloves)
7. Pour in the breadcrumbs
8. Cook for 5 minutes to thicken
9. Ready to serve