If push came to shove, I would happily forgo the turkey and the pudding, but there’s one bit of the feast that would have to be physically wrested from my grasp — stilton. But what to choose if you want to branch out from tradition this Christmas? Here’s what the big cheeses recommend:

Randolph Hodgson of Neal’s Yard Dairy, the trailblazer of Britain’s farmhouse-cheese revival “Appleby’s cheshire: savoury, juicy and complex, with a fresh, acidic tang — a really traditional British cheese.” £21.10 per kg; 020 7240 5700

Eric Charriaux of La Cave à Fromage, supplier to all of Britain’s Michelin three-star restaurants “Tomme au marc de raisin — a young tomme de savoie soaked in marc [grape alcohol], then covered in dried grapes. The fruity flavour is fantastic.” £2.65 per 100g; la-cave.co.uk

Patricia Michelson of La Fromagerie, a treasure trove for London fromageophiles “Truffle brie — brie de meaux sandwiched with truffles and mascarpone. It’s so decadent.” £45 per kg; lafromagerie.co.uk

Rhuaridh Buchanan of Paxton & Whitfield, Britain’s oldest cheesemonger “Serra da estrela from Portugal. Made mainly from ewe’s milk, it has wonderful sweet, sour, savoury flavours.” £30 per kg; paxtonandwhitfield.co.uk

Ann-Marie Dyas of The Fine Cheese Co, a brilliant Bath cheese shop “Old Smales, a gouda-style cheese from Hampshire. It’s aged for 14 months, giving a cheese that is wonderfully crystalline, but still retains the sweetness of the milk. Fantastic and a real talking point.” £19.50 per kg; finecheese.co.uk

Ben Axford of CheeseWorks, an acclaimed Cheltenham cheese shop “Oxford Isis: the only cheese with rind washed in honey mead. It is pungent yet sweet.” £7 for a 225g cheese; thecheeseworks.co.uk

CAUSING RIPAILLES

There are some cookbooks where every page makes you hungry, and Ripailles — French for “feasting” — is one of them. Written by the Parisian chef Stéphane Reynaud, its stories and flavours evoke the simple pleasures of French farmhouses and provincial bistros, with recipes for rustic terrines, country soups, rich braises and grand-mère desserts. I currently have it on my bedside table. Murdoch Books £25

SIDE ORDERS

If you want to liven up your drinks party, bring out The Arabica Food & Spice Company’s incredible nuts. The top-class kernels come from a traditional roaster in the Lebanon, who miraculously coaxes them to the perfect balance of nuttiness, saltiness and crunch. From pistachios and peanuts to cashews, hazelnuts and macadamias, I reckon they’re the best you’ll ever taste. From £14 per kg loose, and gift bags from £5, from arabicafoodandspice.com (020 7708 5577), Borough Market, SE1, and the Slow Food Market, the South Bank, SE1, December 20-23

Ditty’s Oaties are deliciously crumbly oatcakes from an artisan bakery in Northern Ireland — and the perfect foil for cheese. There’s a traditional version, plus one with walnuts and another with smoked oats. From £1.69, from Waitrose, Whole Foods Market and Fresh & Wild

Henrietta Lovell’s Rare Tea Co sells some of the world’s most delicious teas. So delicious, in fact, that her jasmine silver tips have permanently changed my tea-drinking habits. The good news is you can now buy her teas in selected Waitrose (call 0800 188884 for branches). They cost more than your average char, but you not only get wonderful flavours (and rather a pretty tin), but several brews from each lot of leaves. As Lovell says: “Proper tea is not theft.” From £5.50

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