{"id":334809,"date":"2025-12-25T11:14:09","date_gmt":"2025-12-25T11:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/334809\/"},"modified":"2025-12-25T11:14:09","modified_gmt":"2025-12-25T11:14:09","slug":"i-asked-ai-to-help-plan-my-christmas-dinner-and-one-suggestion-was-blasphemy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/334809\/","title":{"rendered":"I asked AI to help plan my Christmas dinner and one suggestion was blasphemy"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>From the traditional to the downright bizarre, here&#8217;s what ChatGPT thinks we should all be cooking this Christmas Day<img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/0_Roasting-Turkey-in-the-Oven-for-Holiday-Dinner.jpg\" alt=\"A roast turkey being pulled out of the oven\" loading=\"eager\"  \/>ChatGPT gave me four options for Christmas dinner &#8211; and only one mentioned turkey(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">It\u2019s the most wonderful time of the year, sure &#8211; but it\u2019s also the most stressful. From the decorating to the gift-buying and, of course, the food, there\u2019s a lot of preparation that goes into Christmas.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">So I\u2019m not surprised that this year, people are turning to AI for help.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">A quick disclaimer from me: I\u2019m not a fan of the idea of using AI for this sort of thing. I personally think the good old-fashioned method of asking family and friends for the recipes that have been passed down generations sums up what Christmas is all about &#8211; keeping traditions going and connecting over a shared love of food and the festive season.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">And in fact, I have never used ChatGPT in my personal life. So when I opened it to ask the faceless all-knowing AI to basically make me Christmas dinner, I wasn\u2019t entirely sure how it was going to go.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">I started off with a simple question: \u201cWhat should I cook for Christmas dinner?\u201d And in seconds, ChatGPT had pulled information from what I can only assume are thousands upon thousands of recipe books, blogs and websites to give me the answer &#8211; here are the options it gave me.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">ChronicleLive has created a dedicated WhatsApp community for breaking news and our biggest stories. You can <a class=\"TextLink_text-link__dBSS0 TextLink_enabled__dJF3l\" href=\"https:\/\/www.chroniclelive.co.uk\/news\/north-east-news\/join-chroniclelive-whatsapp-community-signup-26563249\" target=\"\" aria-label=\"\" rel=\"follow nofollow noopener\" tabindex=\"0\">join this WhatsApp community here<\/a>. It will keep you up-to-date with news as it breaks and our top stories of the day sent directly to your phone.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Classic Christmas Dinner\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Admittedly, I also don\u2019t do much of the cooking in my house, so I asked my wife &#8211; who will be in charge of our Christmas dinner this year &#8211; to give me her verdict on each of the options too. The first option ChatGPT gave me was a Classic Christmas Dinner, described as \u201cperfect if you want tradition and comfort\u201d.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Here is the menu:<\/p>\n<p>Main: Roast turkey or honey-glazed hamSides: Garlic mashed potatoes, roasted carrots and parsnips, and Brussels sprouts roasted with bacon or balsamicSauce: Gravy and cranberry sauceDessert: Christmas pudding, mince pies, or apple pie<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The verdict: This is basically a list of what we have for Christmas dinner every year, and I doubt many people need AI to tell them that turkey followed by mince pies is a good idea for a festive spread. My wife was impressed by this offering &#8211; although she did bemoan the lack of roast potatoes, which are a must-have on every plate of Christmas dinner in our household.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Elegant but not too fussy\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">Described as something that \u201cfeels special without stressing you out\u201d, the next option from ChatGPT was somewhat more unusual. Here\u2019s the menu:<\/p>\n<p>Main: Roast chicken with lemon, garlic and herbs or beef tenderloinSides: Dauphinoise potatoes, green beans with almonds, and a simple mixed saladDessert: Chocolate yule log or tiramisu<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The verdict: I\u2019m not entirely sure what vibe this dinner is going for &#8211; fine dining without the extra preparation? Either way, it failed to impress. As my wife succinctly put it: \u201cSalad has no place on a Christmas menu.\u201d Hear, hear.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Vegetarian \/ modern Christmas\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The third choice from ChatGPT was one for the vegetarian and vegan diners. Here\u2019s what it suggested:<\/p>\n<p>Main: Mushroom Wellington or roasted squash stuffed with lentils &amp; herbsSides: Crispy roast potatoes, honey-glazed carrots (or maple for a vegan option), and red cabbage slawDessert: Spiced pear tart or vegan chocolate cake<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The verdict: As neither a vegan nor a vegetarian, I can\u2019t say with certainty how good of a menu this is. However, we have friends and family members who are vegetarian and love a nut roast for special occasions, so if the roasted squash option was tweaked to be a squash-based roast, this would probably be a solid option that felt a bit more festive.<\/p>\n<p>\u2018Cosy and casual\u2019<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">And finally, ChatGPT gave me a solution for a \u201crelaxed and social\u201d Christmas &#8211; and I immediately knew what my wife would have to say about it. Here it is:<\/p>\n<p>Main: Baked pasta (lasagne or stuffed shells)Sides: Garlic bread and roasted veggiesDessert: Cheesecake or brownies with ice cream<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">The verdict: I love pasta as much as the next person, but this is a regular weekday meal in my house &#8211; and not even a special Friday night one at that. My wife, after pulling a face, branded this option \u201cblasphemy\u201d and I couldn\u2019t agree more &#8211; there are plenty of supermarket-bought options that are easy to throw in the oven but still feel a lot more festive than this.<\/p>\n<p class=\"Paragraph_paragraph-text__PVKlh  undefined\" data-tmdatatrack=\"content-unit\" data-tmdatatrack-type=\"paragraph\">ChatGPT ended its list by telling me that it could design a specific Christmas menu and timeline just for me if I gave it some more details &#8211; but I think I\u2019ll leave that to my wife for the foreseeable future.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"From the traditional to the downright bizarre, here&#8217;s what ChatGPT thinks we should all be cooking this Christmas&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":334810,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[554,733,4308,3462,612,86,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-334809","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-artificial-intelligence","tag-ai","tag-artificial-intelligence","tag-artificialintelligence","tag-christmas","tag-food-and-drink","tag-technology","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=334809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/334809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/334810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=334809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=334809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=334809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}