Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

How to have a River Cottage Christmas

£85 £51 Save 40%
Level: Peer






What’s the difference between Peer and Expert levels?

Both Peer and Expert levels provide:

  • Video lessons led by an expert tutor
  • Downloadable lesson notes
  • Practice assignments
  • Group learning in a 20-student online classroom
  • Lifetime access to videos, notes, and classroom

The Expert level additionally includes:

  • Personalized feedback and coaching from your tutor
  • Private messaging with your tutor
  • Certificate of completion
Want to buy as a gift?

To purchase as a gift, check the box above and enter the recipient's name and message. Then, choose whether to send the gift directly to the recipient or to yourself.

Want to buy for a business or group?

You can buy this course through your business or organisation for individuals and groups up to 20. To find out more contact us

Level: Peer

Course overview

Embrace the Christmas spirit with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and the River Cottage team and learn to make a selection of River Cottage Christmas recipes and edible gifts.

Christmas at River Cottage is a magical time and the climax of a year of growing, cooking and feasting. During this course we'll be bringing some of that magic to you, in the comfort of your own home.

You'll learn how the River Cottage values of Seasonal, Local, Organic and Wild are woven through everything we do - upheld even at Christmas, traditionally a time of excess.

First, Hugh will teach you how to make some show-stopping veggie dishes for your festive feasts. Gelf will then lead you through the process of how to prepare some mouth-watering meat and poultry recipes. Next, in Festive Baking & Puddings, with Andy’s expert guidance you’ll make a Christmas pudding and other festive bakes. And finally, Lucy will show you a selection of delightful delicacies and edible gifts for you to share with your loved ones.

So plan ahead for a delicious festive season and get inspired to try something new this year. With a helping hand from the top chefs at River Cottage HQ, we can guarantee that this will be your most tasty Christmas yet!

You'll learn:

  • how to make festive veg
  • a slow cooked Christmas beef, and recipes for leftover Christmas food
  • Christmas pudding recipes (and how to celebrate "Stir up Sunday")
  • making edible gifts

The course includes:

  • 4 on-demand video lessons - presented by Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall and River Cottage
  • lifetime access to the videos, notes and interactive class
  • flexible classes - join and learn when and where you like
  • downloadable lesson notes
  • practical festive cooking and edible gift assignments and recipes (with tutor feedback available)
  • access on your mobile, PC, Mac or laptop
  • small interactive online classroom - chat online to students from around the world and share your creative ideas

Time to complete the River Cottage Christmas course:

Every student is different but in general we think the whole course will take around 15 hours to complete including:

  • Video lessons: 3 hours in total
  • Course notes: 30 minutes per lesson
  • Your Christmas assignments: at least 2 hours per lesson
  • Interactive classroom time: 15 minutes per lesson
  • Tutor feedback review (Expert level): 15 minutes per lesson

You'll need:

Your lesson notes will include the full details of the ingredients you'll need, but you will be making festive food, so you'll need standard kitchen equipment.

Independent Cookery Schools Association approved

This course has been approved by the Independent Cookery Schools Association (ICSA), recognising the highest standards of training.

Ready to get started?

Just add the course to your basket above - choose the 'Expert' option for personal feedback from Hugh and the team on your festive assignments.

If you know someone who'd love this course then give it as a gift - just tick "This is a gift" at the checkout.

Any questions? Contact us by clicking on the orange speech symbol - we'd love to hear from you.

Watch course trailer

Lesson summary

Festive Veg with Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall
Learn how to make the most delicious Christmas veg, with several secret twists from Hugh at Park Farm. During this lesson Hugh will teach you how to make a deliciously fresh and crunchy salad to compliment rich dishes over the festive season. Next, a clementine, chicory and walnut salad, triple root gratin, vegan gravy and finally a show-stopping roasted stuffed pumpkin centrepiece.
Festive Meat with Gelf Alderson
Beef is a staple Christmas dish at River Cottage - and after you've visited Gelf's festive kitchen you'll understand why! Learn all the techniques needed to slow cook a rib of beef (plus the trimmings!) for a delicious Christmas feast. Finally, learn how you can use up all your leftovers to keep the whole family happy over Boxing Day.
Festive Baking & Puddings with Andy Tyrrell
The last Sunday before Advent is traditionally the day for making your Christmas pudding, known as “Stir-up Sunday”. Get the family together in the kitchen, and everyone can take their turn with mixing up some festive puds! During this lesson you will cook along with Andy and make a chocolate chestnut cake, caramelised clementines, Lebkuchen and a Boxing Day focaccia - the perfect vehicle for your Christmas lunch leftovers.
Edible Gifts with Lucy Brazier
There is no better gift than a personal, handmade edible gift. Lucy from River Cottage shares her sweet surprises that will bring joy to your recipient over the festive season.

Choose how you want to learn

Expert-level

Develop your learning further with marked assignments and personal tuition:

  • Start the course whenever you like
  • Tutor access for personalised assignment feedback & coaching
  • Certificate of completion and CPD learning hours
  • Online classroom with up to 20 classmates
  • Lessons with expert videos & notes
  • Group chat & direct message with tutor & classmates
  • Lifetime access to videos, notes & classroom

Peer-level

Get the most from shared knowledge and community study:

  • Start course whenever you like
  • Practise what you learn with your peers
  • Online classroom with up to 20 classmates
  • Lessons with videos & notes
  • Course assignments
  • Group chat & direct message classmates
  • Lifetime access to videos, notes & classroom
Portrait of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

meet the expert

Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall

Award-winning advocate for ethical food, sustainability, and environmental stewardship, celebrated writer and broadcaster.

Read more

Why choose Learning with Experts?

Start whenever it suits you, and immerse yourself in motivational lesson tutorials with expert guidance.
Enhance your learning and personal growth with lesson assignments. Each course includes an optional assignment at the end of every lesson.
Drop a friendly message or respond to your assignment feedback. Our world-class experts are just a click away, ready to help you!
Stay informed about your own progress and those of your peers, and take joy in celebrating achievements along the way.
Chat and share ideas with passionate communities of learners from around the world.

Frequently asked questions

What’s the difference between PEER and EXPERT levels?

At Peer and Expert level, you get access to the same core content and features:

  • Video lesson tutorials led by your expert tutor
  • Downloadable lesson notes
  • Option to practise what you learn with lesson assignments
  • Group learning within an online interactive classroom of up to 20 classmates
  • Lifetime access to videos, notes and classroom

If you choose Expert level, you get all of the above plus the following:

  • Personalised assignment feedback and coaching from your expert tutor
  • Opportunity to interact with your expert tutor through a private messaging system
  • Certificate of completion.
What is an online classroom?

Our online classroom has been developed to allow you to learn from our experts in a sociable environment alongside up to 20 other students. After each video tutorial led by your expert, you will be encouraged to practice what you have learned with optional assignments - these can be seen by the other students in your class, who are free to share their own thoughts and questions with you.

You will be encouraged to take part in an ongoing class discussion where you can discuss ideas, post images or work, and comment on each other’s assignments. It’s a great way to learn from other like-minded people who share your passion from all over the world.

This means not only do you benefit from people who are outstanding in their field, but also from a close-knit group of like-minded people whom you can learn alongside. Group learning has shown to greatly improve not just the experience of studying, but also how well you retain the knowledge, and we have built our classroom experience around this fact.

When can I start my course and how long will it take?

You can start your course any time within 12 months after receipt of your purchase confirmation email. Once you start, you’ll have lifetime access — meaning you can revisit the lesson videos and notes whenever you want.

Our courses are designed so that you can study at your own pace, some prefer to binge learn while others like to spread their studying over a longer period of time - it’s completely up to you. To give you a rough time frame, each lesson video is approximately 30-40 minutes long, and we recommend that you spend around an hour on each assignment.

How often can I speak with the Expert?

If you opt for the Expert version of your course, the time you have to interact with your tutor is limited to course length. You will have one week per lesson to chat to your tutor and to have your assignments marked, and during this period you can ask them as many questions as you would like.

To find out the length of each course, head to the product page and look at the Course outline to see how many lessons it contains. e.g. a four lesson course assumes that you will have completed the assignments within four weeks.

Your tutor interaction period will start as soon as you enter the classroom. If you find that you are struggling to complete the assignments in the allocated time or you wish to put this function on hold, just get in contact with one of the team via the support button and we will help you out.

Support and full FAQs

If you need any help with a course, be it one you’ve started already, or one you are looking to purchase, please don’t hesitate to reach out to our Support email address, or view the full FAQ’s here.

You can also use the orange speech bubble on your page to start a conversation with us.

For privacy or data questions, please contact us here.

Awards and accreditations