Weekly A to Z, December 24th.

The Christmas Eve one.

Wishing you a wonderful, happy, and delicious Christmas!

Deliveries! A big weekend at the Brandt-Wright house. We received a massive DIY BBQ Kit from Pink Imli Cook House, which would easily feed six people (or four very hungry people). Marriott Resort the Palm Jumeirah sent through a super creative art kit, which I can’t wait to get started on. The newly launched Ines Chatti Patisserie by Chef Ines was kind enough to send over some stunning pastry, which was a delight. Still with me? MMI had a collection of their exclusive hampers for the holidays, which will definitely be shared with friends, and Orange Hospitality sent over a box full of goodies from across their portfolio. #gifted

On Tuesday, Lindsay and I had a marathon of filming episodes for our Jacob’s Creek series, which was a blast. I can’t wait for you to see all the talented chefs we worked with (and the delicious wine we enjoyed). In the evening, I met the BonBons at Marina Social. #invited

Wednesday saw me over to Zahra’s house for a special Shab-e-Yalda dinner. I’m always so impressed with her generosity and talent, and the company was simply incredible. This city is full of exceptional women.

On Thursday, I was well overdue for a catch-up with Omar at BOCA, and lunch in the cellar was the perfect way to close out a busy month (year! week!).

On Friday, I had my final visit to the ARN Studios to chat with Punam and then off to celebrate a very BonBon Christmas, with a holiday spread courtesy of Carna and a screening of The Menu. #gifted

Links, please.

• An excellent thread about NYE pricing at Dubai Mall. Twitter

• Christmas movie boot camp. Vulture

• Classic cocktails (as cookies). Food52

• Types of frosting, explained. Tasting Table

• Sunday night rituals. Wit and Delight

• Plug it in. TikTok

• What are the most overrated wines? VinePair

• What are the most popular delivery items? Food and Wine

• Who wants a giant Fruit Loop? CNN

• Are pop-ups the way to success for marginalized chefs? Eater

• Learn a new language in under a month with Babbel! Sign up today to get 55% off your subscription. #sponsored

• No, but what did I just watch? Twitter

• Here for the ‘snackification’ of caviar. Eater

• Creating a healthy relationship with social media. Shondaland

• But why are there Instagram notes? Bustle

• Searching for Italy is canceled? Why??? The Kitchn

• When is your peak productivity? Apartment Therapy

• Is a negroni sbagliato that good? The Cut

• Just here for the title: The Year We Wanted to Be Fancy Little Bitches. Eater

• The cult of restaurant dining. The Takeout

• The BonBons just want a 2023 field trip. Resy

• Are expiration dates meaningless? Atlantic

• Looking ahead to 2023, twenty things you can purge from your house right now. The Kitchn

• On making peace with approaching middle age. The Cut

• Diet Coke officially gets you drunk faster. VinePair

• Food trend predictions for 2023. The Takeout

• And a few more predictions while we’re at it. Better Homes & Gardens

Some resolutions:

• While I’ve been great about disclosing invites and gifted items, I have a long way to go about accurately publishing pricing (especially on social media).

• As much as I’ve loved my publication placements this year, I still want to get an article placed in Eater, Saveur, BonAppetit, Food52, or similar.

• Continuing to support restaurants and chefs, I want to do so in a more tangible way — getting people into seats and helping the bottom line of those I believe in.

• Continuing to ask where women are in the kitchen across the world and doing my part to help push this issue forward wherever possible.

• Onwards, 100+ million views on Google Maps.

• Write a book! This is an every-year thing for me, but I really need to figure out which manuscript idea I’m going to take forward in 2023 and get caught up with the backlog of publishing the two that are (mostly) ready.

This weekend? Hiking (hopefully, we’ll see about the hangover…). Christmas Day will be a low-key affair (we’re very much into making a big breakfast and getting started on this Lego kit).

Next week? Getting out and about just a bit — looking forward to the Chef’s Table dining experience at Social, and I’ll be recording an end-of-year podcast at the new 25hours podcast studio with best mates Dan and Liam. I hope to share our collective thoughts before the end of the year.

If you enjoy this newsletter and want to support me, consider sharing this newsletter on social media, ordering from these restaurants, purchasing my books (or these novels — all free to read on Kindle Unlimited), or buying me coffee. Archives of the Weekly A to Z can be found here.

C.