Idea Lab

Top chefs, sommeliers and designers do the holidays differently than the rest of us. They can’t help themselves. It’s in their DNA. Of course there’s turkey, mistletoe and bubbly, but these folks are notorious for adding a startling or exotic turn: Chef David Burke, for example, cooks his Thanksgiving turkey in the dishwasher instead of the oven, and in chefy circles foie gras and truffles seem to be de rigueur. To add some flash to our holiday fetes, we’ve asked our most inventive friends from the worlds of wine, food and design to tell us how they kick up the heat on feasting, paring, decorating and hosting their own holiday parties. Their tips that follow range from simple, practical and classic, to ‘I never would have thought of that in a thousand years.’

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