Behind the scenes at Christmas time with some of our hospitality favourites
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They work hard all year to ensure Canberrans are fed and watered to the highest standards.
But at Christmas time, these guys get a few well-deserved days to stand down and cook for their friends and family (or better yet, get cooked for!). Here are some thoughts and feelings on the year that was, and what Christmas and culture means to them.
Benn and Mork Ratanakasol from Mìnima
Mork and Benn in the family kitchen
What a usual Christmas Day like for you?
Christmas Day for us is pretty similar to most. A few extra special bottles of wine, some really yummy food, and most importantly the people we love most enjoying it with us. We usually leave for Thailand after Christmas. Growing up, Christmas wasn’t big in our household as our parents were usually pretty tired after the busiest time of the year for us restaurant folk, and we’d be saving ourselves for pigging out in Thailand for our annual trip. As children we remember being very bored watching everyone pack suitcases and cleaning up the house feeling jealous of kids who woke up to presents and seeing it as the best day ever. But for us, our ‘Christmas’ would be family dinners in Thailand with family we hadn’t seen for a year.
The Ratanakasol table
What’s on the menu?
Benn: I’m planning to cook up a South American style beef ribs and a bunch of sides for tacos. Drinking some bottles from the cellar that I should really have more patience for. And making a prosecco/lemon sorbet/limoncello cocktail my partner sent me on TikTok (don’t laugh).
Do you have any particular Christmas food traditions? Either Australian or Asian?
So far our traditions are wagyu steak on Christmas day, and wood fire pizza on Boxing day! Not very traditional, but special to us.
What would your Christmas wish this year be?
That 2025 brings 2015 energy.
Soumi and Chantelle Tannous, owners of Bar Beirut
What does Christmas mean for you?
Despite growing up worlds apart, Soumi and I share surprisingly similar Christmas traditions. Family and food are at the heart of it all. On Christmas Day, I’ll have an early morning start with our children Sebastian (8), Elias (5), and Sylvie (3) and my three nephews. We’ll cook pancakes to the soundtrack of Michael Bublé’s Christmas classics until 10am. Then, it’s go-time. This is the one day of the year our children get to wake their very late-night working father before noon. We’ll gather under the tree for presents and FaceTime our family in Lebanon who are usually seated around the table having Christmas Eve dinner before midnight mass.
Soumi on the right with his brother Christian celebrating as children in Lebanon
How is Christmas celebrated in Lebanon?
Every major area in Lebanon has a Christmas tree as the centrepiece, and it’s surrounded by lights, Christmas markets, carols – it’s like a fairy tale. It’s very festive. The Christmas tree in Jbeil, where our family lives, regularly makes the news for its scale and beauty and has even featured in the Wall Street Journal. Take note City Renewal Authority.
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Something I treasure about Lebanon is how much Muslims love Christmas festivities and how much Christians love Iftars. Lebanon observes 19 public holidays. From Easter, to Orthodox Easter and Eid. It’s wonderful to see how people from different backgrounds celebrate together.
This year, our faith in humanity’s ability to embrace differences has been tested. When Soumi and I got those alerts on our phones late last year that things were kicking off in the Middle East, we knew Lebanon would feel the ripples. What followed – the scale of suffering, the destruction of irreplaceable archaeological history, erasure of entire families and villages, the dehumanisation of Palestinians and Lebanese citizens – has been incomprehensible.
Where will you be on Christmas Day?
This year for Christmas, we’re heading west to Hillston in rural NSW for a change of scene. Family is calling, and my grandmother’s house on the Lachlan River is where we need to be. We keep presents simple. Our kids will receive one big, shared present from us (this year it’s an extension to their monkey bar set) and Santa will bring Lego and some fancy threads. Soumi and I skip the Christmas gift exchange – we gift to each other year-round when we spot something perfect. Why wait for an occasion?
Chantelle with an obligatory Christmas pav
What’s on the menu?
Christmas lunch in our house is traditional: turkey with all the trimmings, roast potatoes, green beans with almonds, and Mum’s signature cauliflower in creamy bechamel with crispy croutons. Dessert brings pavlova, Panettone with custard, followed by cups of tea, rum balls, and peppermint crisp slice.
By mid-afternoon, we’ll head down to the river and catch up with our extended family. There’s nothing quite like a hot Christmas afternoon spent swimming, fishing, yabbying, or cruising in the tinny with family chaos in full swing.
As the sun sets, we’ll head in for a feast of prawns, salad, and leftovers. We’ll mix up red wine sangria and FaceTime again with Lebanon as they wake to their Christmas morning in jumpers and beanies looking at us perplexed in our swimwear.
Soumi with a turkey
What would your Christmas wish be?
Looking ahead to 2025, we’re hoping for a return to patience, understanding, and good conversation. Less hostility, more learning. Let’s bring back the humanity. We would like to take this opportunity to extend a heartfelt thanks to everyone who has supported Bar Beirut this year. It’s currently the only income source for our family in Lebanon who have been unable to work due to the war. Your support means everything to us and them.
Anand Kumar (AK) Ramakrishna, chef and owner AK’s Diner
What does Christmas mean to you?
Growing up in a mixed-marriage family, I had a lot of Catholic and Christian relatives, so Christmas was always celebrated. In Malaysia, for me as a kid, Christmas meant going to Mass, being with my family and having the best Western-meets-Indian dining spread ever. Food was always important for me and as a young adult and a chef, Christmas was in Kuala Lumpur in high-end restaurants doing the most expensive menus at the time. Then I came to Australia in 2004 and had my first Aussie Chrissy and I was pretty amazed at how the restaurants were shut on that day. I have definitely done my share of Christmases in Bondi, and various Sydney beaches. But also, being a single travelling chef you get invited to a lot to family homes to spend Christmas, and I’m very humbled and appreciative of those experiences and memories.
AK and his wife Toma with friend and former XO partner Kent and his family
What does the day usually bring?
The last few years have been amazing as our wedding and anniversaries falls on the 31st of December and that the time XO closed, so we’ll always be travelling and Christmas has been the airport or somewhere other than home. Last year Christmas was in Hobart and picking our campervan up, the year before was Adelaide for a sunny South Australian adventure. We had a Great Ocean Road drive at Christmas too and got stuck in the Victorian mountains during the fires too. If we are not travelling, Christmas is with Kent (former partner at XO) and his family which is always a blast…the food! Damn!
What’s on the menu?
Christmas is love and food and a time for gathering of the circle around food. This year. I am staying local, just to work and plan a little for AK’s Diner for next year, so will be relaxing with my wife Toma, and Kent and his family. The best bit will be eating whatever I get fed! The sheer joy of enjoying someone else’s cooking and having thankfulness for being included in that dining table.
AK and Kent’s Christmas spread
What’s your Christmas wish?
I think there’s a lot I would wish for: an end the war, stop backyard dog breeding, start adopting, be kind, feed strays, enjoy the now. Most importantly, I wish for good things for AK’s Diner and Hospitality next year, and finally for everyone to always have good health.
