The Oakroom head chef Jamie Shepley gives his advice to de-stress at Christmas

As head chef at The Oakroom, his day turns into night – where it’s an endless battle to serve up the holy grail of food.

But this Christmas, Mr Shepley wants Wagga people to de-stress and take the fuss out of cooking, serving up his top tips to make Christmas lunch a stress-free affair.

Curiously, Mr Shepley's top advice for Christmas Day is to do as little cooking as possible.

“Well, you really don't want to spend all day in the kitchen,” he said. “You want to be out enjoying it with your family and friends, so my advice is to pre-cook as much as possible ahead of the day.”

The cooking aficionado also said it’s a good idea to pre-order food with supermarkets and local seafood vans.

“All you have to do is talk to them and ask them to put a certain amount aside under your name,” Mr Shepley said. 

“It’s that easy."

Think your pork crackling just isn’t crisp enough? No worries, Mr Shepley said.

“People are not going to jump on TripAdvisor and give you a bad rating and damage your reputation ,” he said.

“Most people are just really thankful to be cooked for.

“For me, I’m just grateful to be sitting down and enjoying the day with some friends.

“Your family are not going to grill you.”

Mr Shepley said the top eats this Christmas were traditionally Australian in fresh seafood, glazed ham and salads.