It’s the most wonderful time of the year, and that means it’s time for the extra-special bumper issue of TASTE magazine. In fact, this issue is so big that we’ve set a new TASTE record with 85 recipes! Abigail Donnelly does an XXL Christmas and transforms humble ingredients into festive showstoppers. Clem Pedro presents a make-ahead garden buffet. Bianca Jones creates the perfect summer desserts that will spare your oven. Khanya Mzongwana serves a menu of nostalgic favourites.

Get your issue now at your local Woolworths or via zinio.com, magzter.com. However you get your copy of TASTE, here’s what you can look forward to:

YOU COULD WIN

Spot the cracker and win a R5 000 Woolworths gift card

Count the crackers in the 2026 Christmas issue of TASTE and enter your count for your chance to win one of two R5 000 Woolworths gift cards. Page through the mag; find the crackers (excluding the cover, page 4 and page 12) add them up and tell us how many crackers there are here.

Enter here

Win a two-night stay Last Word Madikwe, valued at R60 000

Set in Madikwe Game Reserve, this intimate safari escape invites guests to trade busy days for the pleasures of the bush. The prize includes a two-night stay for two people at Last Word Madikwe, including all meals, beverages and two game drives daily. The prize excludes transport, conservation levies and gate fees.

Enter here

MENU

Be inspired by our latest food-world discoveries – from viral social scoops to trend-led new products. You saw it in this issue of TASTE first!

• The feed: Presenting the festive trends, flavours, cocktails and openings of the season
• One potato, two potato: Four ways to serve festive spuds with minimal effort
• Nara Smith or Nokx Majozi? Two very different SA-born cooks launch their first books

TAKE CENTRE STAGE

Extra-large centrepieces are having a moment this Christmas, says Abigail Donnelly. Make an XXL statement with a dish that takes pride of place, whether it’s a retro salad with giant cheese shards,  a towering dessert or the glossed-up gammon itself.

SIMPLE ALL THE WAY

You can still be a Christmas overachiever without taking out a loan, especially since nostalgia is still on the table. For her ultimate festive menu this year, Abigail Donnelly proves that with care and generosity, you can turn the most ordinary ingredients into something extraordinary.

HOME AWAY FROM HOME

Award-winning entrepreneur Mashau Praising Mabunda keeps family traditions alive on her Christmas table with a menu that evokes precious childhood memories and makes everyone feel at home.

SUPER CHILL

The secret to a show-off festive dessert? Turn a favourite ready-made treat (malva pudding, panettone, Christmas cake) into Bianca Jones’s no-bake, all-show chilled desserts. Then sit back and bask in glory.

KEEPING IT COOL

A chilled buffet is the summer feast everyone really wants at Christmas, according to Clem Pedro, who is dishing up luxe seafood, perfect carpaccio and a huge bowl of cool gazpacho – all of which you can make ahead.

THE FAMILY FEAST

Khanya Mzongwana and her beloved mom, Loyiso, are housemates again after her move to Cape Town. For their first Christmas at home, they’re planning a laid-back lunch featuring some of their favourite family recipes – prepared together and shared.