Jolly frock-coated robins, majestic geese and arboreal partridges make for both literal and symbolic centrepieces at Christmas, says Matthew Dennison, as he revels in the cultural history of the season’s feathered fowl and game

Quiz of the week 1) Name the BBC’s ...

France may be synonymous with fromage, but the terroir of our green and pleasant land gives rise to all manner of magnificent varieties of our own, declares Tom Parker Bowles, who picks his favourites

→ When the Tudor poet Thomas Tusser wrote of “Turkey wel drest” as part of a Christmas feast in 1573, he was in fact taking part in a trend new to these shores. Turkeys, those red-necked birds who gob

THIS MONTH Barn owls

We dig into the surprising journeys and quirky facts behind the crops that star in our festive feasts