We rated York students’ best (and worst) Christmas dinners and my god I’m hungry

Uni Christmas dinners are a quintessential part of uni culture. Every year uni houses are plagued by arguments over how veg should be prepared and kitchens are left trashed as people who can barely string together pesto pasta attempt to pull together a Christmas dinner that rivals your nans.

And whilst we have a few Gordon Ramsay’s in our midst, some of them are, honestly, shambolic. Like I wouldn’t feed them to my dog, genuinely.

So we put a call-out on our Instagram for your best (and worst) uni Christmas dinners and my god did you deliver. So get your worst Christmas cracker jokes ready because here is a definitive rating of York students’ Christmas dinner extravaganzas.

7/10

A relatively good start here. We have good amounts of stuffing and veg (which definitely could be crispier) and obviously featuring everyone’s faves pigs in blankets. We seem to be lacking in some sort of main event though ie turkey or equivalent. This plate leaves me wanting more, something special, je ne sais quoi.

Minus points for the shop-bought Yorkshires and dry as fuck broccoli.

8/10

A small step up from the last but by no means perfect. Homemade yorkshires is what we absolutely love to see. The pigs in blankets look beautifully crispy but I’m not sure who’s rationing them because I need at least four on my plate. Tenderstem broccoli also gives off big Tory energy.

The cabbage with cream cheese and bacon is definitely an interesting but welcome addition. I was about to minus points for lack of gravy but was reliably informed that it was added after this thank GOD. Solid effort.

0/10

THIS on the other hand, I feel physically sick. The chefs of this monstrosity informed me it was a “very impromptu xmas dinner hence the Quorn nuggets” but nothing excuses this offense to Christmas dinners everywhere.

It’s the soggy as fuck sweetcorn that’s really sending me over the edge, actually vomit-inducing. Everything about it is atrocious. The flavourless carrots, the shriveled potatoes on top of shop-bought yorkshires? Disgusting.

And for God’s sake, where is the gravy? You literally live in the north, grow up.

2/10

“We unfortunately forgot to buy anything but broccoli so had to have pasta bake for our Christmas dinner.” This is the most uni thing I’ve ever seen.

Now on any other day, I’d say this looked like a banging pasta bake, but it just doesn’t belong at a Christmas dins unfortunately. The paltry broccoli is really making me laugh though. You tried, you really did.

Bonus point for the roasties, however.

9/10

Starting to get really hungry now. Homemade yorkshires and swimming in gravy? Sign me up. Bonus points for the number of pigs in blankets, we absolutely love to see it.

The only fault is the bland boiled carrots and lack of parsnips, honey roasted goodness only please x

5/10

Not sure how I feel about this one. Why is the mash/cauliflower cheese the main event? The meat also looks like it hasn’t seen a pinch of seasoning in its life.

Boiled veg, and the gravy looks like water, no thank you. Stuffing and roasties look yum though.

7/10

This is an interesting one. The leg of the meat is a big no no from me and again with the boiled carrots and shop-bought yorkshires *yawn.

But this is the first dinner featuring roasted sprouts, the only way to cook them in my opinion. It looks like the stuffing also features fruit and flavour. Definitely a saving grace.

Plus one point for the cute name tag.

-17/10

I fully can’t tell if this is a joke or not because I feel VIOLENTLY ill and I’m angry. First of all, rice on a Christmas Dinner? Jail.

The sweetcorn is genuinely terrifying to me. Why are we rationing the gravy and what the hell is on that poor potato?

This really is the stuff of nightmares.

10/10

In COMPLETE contrast, I think we have our first 10/10 rating on our hands here because WOW.

The vibes of this are completely immaculate. Two different meats, homemade yorkies, perfect amounts of gravy, and lots of veg? Chef’s kiss.

Big up the cute Christmas crackers too. Can’t fault this one.

9/10

I was told this one was fully vegan so I respect the grind. The carrots and parsnips are beautifully long and crispy and this is the first one where I’ve seen red cabbage in its rightful place.

I was assured that gravy was added after this picture was taken and thank god because the vegan wellington on the right looks dry as fuck. I also respect the effort it must have taken to find or make vegan pigs in blankets (even if they do slightly look like Play-Doh).

Lots of roasties and stuffing, I really would devour this one.

8/10

A decent effort here to round things off. We’ve got a good portion size and a wide selection of meats. I feel like it needs more gravy though? A proper roast should be swimming in the stuff.

Very crispy roast potatoes but I think the paltry yorkshires bring the whole dish down, sorry.

I rate the festive tablecloth but I really don’t rate the choice of Dark Fruits with a Christmas dinner. Grow up x

Related stories recommended by this writer:

• The best things to do in York to get you in the festive spirit this Christmas

• We spoke to the York student who went on Stacey Dooley’s podcast to talk about her anorexia

• Meet the York Uni student who wrote her master’s thesis on Taylor Swift