Stop getting done at the till.
Two plain-speaking guides from Bill Entwistle. One gets Christmas dinner on the table without the panic. The other shows you how to buy proper meat for less, all year round.
Or buy either book on its own: Christmas Plan £7, Counter Book £12. Instant download, large print, made to print at home.
What you’ll be able to do
- Plan Christmas dinner hour by hour, whatever size your table
- Know how big a turkey to buy, and which day to start defrosting it
- Read a meat label and spot when you’re paying meat prices for water
- Swap the dear cuts for cheaper ones that eat better
- Cook the cheap cuts so they’re tender: stews, hotpot and the slow cooker
- Make one chicken do three dinners when you’re cooking for one or two
Hello, love. I’m Bill.
I started on Bury Market at fifteen, sweeping sawdust on a Saturday, and ended up running the stall for 44 years. There was something every butcher knew and most customers didn’t: the dear cuts went in the window, and the cheap cuts went home with us.
These days I shop at the supermarket like everybody else, and some of what I see makes me shake my head. Prices up, quality down, and labels that tell you a lot less than they should.
So I’ve written down everything I’d tell you if you came to my counter.
I’m not here to sell you meat. I’m here so you stop getting done at the till.
Bill Entwistle is a presenter character, and his stories are illustrative. Every cooking time and food safety rule in the books follows Food Standards Agency guidance, and prices were checked on UK supermarket websites in November 2026.
Both books for £15
Bill’s Christmas Dinner Plan 63 pages
- Four ready-made plans: just you, the two of you, a family of 4 to 6, or a table of 8 to 10
- How much turkey, gammon and trimmings to buy per person
- A defrost calendar, worked out by weight, telling you which day to start
- Hour-by-hour Christmas Day timetables, plus a blank one to fill in
- Cooking times, carving, proper gravy and safe leftovers
- A “when it goes wrong” page for the usual panics
Bill’s Butcher Counter Book 68 pages
- Prices per kilo for about 35 cuts, so you know a bargain when you see one
- How to read a meat label and spot when you’re paying for water
- Cheap cuts that beat the dear ones, cut by cut
- Roasting times for beef, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey and gammon
- Eight slow cooker recipes, including Lancashire hotpot
- Cooking for one or two, and five mince dinners
Bill’s Christmas Dinner Plan and Bill’s Butcher Counter Book
£15
£7.50 per book £19 if you buy them separately, so you save £4- Download straight away after you pay. A copy is emailed to you too.
- Large print, made to be printed at home on A4. Works on a phone or tablet as well.
- If a file won’t download or open, email us and we’ll sort it out straight away.
- Secure checkout through Payhip.
Or buy just one
Bill’s Christmas Dinner Plan
£7
63 pages. Christmas dinner planned, bought and timed.
Get the Christmas Plan for £7
Bill’s Butcher Counter Book
£12
68 pages. Proper meat for less, all year round.
Get the Counter Book for £12Have a look inside
Real pages from the books. Big, clear print, with tables you can follow at the shelf or by the cooker.
How the Counter Book pays for itself
Here’s an example of four small swaps from the book, for one household, using the prices in the book’s own price table.
| The swap | Saved in a year |
|---|---|
| Chicken thighs instead of breast fillets, 500g a week | about £110 |
| Rump steak instead of sirloin, two steaks every fortnight | about £105 |
| 20% fat beef mince instead of 5% steak mince, 500g a week | about £91 |
| Plain pork belly instead of marinated, 500g a month | about £21 |
| Total | about £327 |
In this example, the savings cover the cost of the book in about two weeks.
Prices are approximate, checked on UK supermarket websites on 10 November 2026. Your savings depend on what you buy and where you shop.
Questions people ask
What do I get?
Two books as PDF downloads: Bill’s Christmas Dinner Plan (63 pages) and Bill’s Butcher Counter Book (68 pages). You can download them straight after you pay, and a copy of the link is emailed to you.
Is it too late for this Christmas?
Not at all. The download is instant, and the Christmas book tells you what to do and when, from buying the turkey to Boxing Day leftovers. If your turkey is frozen, check the defrost calendar as soon as you can.
Can I use the Christmas book again next year?
Yes. The plans, timetables, defrost calendar and cooking times work every year. Only the prices will change.
Can I print them?
Yes. Both books are laid out for A4 and printed at home, in large, clear print. Many people print just the pages they need, like the roasting times or a recipe, and keep them in the kitchen.
I’m not very good with computers. Will I manage?
After you pay, you’ll get an email with a download link. Tap it and the book opens on your phone, tablet or computer. If you’d rather have it on paper, forward that email to a family member, or take it on your phone to a library or print shop. If you get stuck, email us and we’ll help.
Is Bill a real butcher?
Bill Entwistle is a presenter character, and his stories are illustrative. The information isn’t made up: cooking times and food safety follow Food Standards Agency guidance, roasting times follow the meat industry’s own guides, and prices were checked on UK supermarket websites in November 2026.
Is there any diet or health advice in the books?
No. The books are about buying, cooking and getting good value. They don’t give medical, diet or nutrition advice.
Can I get a refund?
Because the books are instant downloads, we don’t offer refunds if you change your mind, so do have a look at the sample pages first. If a file won’t download or open, or isn’t what we described, email us and we’ll put it right.
Get Christmas sorted, and spend less on meat all year.
Both books, £15. Instant download, large print, made to print at home.