People have often wondered: Who do doctors see when they’re sick? Where do hair stylists go for their haircuts? What kind of music do famed musicians listen to? And perhaps more often we find ourselves asking: What do accomplished chefs cook when they’re not working?

In the spirit of the food-infested holiday season, the Gay & Lesbian Times chased down some busy executive chefs and restaurant owners to find out what they’ll be cooking this week, where they’ll be eating it and who they’ll be sharing it with. From traditional comfort foods to gourmet meal courses, their answers prompt us further to eat, drink and be merry.

“I usually work on Christmas Eve. But one of the things I did while living in Athens is have an orphan Christmas on Dec. 24, when we would have over English [people], Americans, Canadians and anyone away from home who had nowhere to go. It generally involved a lot of alcohol, but we would eat too. There was a lot of bonding among us. This year for Christmas day I’ll probably make eggs benedict and coffeecake in the morning for my husband and two kids, which ties us over until we eat whatever is in the refrigerator – although this year I might get a foie gras for dinner. Before eating, we usually all go to the beach. Christmas is just so different here compared to when I was growing up in Ontario, Canada.”

“I’m originally from Columbus, Ohio, and will going there for two days during the holidays, where they’ll be a lot of my mom’s wickedly alcoholic punch made with champagne, sweet liqueurs and fruit. There’ll be lots of eating for two days: an awesome crab and artichoke dip that my mom makes every year, large poached prawns with a horseradishy cocktail sauce and crown roast pork. When I get back to San Diego, my friends and I will get together for a Mexican-style buffet with different tamales, enchiladas and again, more liquor. I’m not sure yet whose house we’ll have it at, but it seems that whenever I go anyplace where there’s food involved, I end up doing the cooking.”

“Growing up in Maine, on my mom’s side of the family, we celebrated the holiday on the Sunday before Xmas. My sister, mom and I are now out here and we recreate some of the dishes we used to eat, like chocolate cream pies and gorilla balls made with peanut butter and graham cracker crust dipped in chocolate. It’s my great-grandmother’s recipe, who’s now about 95 years old. We’ll also make gnocchi with a basic tomato sauce because there used to be an enormous bowl of them on the table and they’d be gone in five minutes. Then on Christmas day, we tend to go a little overboard. I invite cooks from the restaurant who don’t have anywhere to go. I’ll make either prime rib, ham or turkey, plus more gnocchi and several side dishes like candied yams and various casseroles.”

“We’ll be doing a big family dinner at our house in San Diego. My mom’s coming from Florida and my wife’s family is coming into town too. I’ll be cooking a molasses-brine pork roast. We always do pork on Christmas day because we’ve all gotten sick of turkey. I’ll also be roasting sea bass, probably with a little a bit of thyme, lemon zest and olive oil. For sides, we make roasted butternut squash, Brussels sprouts, pearl onions and braised greens. And my mother-in-law always brings those ‘in-law’ scalloped potatoes, which are cheesy and gooey. We’ll eat around 3:00 p.m., then watch sports on television and just hang out afterward with a couple of pies, such as apple crisp.”

“Most of my family lives in Arizona so my wife, kids and I will be taking a road trip there and I usually end up cooking no matter where I go. My favorite holiday dinner is rack of prime rib. I’ll serve it with seasonal vegetables – cabbage, cauliflower, etc. And I always try to find Blue Lake beans, which is one of my signature dishes for my mom. I braise them with onions, almonds and a little bit of sugar. If I make dessert, it’ll be chocolate-caramel tart or fresh fruit such as sautéed apples. For drinks, it’s hot buttered rum and then on to the wine.”

“In Iran, where I’m from, Christmas is not like it is in the United States. Although since coming to this country 20 years, my daughters and I celebrate the American way with gifts and a Christmas tree and we get together Christmas evening for dinner. I mix the Christmas celebration here with our New Year, called Nowroze, which is March 20 or 21, and with the food that goes with it. I cook sabzi polo mahi, which is a meal of basmati rice with herbs and saffron along with either white fish or salmon. I take the whole fish, empty the stomach and stuff it with sautéed cilantro, parsley, garlic and onion. I also add in tamarind and other spices and then oven bake the whole thing. Around the fish I put all kinds of vegetables. I will have over my two daughters, son-in-law and two grandchildren – one of them was born just last week, which is our Christmas gift this year.”

“For the last four years, we’ve been splitting the holiday celebration between two faiths. My wife is Irish-Catholic and I’m Jewish, so we’ll combine Hanukkah and Christmas together. It’s a little awkward this year because Hanukkah starts on the 25th. For that, my mom always makes potato ladkas, beef brisket and roasted chicken. My wife’s side of the family is big, so my mother-in-law will also cook. She’ll make things like roasted turkey and ham with all the trimmings. It’s a lot of food. Since I do the cooking for Thanksgiving, this is the holiday dinner where I get to sit back and relax with a beer, although I sometimes put in my two cents with a little consulting work.”