Waitrose launches Christmas app for iPhone and Android

Waitrose is getting into the mobile festive spirit with a free Christmas app for the iPhone, iPad and Android handsets.

The app is crammed full of seasonal recipes – over a hundred of them, from starters to desserts – provided by Delia Smith and Heston Blumenthal. Although we expect Heston’s weirder culinary edges (snail porridge and bacon ice cream) have been tamed.

Waitrose’s creation also contains a festive gift guide, along with a wine guide so you can pick the best pre-Queen’s speech anaesthetic, and a load of handy cook’s tools. The latter includes a Christmas day menu planner, and a turkey timer to calculate how long you’ll need to roast your big bird.

Naturally, Waitrose will also include some plugs for its Xmas special offers and suchlike. You can download the app simply by going here and using your phone’s camera with the QR code.

You’ll need a QR (Quick Response) code reader, however – and this is something Waitrose is planning to use in its TV adverts, the Telegraph reports. Viewers will be able to photograph their screen and download the latest recipes Smith and Blumenthal are showing off in the ads.

Alternatively, if you don’t want to faff around with QR technology, you can grab the Xmas app off iTunes or Android Market.