The nightmare before Christmas: the terrifying 'Turkey Bear'

The photo of a bear put together using clumps of meat is almost enough to put you off Christmas dinner

A tweet showing Russian artist Viktor Ivanov's bear fashioned from cuts of chicken. (Viktor Ivanov/Twitter)

The days when using duck fat on roast potatoes and ditching turkey qualified as the height of Christmas experimentation are officially over.

In a trial that would make even Heston Blumenthal shudder, the photo of a “Turkey Bear” has significantly raised the bar of Christmas dinner oddity since it appeared on Twitter last Sunday.

Chef Simon Hulstone uploaded the snap of a teddy-shaped lump of meat, and joked that he had made it for his children for Christmas. His friend then shared the tweet with his own followers.

The photo shows a culinary creation sewn together from cuts of poultry, with what looks like olives for its black, cut out eyes.

It soon emerged that the strange bear was the making of Russian artist Viktor Ivanov, who created the meaty ted out of chicken rather than turkey as was first assumed.

If this is his inspiration for dinner, we can only imagine the kinds of gifts Chef Hulstone’s children will find in their stockings this year.