How to celebrate in style
Get your glad rags on, grab a canape and start partying!
Image source: Heather Schwartz/Unsplash
Nothing beats a royal wedding for pomp and parade, but just because Harry and Meghan are hogging the limelight this year doesn’t mean your party has to pale by comparison.
Here, some of our favourite bloggers share top party food ideas and recipes to help make your bash go with a swing. Whether you’re hosting a wedding, street party, kids’ party or garden party – here’s how to produce a buffet table fit for a queen.
Food to Glow
Kellie Anderson, author of Food to Glow, regularly cooks for up to 50 guests – by herself. Her secret to cooking for crowds? Lots of lists, allocating and labelling her serving dishes ahead of time and Middle Eastern food. “Not only is it full of flavour, but most dishes are absolutely delicious served warm rather than piping hot,” says Kellie.
Her clever recipe for cauliflower cheese ‘cake’ is devilishly more-ish and we love her homemade blini recipe too.
Lavender and Lovage
Karen Burns-Booth is the freelance food and travel writer behind Lavender and Lovage. For royal wedding street party ideas, try Karen’s mini toad-in-the-holes for a British classic that’s hard to beat. We also love the Mini Soda Bread Scones with Smoked Salmon and Chive Cream included amongst Karen’s fabulous collection of canapes.
But for a real crowd-pleaser, retro-inspired Devilled Egg Bites can be whipped up in less than 10 minutes if you boil the eggs in advance. Simple!
Gluten Free Cuppa Tea
It’s potato salad, but in a class of its own! The must-have ingredient in Becky Excell’s version over at Gluten Free Cuppa Tea is fresh chives, but a quality potato helps too. Becky says, “If you haven’t tried using Cornish new potatoes before, I would definitely recommend it. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking all potatoes are pretty much the same…”
You don’t have to be gluten-free to enjoy these delicious recipes. Becky’s Lovely Smoked Salmon Florentine Mini Frittatas are perfect for parties. Just don’t count on having leftovers for lunch the next day! But it’s the homemade Ferrero Rocher chocolates that get our hearts racing. Gluten and dairy free, just imagine a decadent pyramid of these beauties on the table. Becky, you’re really spoiling us.
Greedy Gourmet
Michelle, the award-winning food blogger and voice behind Greedy Gourmet freely admits that she’s “always thinking of the next meal.” And with plenty of zesty flavours from around the world to pack a punch at your party, you’ll soon be thinking of your next meal too.
We love Michelle’s Thai Turkey Meatballs served with a delicious chilli and lime yoghurt dip. Or for something light and summery, her broad bean bruschetta is a beautiful thing. But we reckon the real winner here is the humble cherry tomato. Just wait ‘til you see what she does with one of those!
The Purple Pumpkin Blog
Planning a royal wedding street party for Harry and Meghan’s big day? Over on The Purple Pumpkin Blog you’ll find some clever royal wedding party ideas including themed printables to download.
Cook, create, celebrate – that’s Londoner Michelle’s motto. A full time blogger, she’s the queen of great party, craft and cooking ideas. In Michelle’s mind, all good parties have a theme, and the Hawaiian Tropical party she threw for her 40th birthday was a roaring success. Here are 50 tropical recipes to help you plan your own luau.
We also love her delicious twist on that party favourite, tiramisu. Ideal for elegant buffet-style food stations when presented in pretty shot or wine glasses.
The Boy Who Bakes
A party wouldn’t be the same without a table of delicious sweet treats to drool over. Who better to help than Edd Kimber over at The Boy Who Bakes? Baker, food writer and winner of the first series of the Great British Bake Off, Edd’s inventive recipes will elevate your buffet table to a whole new level. Like his caramelised white chocolate cheesecake tarts.
Elegant enough for a dinner party yet perfect finger food for a stand-up event. Need we say more?
Chocolate brownies are another crowd-pleasing favourite, but imagine producing a tray of Edd’s glorious Caramel Brownies with Burnt Meringue topping. Now that’s a showstopper of a pud to bring a hush to the party. In a good way, of course!
We hope we’ve given you plenty of food for thought, whatever sort of party you’re planning. If you’re taking part in a royal wedding street party, tag your photos with #RexLondon as we’d love to see. With a little inspiration you can transform even the smallest get-together into something fit for royalty!