On our recent Garden Party Post we received a plea from the lovely Victoria. Our damsel in distress is about to hit the big 3-0 and is throwing a mighty fine party to celebrate. The one thing causing issues though is food for her 30 guests…

Victoria’s Request

I love parties and I love food. And I like to think I’m quite good at both. BUT, in trying to plan my smallish (30 odd people) 30th in a couple of weeks time I am struggling for a menu plan…

The must haves are:
– No real cooking on the evening (warming through / arranging is fine!) so a BBQ is out of the question
– No having to balance the food on your knee (or worse – in the air!) on a floppy paper plate whilst using a knife and fork and talking to people and glugging fizz
– Sophisticated food – i.e. no curled up soggy sandwiches
– Something a bit exciting… not a thai green curry (as my darling husband has suggested)
– It needs to be affordable and something we can do ourselves – much as I’d love a cordon bleu trained team of chefs we can’t quite stretch to that!
– To suit meat eaters and veggies – perhaps a dish each?

Golly, I’m demanding! I’m not after a healthy menu on this occasion – I think it’s a splurge event calorie-wise after all.

If the weather is nice we might be outside but the likelihood is indoors. I’ve got my decor and drink sorted (to be served from our very own 30ft homemade bar made for our wedding – drink responsibly kids!) but our guests are going to go hungry at this rate.

Would dearly love to have your and your readers’ thoughts and advice.

Thanks very muchly in advance

Victoria x

With the most epic homemade bar I’ve ever seen, this party deserves a menu to match. Here are a few of my own thoughts based on previous hosting experiences.

Tagine

I mentioned this menu on my recent boho bash post. I helped my friend prepare an Eastern feast for a hen party including a slow-cooked tagine, vegetarian stew, tabouleh, salads, rice and flat breads. We prepared everything the night before, spent the day out in London and then grabbed half an hour before the guests arrived to put the finishing touches to the dishes. The best thing about this kind of feast is that it’s perfectly acceptable to go Moroccan and sit on the floor while you eat.

Pie and Mash

For my Dad’s 65th Birthday, my Mum hot footed down to her local butchers and ordered five scrumptious homemade pies of the Steak and Ale, Chicken and Mushroom and Veggie variety. I’ll admit pie isn’t the most elegant of foods, but combined with a good dollop of pre-prepared mash potato and lashings of onion gravy all our guests were licking their lips with delight. The only cooking involved was thoroughly heating the pies through before serving.

Food Bar

Victoria, I know you’re not keen on the idea of green thai curry, and so forgive me for putting an equally ‘normal’ dish out there but sometimes it’s all about how the food is presented rather than the dish itself. A chilli bar could offer guests an entertaining way to get their grub; perhaps offer neatly stacked piles of jacket potatoes and rice, with soured cream, cheese and nachos in pretty bowls. Chalk up a menu and leave the serving to the guests. I’ve seen this done for all types of food; burgers, hot dogs, jacket potatoes, tacos and did something similar when I had friends round for lunch recently. I rubbed a garlic clove over a load of french bread before tossing it in a pan. I then laid out the table with various toppings, meats, cheeses and chutneys so they could make their own crostinis. It went down a treat.

Dinnerware

You don’t necessarily have to go for plastic cutlery, Argos do a 24- piece metal cutlery set for under £3. If you don’t want your drawer crammed with knives and forks after I’m sure they’d be greatly received by your local charity shop.
If mismatched glasses aren’t your thing then Waitrose offer a free glass hiring service (you just pay for breakages).

If you’d prefer not to splash out on china plates for all the guests, I suggest opting for paper or polystyrene bowls rather than plates. Their shape means they can easily be cupped in your hand rather than folding up.
Enough of me jabbering on, now it’s over to you to put in your tuppence. How have you catered for the masses in the past? Any menu ideas for a convention you’d like to put forward? How would you seat thirty guests? Oh and Happy Birthday Victoria! You’re going to have a blast.

Image sources: Moroccan Party| Taco Bar | Pie Platter | Shepherds Pie