Party Food Tips
Being in charge of party food is a big responsibility, and can be a lot of pressure. Don’t risk being so conscious of the party food that you end up not enjoying the party yourself; make sure to follow HelloFresh’s Recipe Development Manager, Mimi Morley’s party prep tips to make your life a whole lot easier!
- Check the Guestlist: Before you decide on your menu or buy any ingredients, take a thorough look at your guestlist. Is it just adults or will there be children who need catered for? Does anyone have any dietary requirements or allergies? And most importantly, how many guests will attend? You don’t want to be left with unnecessary food waste!
- Prepare Food To Suit Your Personal Hosting Style: Do you consider yourself a bit of a budding chef who’d easily rattle up a five course gourmet meal for your guests? Or do you know that cooking just isn’t for you and would take the enjoyment out of your party? If you’re the latter, fear not, there are hundreds of no-cook finger foods for parties out there. Charcuterie boards are a great way to add a focal point to your party food without doing any cooking at all.
- Hot Food: If you know you’re going to be serving hot food, consider a hot plate or slow cooker so that you can relax throughout the party, knowing your food will be the optimum temperature whenever the guests decide to eat.
- Location, Location, Location: Once you’ve decided how much food you need for your guests, plan a location in your venue that is easily accessible, even if the spot gets crowded (noone wants to queue for their party food!). Mimi’s top tip: create a U-shaped serving table for buffet foods, so that people can view and access the party foods easily, starting with savoury and working around to sweet.
- Party Food Diversity: It may be true that we all love a sausage roll and a vou-le-vant, but you can bring your party buffet into the 21st century by adding cuisines from all over the world. Korean recipes are particularly popular at the moment, as highlighted in our UK food trends report, as well as African, Asian, French and traditional British foods. Go on, why not take your guests’ taste buds on a trip around the globe!
- Preparing Ahead is Key: The more food you can prepare in advance, the more relaxed you’re going to be on the day. Follow our simple steps and you’ll be prepping like a pro.
Does Anyone Attending Your Party Have Dietary Needs?
Dietary needs and allergies are hugely important. Make sure to find out well in advance if anyone requires something slightly different from the norm. For buffet food especially, it’s crucial to flag any ingredients which people have allergies to (and physically separate them from the rest, too), as well as any which may not be vegetarian or vegan. You can see more vegan party food recipes and vegetarian meal ideas here.
Most Common Food Allergies:
The NHS suggests that the following are the most common food allergies to be aware of when planning your party food:- Cows' milk
- Eggs
- Peanuts, soybeans, peas and chickpeas
- Tree nuts, such as walnuts, almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, cashews, pistachios and Brazil nuts
- Shellfish, such as prawns, crab and lobster
- Wheat
Kids’ Party Food Ideas
It doesn’t have to be solely a children’s party; if you’re inviting children, you need plenty of kids’ party food ideas up your sleeve. Make your family-friendly foods fun, interesting and where possible, nutritious. When we say ‘food for a buffet party’ you might think ‘beige’ and ‘unhealthy’ but it really doesn’t have to be! The likes of kid-friendly vegetable soup recipes, family-friendly pastas, pizzas and other child-friendly recipes are a great way of getting kids eating healthy foods at your party.
Simple Party Food Ideas
No matter the occasion — Halloween, Eurovision, a Royal Wedding or even the Superbowl — make sure your party food will have your guests sustained for the whole duration of the party. These simple party food ideas are quick, easy and impressive.
- Raw vegetables with dips: Budget-friendly and healthy too, carrots, celery, cucumber sticks, for example, with delicious dips such as guacamole, hummus or salsa.
- Spicy honey glazed chicken
- Mini quiches, or sliced quiche
- Spanish omelette
- Halloumi fries
- Fruit salads: As eye-catching on the buffet as it is delicious, a fruit salad is a great option for a party.
- Slow-cooked sharing pork
- Meze style sharing boards or charcuterie boards: get creative with cured meats, cheeses, fruits, antipasti and crackers.
- Stuffed dates with goats' cheese and almonds
- Sausage rolls
- Spring rolls
- Stilton, apple, and walnut salad
- Potato salad
- Naanizzas: We recommend the garlic portobello mushroom naanizza or the chorizo, pepper and sweetcorn naanizza which is great for kids.
Eurovision Party Food Ideas
Nail your Eurovision party food with this complete guide. We’re not just talking any old buffet food; this is Eurovision party food done right. We analysed the most popular traditional party foods, based on how many people in the country are searching for the dish, for all countries competing in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest. The data revealed each of the 40 European countries' favourite party dishes. Savoury foods appear to be Europe's favourite type of party food - but what will you include in your buffet?
Sweet and Savoury
Sweet and savoury pastries are the most common food type on the list, cropping up as the most popular party food for seven of the countries. Add some sweet pastries to your buffet desserts with Gata from Armenia, Fritule from Croatia and Pastel de Nata from Portugal!Try These Stuffed Cabbage Leaves
The next-most popular is stuffed vine or cabbage leaves, which is favoured by five countries, including Albania, Azerbaijan, Lithuania, Poland and Serbia. Poland’s Gołąbki is made from boiled cabbage leaves wrapped around a filling of minced pork or beef, chopped onions, and rice or barley.Eurovision Pizza
Italy had an average of 823,000 online searches per month for ‘pizza’ in the past year, making it the most popular food for party food in the country. Great for adding lots of different toppings to please your guests, pizza is a go-to for parties.The Oh So Popular Scandinavian Meatball
Unsurprisingly meatballs were top of the leaderboard for all Scandinavian countries, which means they’re a must-have on your Euro-themed buffet. Try out this HelloFresh recipe for meatballs with a bacon and onion gravy which is bound to impress your party guests this May.Mimi’s top tip when it comes to Eurovision food: If you want to try as many of these foods as possible for your Eurovision party, then create the ultimate buffet full of finger foods such as mini pastries, pizza slices and small desserts. There are some great foods for this already on the list such as quiche, waffles, falafel and churros. Why not make these foods your own by switching up the toppings or ingredients with things you know your guests will love!
The UK’s Favourite Party Foods
Quiche reigns supreme as the UK's ultimate party food item, with a huge average monthly search volume of 40,500 searches. Potato salads and cheese boards came a close joint second, with a collective average monthly search volume of over 66,000.
- Quiche - 40,500 average monthly searches
- Potato Salad - 33,100 average monthly searches
- Cheese Board - 33,100 average monthly searches
- Sausage Rolls - 27,100 average monthly searches
- Scotch Egg - 27,100 average monthly searches
- Vol Au Vents - 22,200 average monthly searches
- Halloumi Fries - 18,100 average monthly searches
- Spring Rolls - 14,800 average monthly searches
- Pork Pie - 12,100 average monthly searches
- Pickled Onions - 12,100 average monthly searches
- Chicken Skewers - 9,900 average monthly searches
- Mozzarella Sticks - 8,100 average monthly searches
- Cocktail Sausages - 8,100 average monthly searches
- Chicken Drumsticks - 6,600 average monthly searches