Catering A 70th Dinner Party

red rice cous cous and baked chicken

We catered a big dinner party last night for my Nans 70th birthday. She has a great conservatory for entertaining which holds a long vintage dinning table, it was a beautiful evening which started with canapés and fizz in her pretty courtyard.
With several small courses going out of the kitchen quite quickly at the beginning I forgot to take photos, this is most unusual for me but testament to just how focused on the food we were. I'm sure we'll be cooking these dishes again and I'll get some nice styled shots when we do.

hand crafted sugar flowers and cake

Between us as a family there is a great range of cooking skills, Trevor bakes fabulous breads, Lynn has a delicate touch for sweets, Lucy is a keen sommelier, bringing them all together was largely orchestrated by my mother who drafted up a menu that showcased the best of everyone. Some meals were variations from cookbooks and online recipes, others created especially for the night.
Cooking together as a family for Nans special meal was a lot of fun, we spent the afternoon prepping and gossiping in the kitchen. We tried to source everything locally, fewest food miles came from the wild strawberries and mint which were growing in the garden until just before they were served.

tomato vodka jelly
Canapes
Tomato mozzarella
Feta cucumber rolls
Cheese & mushroom popcorn cones

Venision, black pudding, tapanade and cheese biscuit
Inbetweeners
Tomato vodka jellies with horseradish and celery
Duo of pate & Melba toast
Venison towers, veggie black pudding, cheese puff and olive tapanade

Fish
Scallops on pea and bacon purée with tempura prawns

baked chicken breast
Main
Baked chicken, cous cous & red rice

summer fruit pavlova

Dessert 
Summer fruit pavlova

We left local cheese and crackers, chocolate almond biscotti, chocolates, birthday cake and plenty of coffee for Nan and her guests when we slipped away just after 10 o'clock and by all reports they had a fabulous time and stayed around the table until late into the night.

Biscotti & chocolate