The Food Blog: a bit of a mouthful

As the party season hots up, Kassia St-Clair looks at which canapés people really want to eat and when we should be bringing theme out
Kassia St-Clair29 November 2012

Canapés are tricky. When you’re hosting a party these bite-sized morsels seem a magical panacea. Dead time before speeches? Too many guests for a sit-down meal? The need for a touch of glamour? Embarrassing drunken relative? Enter the canapé.

I recently found myself at the second birthday party of the events company True Deli, held at a bar opposite the Natural History Museum’s ice rink. True Deli organise events and their biggest selling point is the passion and creativity they lavish on their food. Each slateful that came past was more inventive and umami-filled than the last: “Cured smoking salmon with dill crème fraiche” came in miniature mason jars, “wild mushroom risotto with truffle espuma” was served on white china spoons, while “roasted sea bass with saffron new potatoes” nestled in tiny bowls. We’ve come a long way from pineapple and cheese on sticks à la “Abigail’s Party”.

True Deli is clearly not alone in thinking us canapé consumers crave the new. The executive chef at Waitrose says this year’s “big [canapé] trend…is traditional and retro flavours re-invented”; he’s created mini beef shin pies with carrot mash and a range of blinis and souflettes. M&S, meanwhile, are hoping we’ll be swept up in a tide of trashy Americana. They’re offering mini “mac and cheese bites”, “lobster and prawn fish cakes” and “fully loaded sliders”. All of which sound suspiciously like wardrobe malfunctions waiting to happen.

Back at the birthday party, while each and every canapé I try is delicious the problems remain the same. My newfound friends and I weren’t nearly close enough to the kitchens to get a continuous supply and I was continually terrified that some sauce might make a bid for freedom down my chin. A fellow guest and a rival event organiser leans over and whispers confidingly “All people really want is sausages, mini burgers or fish-n-chips”.

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