Buffets

For events large and small a buffet is hard to beat. Guests can be served or help themselves from the selection of dishes and they work well for every meal. I’ve done breakfasts, lunches and dinners, hot and cold or a mixture of both, such is the versatility of the buffet format.

Here is a selection of the buffets I offer. Rather like with cakes, there are too many variables to be able to give precise costs, but prices would start at £9.50 per person for the finger buffet (£16 for the royal finger buffet – see below for details) or £15.00 for the sit down buffets.

Hot Buffet Ideas

Special occasion

Beef Wellington and/or beetroot and squash Wellington, Dauphinoise potatoes, garlic and lemon French beans

Slow-cooked shoulder of lamb, boulangère potatoes, garlic- and thyme-roasted courgettes and tomatoes and a lamb sauce

Mediterranean salmon-en-croute, rich sun-dried tomato cream sauce, herby roast potatoes and tenderstem broccoli

Mexican feast
Chicken mole, chilli con carne, chilli non carne (vegetarian and vegan)
Guacamole, salsa, refried beans, grated cheddar and/or Mexican chilli cheese
Tortillas and/or nachos

Indian feast
Lamb dhansak, chicken korma, spinach and chickpea curry (vegetarian and vegan)
Cucumber mint raita (can do vegan also), baked onion bhajis, mango chutney
Naan breads

Moroccan feast
Lamb tagine, chicken tagine, vegetable tagine (vegetarian and vegan)
Warm buttered couscous/couscous salad, zesty carrot and chickpea salad
Flatbreads

Italian feast
Meat lasagne and roasted vegetable lasagne or meat cannelloni and spinach and ricotta cannelloni
Caprese salad and Italian-style salad with olives and Parmesan (or vegetarian equivalent)
Focaccia

Alternatively you could have my pasta feast which comprises 3 different pastas – pesto, cheesy and tomato – and a selection of toppings to scatter over. Typically these would be crispy diced bacon, sliced medium rare steak, olives and more grated cheeses. Salads and bread would be as above. Please note, this option would be best cooked to order rather than delivered and reheated.

Cold Buffet Ideas

Foil-baked side of salmon, honey- and mustard-glazed ham, coronation chicken, rare roast topside of beef

Platters or boards of cheeses/charcuterie/smoked fish all with complementary accompaniments

Quiche Lorraine/triple onion tart/roasted Mediterranean vegetable tart (can be vegan)/beetroot and red onion tarte Tatin (can be vegan) plus many other quiches, for example roasted local tomato and basil or mixed chargrilled peppers and goat cheese/heritage tomato tarte Tatin

Salads – there’s an infinite list of options with salad, but here are a few of my favourites:

Roasted broccoli and courgette with peas and avocado/classic mixed salad/curried rice, fruit and nut salad/wild rice, carrot, chilli and lime salad/coleslaw (classic or Asian-style)/garlic-roasted butternut squash, Puy lentils, spinach and feta salad/roasted Mediterranean vegetables, quinoa and feta salad/potato salad/spicy mixed bean and avocado salad/tomato and onion salad/pesto pasta

Ratatouille (with feta)

Homemade wholemeal or white bread and butter

Puddings for a Buffet

Hot
Sticky toffee pudding

Fruit crumble

Bread and butter pudding (classic or chocolate)

Jam roly poly

Apple charlotte (great warm or cold)

Apple strudel (great warm or cold)

Cold/Room Temperature
Chocolate roulade

Fruit pavlova

Cheesecakes – New York/raspberry ripple/Baileys

Pecan pie

Tarts – Bakewell/lemon/chocolate fondant/pear frangipane/custard

Summer pudding

Banoffee pie

Eton mess

Apple tarte Tatin

Lemon meringue pie

Meringue roulades – Lemon/cranberry

Trifle (boozy or family-friendly)

Finger Food

Choose from

Platters of mixed sandwiches

Sausage rolls and vegetarian rolls filled with curried sweet potato, chickpeas and coconut

Vegetable crudités with a selection of dips

Grazing platters of mixed charcuterie, cheeses, pickles, chutneys, antipasti, bakery items (breadsticks, crackers, savoury biscuits), roasted nuts, crudites and dips, little quiches/quiche slices etc etc

Some canapés work really well for a finger buffet so please have a look at my list

Equally, cakes and traybakes make great finger food, so if you’re after a little sweet something to follow on from your main course, please browse my cakes and bakes list

***NEW*** Eat like a (future) King lunch menu

This is the exact menu I made for Prince William and others from the Duchy of Cornwall in September 2024. It’s £16 per person for a minimum of 10 people.

Mixed sandwiches all made in granary and white bread from Gilda Bakery in Canterbury:

Roast corn-fed chicken in coronation sauce with lettuce; smoked salmon, lemon juice and pepper; free-range egg, cress and mayonnaise; mature cheddar, Kentish tomato and chutney; dill-pickled cucumber; fillet steak and Dijon mustard; roast corn-fed chicken and sausage meat stuffing

Homemade sausage rolls made with local sausage meat (Mr Peppers from Macknades butchers)

Homemade curried sweet potato, chickpea and coconut rolls

Banana cake with toffee drizzle

Brownies

Breakfast Buffet

Cold

Granola (can be vegan), Greek yoghurt (or vegan yoghurt) and fresh berries

Bircher muesli with fresh fruit

Cinnamon whirls (can be vegan)

Homemade bread, butter and jam/marmalade

Continental-style platter of cheeses and cold meats

Hot