How to plan your menu

Bruschetta topped with cherries, cream and ham

Snacks and nibbles

To keep guests happy and allow you time to get the main food out, serve static nibbles, such as marinated olives, parmesan shortbreads and tapenade on toasted croûtes and replenish as needed. It's also worth remembering the end of the evening – a cheeseboard is good for later on, and bacon sandwiches after midnight are always a winner.

Find more snack recipes and easy finger food ideas.

Canapés

This may sound like the easy option, but canapés can be labour intensive. Make it easier:

Serve 6-8 canapés per head.
Serve a mixture of hot and cold.
Prepare as much as possible ahead.
Choose canapés that look beautiful but don't require a lot of last-minute assembly.
Presentation goes a long way so use (borrow if necessary) beautiful dishes, platters and trays. Think about unusual ways of serving the food – for example, on a mirror or piece of glass. Decorate with edible flowers and long sprigs of herbs.
Think about serving 'bowl food' in place of some or all of the canapés. These are larger than canapés (perhaps a quarter of the size of a main course) and good choices include Thai curry with rice, sausages & mash or risotto. The food should be well-seasoned and ready to eat. Serve in miniature bowls with a small fork, and make sure everything is small enough to eat easily.

Take a look at our selection of canapé recipes.

Cold buffet

Choose a centrepiece for your spread, such as a roasted salmon or baked ham.
Make salads to go with this in a variety of textures, colours and food groups. For example, you could serve a grain or pasta salad, potato salad and vibrant tomato salad.
It's always good to have bits to pick at, so offer deli plates of cold meats or smoked salmon (if this isn't your centrepiece), dips and crudités.
Serve different breads and breadsticks.
Serve 2-3 desserts, again opting for different shapes and textures. Good options are a crisp lemon tart, pillowy tiramisu and exotic fruit salad or berries and cream.

Take a look at our selection of buffet recipes.

Top tip: When planning your menu, remember that at most parties it's best if the food can be eaten with a fork only, one-handed. Avoid meats that require cutting with a knife and fork unless you have seating and tables for all guests.

Hot buffet

Pick a couple of one-pot style dishes and a carbohydrate like rice or potatoes that can go with both. You can pick a theme, like Indian, British classics or Chinese, so that people can mix and match. If you are making spicy food, make sure at least one is mild as not everyone likes chilli. If you're catering for vegetarians too, make one veggie or add a side dish with vegetables, lentils or beans that everyone can dig into but will suit for a vegetarian main course too.
The beauty of a one-pot is you don't have to deal with complex timings. It can be prepared in advance and left to simmer on the stove or kept on a hot plate.
To make the meal feel more special, add in extras to complete the theme, such as naans and chutneys for an Indian or foccacia and marinated olives for Italian.
For dessert, 2-3 cold options make a sensible choice. If you want to do hot desserts, choose ones you can assemble earlier and serve straight from the oven. A hot apple pie or fruit crumble is always popular. Serve with double cream to avoid messing around with custard.

Look at our buffet recipes for more ideas.

Drinks

Plan your drinks menu to make it easy for yourself. Cocktails can be made up in jugs beforehand so you don't have to prepare them as guests arrive. An interesting soft drink, like elderflower or ginger beer, adds impact. Make sure you have plenty of drinks on ice – there's nothing worse than champagne, white wine or beer that isn't chilled enough.

Take a look at our selection of cocktail recipes.