Are fondant fancies passé? Can you make a vegan scotch egg? Does anyone actually like cucumber sandwiches? The announcement that anyone can organise a street party over the Queen’s Jubilee long weekend (2-5 June) has sparked as much debate as excitement, as neighbours start planning menus.
It’s been ten years since the Queen’s last Jubilee (Diamond in 2012) and a lot has changed in Britain’s culinary scene since then. Follow our lowdown to ensure your street party spread is the talk of the block.
Scottish smorgasbord
The Queen has a soft spot for Scotland (Balmoral is her favourite of all her castles). The country is famous for its top notch fish – so what better way to celebrate than with a smorgasbord of seafood delights?
The Fish Society has an incredible array of super fresh options that would fit right in on a sharing platter – including potted shrimp, salmon gravadlax, breaded crab claws, hot smoked mackerel, salmon arancini, salt cod croquettes, smoked scallops, smoked haddock wellingtons. Oh and pâtés a plenty.
Serve with some slices of lemon and a potato salad smothered in creamy mayonnaise and spiked with salty cornichons and capers.
https://www.thefishsociety.co.uk/
Coronation curry
Coronation chicken (or Poulet Reine Elizabeth, as it’s also known) was invented by a female chef and her students for the Queen’s 350-person Coronation Luncheon in 1953.
The lightly spiced chicken-and-mayo combo is considered a bit retro (read: uncool) these days and pales in comparison to the fiery dishes we’re used to today.
Zing it up for the modern era by transforming the sandwich filler back into a creamy chicken curry – and turning up the heat. Garnish with coriander and serve in an attractive tureen with fluffy basmati rice for a great centrepiece. Make sure to keep things bubbling away till the last minute so the curry doesn’t cool down too quickly outside.
There are plenty of cracking curry recipes to take inspiration from online – including Nigella Lawson’s Chicken Xacuti, Dishoom’s Chicken Ruby and James Martin’s Creamy Masala Chicken.
To save on time, Mandira’s Kitchen, an authentic Indian catering service, has created a special Platinum Jubilee Coronation Chicken Curry – made with melt-in-the-mouth boneless chicken, fresh fenugreek leaves and a special spice mix. Simply warm up and serve.
Mandira does deliveries across mainland UK.
https://www.mandiraskitchen.com/
Queen Lorraine
A gourmet take on the Quiche Lorraine, swap your bog-standard bacon and crummy cheese for the Queen’s own ham and an artisan Isle of Mull Cheddar (another homage to her beloved Scotland).
Dukeshill has been making outstanding cured meats for around three decades and became a Royal Warrant holder supplying hams to Her Majesty in 2003.
You can get your hands on both their signature ham and this unusual Cheddar via Dukeshill’s Savoury Delights Hamper (£58), which also comes with a divine pâté and smoked mackerel among other treats.
Use a traditional recipe for Quiche Lorraine, replacing the usual bacon and cheese with these alternatives, and you will immediately notice the difference. The unpasteurised milk and slightly sweet meat cure creates a depth of flavour that is almost boozy.
If you can’t get your hands on these, another kind of high-quality cured ham and cheese will do.
https://www.dukeshillham.co.uk/
Around the world in 80 pasties
This next option evokes the Queen’s many foreign tours, visiting everywhere from Jamaica to Jaipur.
No street party is complete without something wrapped in pastry – but the multicultural nature of Britain today calls for something more exciting than a Cornish pasty or sausage roll.
Start with a plain short-crust pastry base (or puff if you prefer) then create a variety of international fillings.
Take inspiration from the Jamaican patty with a slow-cooked beef mince affair, with punchy hits of Scotch bonnet, Madras curry powder and sweet molasses (failing that – brown sugar). Or from Mexico by frying up some black beans in chilli, chipotle, paprika and oregano and using that as your filing.
Or channel the spirit of India once more by stuffing the pastry with golden fried paneer and spiced spinach or a moorish aloo gobi. Again, if you want to skimp on making, you can turn to services like Mandira’s kitchen and just do the assembling yourself. The beauty of this technique is you can make something to suit everyone’s palates. Make sure the fillings aren’t too saucy or you risk soggy pastry.
Scone mad
The scone-cream-jam formula is an institution almost as revered as the British monarchy. But all institutions can get a little stale. Shake it up by flinging an element of booze into your cream tea.
You could go savoury – adding a cheeky dram or two of whiskey (the Queen’s favourite is The Famous Grouse, which has a Royal Warrant) into a traditional herby scone. As fillings go, smoked cheese and a sweet chutney pair well with most whiskeys. Fancy going the whole hog? Add some whiskey in the chutney too.
Or for sweet, a ginger-orange flavoured scone pairs dreamily with a wicked boozy marmalade.
You can whip up a jam/marmalade cocktail yourself by combining your favourite flavour with your favourite alcohol. Otherwise jam and sauce-maker Rogue does three types of boozy marmalades: a dark & stormy (ginger and Caribbean rum), a negroni and espresso martini.
Find them on Ocado – soon to be followed by Waitrose, Asda and Getir.
Royal bubbles
Queen Elizabeth supposedly drinks one glass of Bollinger champagne every night before hitting the sack. You can bet there will be fizz aplenty at her Platinum celebrations.
At circa £50 a pop for a special cuvée, Bollinger is not cheap. The UK’s underappreciated sparkling wines, by contrast, are generally far more affordable than champagne – and the quality is improving vintage by vintage.
Wickhams, the wine merchant, has an excellent selection of English fizz. Star choices are the Huxbear Classic Sparkling 2017 (£22.99), the Henners Brut NV (£31.99) and the Langham Blanc De Blancs 2017 (£36).
Hailing from Devon, Sussex and Dorset respectively, the wines are all aged for between two and three years. The Huxbear and Henners have strong flavours of green apple – with biscuity, briochey undertones. The Langham wine is more floral, with citrus, honeysuckle and almond notes.
The all-in-one
To make life really simple, plump for a pre-curated hamper. Forman & Field are offering an uber-luxurious Ultimate Jubilee Street Party Feast. Costing just under £184, the wicker basket is stuffed with savouries (quail scotch eggs, old spot sausage rolls and haddock goujons with Tartar sauce) and sweets (home-made macarons, scones and a decadent seven-layer sponge cake – one for every decade of Her Majesty’s reign). There’s even a bottle of fizz thrown in for good measure.
https://www.formanandfield.com/product/ultimate-jubilee-street-party-hamper/
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