Ditch olives & hummus and bring back sausage rolls and vol-au-vents for a truly amazing Jubilee Street Party say Brits.
2022 sees one of the biggest street party weekends in years with the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations, so we spoke to partygoers across the UK to see what treats they wanted to see on the trestle tables that will line our streets, villages and cul-de-sacs.
With over 12 million of us estimated to host a street party over the extended Bank Holiday weekend to mark Queen Elizabeth II’s 70th year on the throne, it seems that what we eat to commemorate this special occasion is at the forefront of everyone’s mind with Google searches for “Street Party Food” more than doubling over recent weeks. While we might see ourselves as a nation of budding Master Chefs, our survey found that although we are always looking for new dishes to impress their family and neighbours, people really want the old classics that remind them of their childhood to tuck into this year.
Of the 1,000 people we asked, olives and hummus came at the bottom of the list of most-wanted snacks with mouthwatering sausage rolls, cheesy pizza and traditional finger sandwiches of all varieties topping our poll. In fact only 30% of those questioned said they liked to see more trendy modern dishes at these events with 67% agreeing that there was a place for retro-classics when we roll out the red-carpet for our community this June.
When asked what plates they would like to see making a comeback, a third of those questioned (31%) said they missed the classic Vol-au-vents, a quarter (25%) wanted to see an amazing trifle in the centre of the street party table, with the same number longing for the return of the cheese and pineapple hedgehog from the parties of the 1970s when the Silver Jubilee was commemorated. Other long forgotten treats Brits wanted to see return to their parties included sweet treats Black Forest Gateau (24%) and Battenberg Cake (23%) and savoury classics like Prawn Cocktail (21%) and even Devilled Eggs (15.2%)!
When it comes to planning the big day though it’s not all a walk in the park with 42% of those asked saying they find getting the food together a stressful experience. In fact, the vast majority of people like making sure that everyone is fed is top priority with 72% of those asked saying there is nothing worse than running out of food at a street party and over half (55%) agreeing that making sure there was treats for kids to enjoy was crucial.
How we make sure we have everything we need is also a hotly debated topic. While 43% of planners still enjoy making a lot of dishes from scratch a whopping 59% were forced to admit they would be buying pre- prepared dishes ready to eat (or pop in the oven) to serve at their shindigs.
For more inspiration and find out what you can get from your local SPAR store to keep everyone fed at all of your summer celebrations this year visit our deals page.
Happy partying!
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