Vegetarian Avocado & Mango Salad Tortilla Cups January 12, 2026January 12, 2026 Warm-weather Appetiser: When you are the one hosting & you’re craving something fun and fresh with summery vibes, this little warm-weather appetiser might be one perfect option for you. It’s packed with bright flavours, looks gorgeous on a platter, and genuinely takes the pressure off when it is only you in the kitchen. Summer entertaining can feel a bit same-same– the grazing board comes out, someone brings chips, someone else brings dip, and before you know it, the table looks exactly like the last ten events. So why not shake things up with something that still feels easy, but also feels… Continue Reading
Vegetarian Dried Apricots & Raspberry Feta November 29, 2025November 29, 2025 Garden Party Appetiser: Why Middle Eastern Apricots Make the Ultimate Garden Party Appetiser? Well for starters, when it comes to elevating a simple dried fruit and cheese platter, not all apricots are created equal. Middle Eastern apricots add a whole lot more luxury to fruit & cheese platters than their local Australian counterparts. Their flavour, texture, and sheer presence on the plate bring an entirely different level of indulgence. Middle Eastern apricots are naturally sizeable, plump, juicy, and beautifully vibrant, offering a richer sweetness and softer bite. Their generous size also makes them incredibly versatile- large enough to confidently carry savoury… Continue Reading
Beef Spicy Pastrami Sandwich Bites November 22, 2025November 27, 2025 Mini Toasted Sandwich: Some recipes come together by accident – a handful of good ingredients you’ve got on hand, a craving you can’t quite name – and suddenly you’ve made something you can’t stop eating which brings me to these mini toasted sandwich appetisers. That’s exactly how these Mini Pastrami & Jalapeño Sandwich Bites came to life. They’re creamy, crunchy, tangy, and spicy all at once – everything you want in a bite-sized snack. These mini toasted sandwich bites look like party food, but honestly, I’d make them just for myself. Perfect for a lazy lunch, a picnic spread, or a… Continue Reading
Seafood Squid Ink Spaghetti With Basil Pesto October 21, 2025October 21, 2025 Stylish Appetiser Bites: Squid ink pasta is one of those ingredients that immediately makes a dish feel a little more high-end, so perfect if you are looking for stylish appetiser bites. There’s something undeniably striking about those glossy black strands on a plate- they command attention before anyone even tastes a bite. I love using black pasta when I want stylish appetiser bites that feel bold & dramatic, but without spending a long time prepping. Squid Ink spaghetti is rich and savoury, but not too heavy when served as an appetiser, and it’s the perfect blank canvas for something fresh… Continue Reading
Vegetarian Potato Rosti With Zesty Tomato Salsa October 6, 2025October 11, 2025 Fresh & Zesty Finger Food: I’ve always loved using potatoes as a base for fresh & zesty finger food as well as heartier bites, since potato is a popular ingredient for party snacks, & rosti are just perfect for that. A little different to latke, which typically use a binder (egg and flour) & similar to the hash brown, rosti is made with grated potato, butter (or a fat), lightly seasoned, and baked until the edges get that slightly caramelised crunch, making these crispy appetiser bites irresistible. Shape them into little nests for edible vessels that are fillable with almost… Continue Reading
Meat Blinis With Goat Cheese & Pear September 29, 2025October 6, 2025 Sweet & Savoury Canapés: I have used this combination of ingredients many times when wanting to showcase both sweet & savoury canapés. The blini itself is a soft, spongy little pillow, a mini pancake if you like & the perfect canapé base that supports everything piled on top without competing for attention. Goat cheese, prosciutto, pear, honey & walnuts have long been a winning combination, with so many ways you can present them…on a crostini, in the pear itself, baked, fresh, in witlof leaves, rolled in a crepe or on a blini to name a few. For these sweet &… Continue Reading
Seafood Waffle Fries With Prawn & Pickle September 15, 2025September 15, 2025 Waffle Fry Party Bites: Sometimes appetisers need a little drama, and nothing delivers quite like waffle fry party bites. Instead of your everyday golden spud, try coloured potatoes- suddenly you’ve got a chip that looks like it’s dressed for a party. I recently picked up some midnight purple potatoes at the farmer’s market, and they were too pretty not to play with- you could do the same thing with sweet potato. Once sliced into waffle fries, the purple potato crisped up with this gorgeous jewel-toned hue that instantly stole the show on the platter. To keep the toppings snappy, I… Continue Reading
Seafood Crumbed Saganaki & Red Pepper Sauce September 1, 2025September 1, 2025 Greek Cheese Appetiser: There is nothing nicer than grilled or pan-fried cheese fullstop but, in this Greek cheese appetiser, that golden, sizzling, salty bite that instantly makes it irresistible & for a cheese fiend like myself, it is going to grab attention. And if you really want to take the grilled cheese experience up a notch, Greek crumbed Saganaki is the way to do it. Saganaki, if you haven’t tried it before, is a Greek cheese appetiser, made from a semi-hard cheese (often kefalograviera or kasseri), that holds its shape beautifully when pan-fried. Similar to Haloumi, in fact, Haloumi is… Continue Reading
Seafood Tuna Gochujang Crispy Rice Bites August 11, 2025August 11, 2025 Asian-inspired Appetisers: Crispy rice is one of those things having a real moment right now…it’s popping up on social feeds everywhere, and for good reason…a gamechanger for Asian-inspired appetisers. It makes such a great alternative canapé base, especially for bite-size flavours. My own introduction to crispy rice goes way back to my travel days. I had a then-boyfriend who would intentionally overcook rice so it stuck to the bottom of the pot and turned golden and crunchy. At the time, I thought it was some quirky kitchen mishap… but one bite in and I was hooked. For years after, I found… Continue Reading
Vegetarian Chilli Parmesan Potato Bites August 10, 2025August 10, 2025 Memorable Appetisers- For The Love Of Potato: Memorable appetisers don’t necessarily need fancy ingredients, nor be boring and predictable…the good old potato can shine with the best of them. Let’s be honest- potato is always a good idea. Mashed, boiled, roasted, scalloped, fried…whatever the format, it sings to my heart every single time. But, and there is a but, potatoes aren’t the most healthy of vegetables, so even though I love them, I don’t often eat them to be honest. As an appetiser ingredient however? Well, the world is your oyster. So many options here for topping and they are… Continue Reading
Vegan Eggplant Dahl Roll-ups August 4, 2025August 4, 2025 Plant-based Appetiser: Eggplant roll-ups are a plant-based appetiser I’ve been making for a long time, and they never seem to go out of style. Over the years, I’ve experimented with all kinds of fillings- from creamy cheeses like Feta with pesto, to curried lentils (dahl) – and they’ve all had their moment. But more recently, I’ve been leaning into the heartier and more fragrant & vegan: red lentils simmered with spices, aromatics, and a splash of coconut cream. In these vegan roll-ups, eggplant slices act like edible ribbons- soft and pliable once grilled or roasted, they’re the perfect base for… Continue Reading
Vegetarian Chilli Rice Crackers With Avocado & Finger Lime Caviar July 28, 2025July 28, 2025 One Bite Appetisers: Entertaining doesn’t have to be bigger than Ben Hur, in fact, some of the most enjoyable get-togethers I’ve hosted have been the most relaxed- no extravagant spreads, no marathon cooking sessions, just a few one bite snacks, good wine, and people I enjoy being around. That being said though, I do so enjoy going that extra mile and being the hostess with the mostess But the truth is, you don’t need to go over the top to impress. Often, it’s the simple one bite appetisers, done with a little care and attention, that make guests feel like… Continue Reading