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
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
Sweet Treats Mini Choc Orange Waffle Cones September 11, 2025September 15, 2025 Waffle Cone Dessert Canapés: I’ve had a long-running obsession with chocolate and orange- it’s one of those flavour pairings that never fails, so this little waffle cone dessert canapé idea, didn’t exactly require overthinking. Growing up in New Zealand, my go-to sweet treat at the movies was always RJ’s Jaffas. Without fail, I’d make it halfway through the trailers before I’d demolished the entire bag (or box, depending on how committed I was that day). Sadly, RJ’s stopped making them earlier this year I believe, and while that feels like the end of a delicious era, my attraction to choc-orange… 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
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
Seafood Garlic Prawn Spaghetti Bites July 22, 2025July 22, 2025 Bite-size Party Appetisers: Spaghetti might not be the first thing that springs to mind when you’re planning bite-size party appetisers- but it absolutely should be. It’s familiar, comforting, and already sitting in most pantries- so why not give it a bit of a glow-up and surprise your guests with mini party appetisers that are a little unexpected? When you think of pasta, you probably picture big plates and second helpings, not elegant little bites. But with just a tweak in presentation, spaghetti becomes the kind of appetiser that turns heads. Twirl it into neat nests, serve it in spoons, glasses,… Continue Reading
Vegetarian Radicchio, Goat Cheese & Caramelised Pear July 14, 2025July 20, 2025 Italian Chicory Appetiser: If you’re looking for colourful bites that turn heads and awaken the tastebuds, this little number with radicchio, whipped goat cheese, and caramelised pear might be your next beloved flavour combo! Radicchio is known for its bold, bitter, slightly spicy edge that can make it a bit of a love-it-or-leave-it ingredient. But when you bring in the right partners in crime- think something creamy, something briny or acidic- it suddenly softens, mellows out, and becomes this beautiful base for flavour layering. That’s exactly what’s going on here with this bitter sweet appetiser. Since Witlof is almost impossible… Continue Reading
Meat Cucumber Prosciutto Bites July 8, 2025July 8, 2025 Cool Finger Food: When it comes to fresh finger food, cucumber is seriously underrated. It’s one of those ingredients that’s always in the fridge, but on its own, it’s not exactly viewed as anything to write home about. Yet, it quietly brings so much to the party. Cucumber is crisp, clean, subtle in flavour, and pairs beautifully with just about anything you throw at it. In warmer weather, cucumber really does dominate. It’s hydrating, cooling, and gives you that refreshing crunch that cuts through the richness of cheeses, meats, Pâté or creamy dips. And if you’re serving anything spicy, cucumber… Continue Reading