{"id":258080,"date":"2025-12-30T13:30:11","date_gmt":"2025-12-30T13:30:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/258080\/"},"modified":"2025-12-30T13:30:11","modified_gmt":"2025-12-30T13:30:11","slug":"chef-tips-for-the-perfect-new-years-eve-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/258080\/","title":{"rendered":"Chef tips for the perfect New Year’s Eve party"},"content":{"rendered":"

While Christmas dinner is arguably the most important \u2013 and stressful \u2013 meal of the year, entertaining on New Year\u2019s Eve comes a close second.<\/p>\n

There can be a lot of pressure to throw the perfect NYE party, whether you\u2019re catering for a crowd or just a handful of friends.<\/p>\n

So, what\u2019s the secret to nailing New Year\u2019s Eve? Of course, having plenty of champagne* on ice will go a long way, but it\u2019s also about being smart with your cooking, and whipping up delicious dishes that will suit everyone\u2026<\/p>\n

Be prepared<\/b><\/p>\n

This ethos will serve you well at any party, says Yotam Ottolenghi (Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things, Ebury Press).<\/p>\n

“The important thing is to give a sense of abundance, but also minimal work,” he advises. He recently cooked for a group of friends, but he knew he wanted to actually spend time with them, “So, there are lots of things that can be made ahead and sit there \u2013 there was only one last bit I did, which was I cooked some eggs.<\/p>\n

“Everything else was pre-made \u2013 for me, this is the ultimate entertaining tip.”<\/p>\n

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Kate Young (The Little Library Parties, Head of Zeus) also encourages you to prepare at least some dishes in advance. She recommends things like “sausage rolls prepped the day before and served at room temperature, a tart that can be baked hours before, and a salad that can live happily in the fridge for a bit until you need it”.<\/p>\n

Hogmanay is a big occasion for Coinneach Macleod (The Hebridean Baker: My Scottish Island Kitchen, Black & White Publishing), so he\u2019s well-versed in how to pull off the perfect party. “Every Scottish home will be filled with visitors on Hogmanay \u2013 before AND after the bells!” he says. “So plan ahead and make a hearty batch of Mince and Tatties, that can be served with a big dram of whisky, to family and friends who come round to celebrate.”<\/p>\n

And you can do the same with any desserts you might be serving on New Year\u2019s Eve. “Most bakes last three to four days, so it\u2019s a good idea to start baking on December 29. That way, you can be fully prepared and enjoy the day,” advises Jane Dunn (Jane\u2019s Patisserie: Celebrate!, Ebury Press).<\/p>\n

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Use your freezer wisely<\/b><\/p>\n

Making dishes earlier in the day will go a long way, but what if you wanted to be really prepared?<\/p>\n

For Suzanne Mulholland AKA The Batch Lady (The Batch Lady: Cooking on a Budget, HQ, available January 5), the best thing you can do is cook a meal well in advance, and pop it in your freezer.<\/p>\n

“I\u2019m a huge party animal, and I love to be enjoying the party with everybody else \u2013 I\u2019m a work-hard, play-hard person,” she says.<\/p>\n

“So, for example, we are hosting [a party] that\u2019s the day before New Year\u2019s Eve, and it\u2019s beef bourguignon for 40 \u2013 and it\u2019s already in the freezer.<\/p>\n

“Because a rainy Tuesday in November is sometimes a perfect day to organise that party, when actually in between Christmas and New Year, do you want to be going to the shop finding all the ingredients? You might have people over, you\u2019ve just done Christmas \u2013 so it\u2019s really nice to be able to just pull it out the freezer, and you\u2019re only doing a little bits round about it.”<\/p>\n

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Make interactive food<\/b><\/p>\n

NYE isn\u2019t quite as formal as Christmas, so you can have a bit of fun with food.<\/p>\n

Whenever she\u2019s hosting, Noor Murad (Ottolenghi Test Kitchen: Extra Good Things, Ebury Press) tends to make it a team effort. “I like to do interactive food, so everyone gets involved,” she explains. “So, it\u2019s either lots of different mezze \u2013 like sharing platters \u2013 or something that is \u2018build your own\u2019.<\/p>\n

“I think that\u2019s the easiest, least pressure thing for you, because it\u2019s all there and you can pick and choose, and take what you want.”<\/p>\n

Lean into picky bits<\/b><\/p>\n

Can you ever go wrong with picky bits? Not according to Joe Swash (Joe\u2019s Kitchen, Pavilion Books), who says: “With a gathering like New Year\u2019s Eve or a party, always do loads of tapas food, do loads of little bits.<\/p>\n

“So, do a plate of roast potatoes, and little bowls of different things. Let people pick and choose what they want. It\u2019s a party \u2013 they don\u2019t really want to eat that much, they want to have a drink on New Year\u2019s.”<\/p>\n

And from a dessert perspective, Dunn recommends making miniatures. “If you\u2019re entertaining a crowd, make mini versions of bakes, so they\u2019re easier to serve.”<\/p>\n

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Ask for help when you need it<\/b><\/p>\n

“I spent my 20s as one of life\u2019s great hosting martyrs. I refused offers of help, wanting desperately to give my pals a nice relaxed evening in my flat,” remembers Young.<\/p>\n

“In reality, my friends watched me from their seat on the sofa, as I flapped about, trying to do 12 things at once. Now, I\u2019m far less precious. I take the help, and invite people into the kitchen with me to chop, stir, and pour. My top tip? Let people be useful. They love to help.”<\/p>\n

*Always drink responsibly<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While Christmas dinner is arguably the most important \u2013 and stressful \u2013 meal of the year, entertaining on…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":258081,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[75],"tags":[18,117,19,17],"class_list":{"0":"post-258080","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"tag-eire","9":"tag-entertainment","10":"tag-ie","11":"tag-ireland"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/115808766239283592","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258080","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=258080"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/258080\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/258081"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=258080"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=258080"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=258080"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}