Week 3: The End of The Noughties

A little late in the planning but fun nonetheless, I’m finally doing a third party. It’s tonight and a kind of post-Christmas-pre-New-Years do for everyone who is back in London and local. It has to be a buffet as it’s that time of year and my table won’t cater for more than 6 sitting properly! So, I’m thinking, what are the dishes that sum up this decade we are about to wave goodbye to? Every decade seems to have a few key dishes that roll-up all the affectations and aspirations of the time; the 70s is Prawn Cocktails and Black Forest Gateaux; the 80s Nouvelle Cuisine; and the 90s, for me in England, pesto, pesto and more PESTO! Do you know in Delia Smith’s Winter Collection (circa ‘95) the old girl even creates pesto mashed potato, suggesting it goes wonderfully with grilled fish. I love pesto – well, pine nuts – but that’s a little overload for me. Fashions in food are a strange thing. They change ever so slowly and the trickle-down effect from those in the know to your average supermarket seems an eternity compared to clothes fashions. Where I live in east London, Vietnamese restaurants are everywhere and the number one cheap-eat out, much more so than say Chinese or Thai. So, I wonder when M&S and Tesco will do a full range of Pho and spicy salads to compliment their Chinese and Thai ranges? One to watch for the coming decade for sure. But back to tonight…any suggestions?