What food shall I serve at 80s party

[MagentaRocks]

Planning a post lockdown 80s party at mine. Probably over 50 guests. Going to be a BBQ and buffet. Trying to think of typical food from the 1980s. So far I have
Vol au vents
Cocktail sausages on sticks
Sausage rolls
Cheese and pineapple hedgehog
Sandwiches (cheese, ham etc)
Carrot sticks and dips
Monster munch
Space raiders
Fruit salads and black jacks
Dib daps
Wham bars
Cupcakes with 80s theme (rainbow cases, 80s toppers)

There will be burgers etc for the BBQ part. I have so many decorations - it will look amazing and a very long 80s playlist.

Can you think of any other typical 80s buffet food I can serve?

@Sssloou

Blancmange

Where can you buy blancmange powder nowadays? I love it!

Thank you so much. This party is going to be so much fun. I’m even doing party bags.

I threw a fair few parties in the 80s and either did a vat each of chilli and chicken curry, or a cold buffet to include whole poached salmon, coronation chicken, caprese salad, tabbouleh, Greek salad, home made guacamole and hummus, cheese....usually a massive pavlova for pudding. We weren’t drinking Blue Nun or Mateus Rose either!

Mini prawn cocktails and scampi in a basket.

Sara Lee chocolate gateau (can you still get it?)
Arctic roll.
Angel delight.
Blancmange.

A plate of cold chicken legs and half barmcake sandwiches.

Angel delight!
And ice magic - the topping you put on ice cream and it sets hard.
I want to come to your party!

French fancies
Bakewell tart
Kipling mini apple pies
Angel delight
Soda stream
Cola ice cream floats
Pate
Milk tray
Five alive
Mini chicken kievs

Honestly just came here to check vol au vents were on the list. Phew.

Nothing useful to add beyond that (that hasn't already been added by PPs).

Can I come to your party please...

Sounds amazing 🤩

Jacobs Creek, I remember that more than Blue Nun etc, those were a joke in the 1980s. Mexican food was becoming very popular. Silly, show-off things like quails eggs.

If you have children coming to the party to make it realistic you need to serve very weak orange squash in very flimsy plastic cups the cheaper the squash the better .

@AnneKipanki

Sounds more 70s to me .

I was thinking the same!

I threw a fair few parties in the 80s and either did a vat each of chilli and chicken curry, or a cold buffet to include whole poached salmon, coronation chicken

This sounds more '80s without a doubt!

I have a 1980’s Sainsburys party cookbook by Carole Handslip. She recommends some crazy shit.

I’ll try and post a pic.

My Mum's 1980s adult buffet:

COLD
Potato salad
Pate and french toast
Whole poached Salmon
Rice salad
Cheese and biscuits
French bread
crudités and taramasalata

WARM
Quiche
Bacon and cheese croquettes and chicken vol-au-vents

HOT
Big pots of chilli and rice or chicken curry and rice

SWEET
Arctic roll
Trifle
Jelly shots
Chocolate roulade
Chocolate profiteroles
Lemon meringue pie

Children:

Paste/ jam/ ham sandwiches
Sausages on sticks
Pineapple and cheese hedgehog
chipsticks
frazzles
space raiders

Jelly and fruit salad
Soft scoop icecream
Coconut mallows
fairy cakes and sprinkles
Party rings
iced gems
Cadburys fingers
flumps
hedgehog cake (decorated with cadburys buttons)
milkshake

Definitely ice magic for the soft scoop ice cream and a soda stream

@AdaColeman

Quiche Pizza Chicken Maryland Scampi

Pâté and savoury mousse such as avocado, with toast.

Chicken supreme or a very mild chilli, served with plain boiled rice were regular hot buffet dishes.

Cheesecake and pavlova were popular 80s puddings.

A lot of items mentioned are more 60s and 70s than 80s, but still tasty and fun of course!

All of these!

The majority of what's been suggested is 70s. Yes some of them may have carried on over into the 80s but things like vol au vents, black forest gateau and babycham were definitely more of a 70s thing.

If you want to be naice

Half an avocado with the stone out and prawn cocktail in the divot, maybe sit it on a bed of iceburg lettuce so it doesnt wobble. Eat with a teaspoon

Black Forest gateau

Boef bouginon

Another vote for quiche

My memory of 80s buffets includes Brie, cold meats, a chunk of cheddar, French bread and salads. Pâté and French toast. Quiche. Crisps, twiglets, cheesy biscuits. Fruit salad, chocolate gateau.

I used to cook lasagne and garlic bread for friends, or a pot of chilli.

Salad that only contains round lettuce, cucumber and tomatoes with homemade vinaigrette. If you want to be really posh you can add spring onions or radishes.

A pile of microwave meals and a line of microwaves.