Bonfire Night food and drinks: what to serve round the fire
Hot drinks that stay hot, food you can eat in gloves, and how to keep the bar well away from the fireworks.
Bonfire Night is a party with three problems. It’s cold, it’s dark, and everyone’s hands are full of gloves, sparklers or small children. Serve hot drinks that stay hot and food that needs one hand, and the rest of the night looks after itself.
Hot drinks that keep people warm
Two or three hot drinks are plenty. Make them before it gets dark, so you’re not stood at the hob when the first rocket goes up.
Mulled cider. Two litres of medium cider, an orange studded with cloves, a cinnamon stick and two spoons of brown sugar. Warm it gently and keep it below a simmer, or it turns bitter.
Hot chocolate. Make a big pan for everyone and put a bottle of rum or Baileys next to it, so the grown-ups can add their own.
A hot toddy. Whisky, a spoon of honey, a squeeze of lemon and hot water. One per person is usually enough.
Something hot without alcohol. Warm apple juice with cinnamon and a few orange slices. There are always children at fireworks, and drivers.
Keep it warm in a slow cooker on low, or fill a couple of big flasks before you go outside. A pan left on the hob while everyone is at the end of the garden isn’t a good idea.
Food you can eat with gloves on
Nobody wants a knife and fork at a bonfire. Think of things that fit in a napkin or a mug.
Hot dogs with fried onions, kept warm in a low oven.
Jacket potatoes. Bake them in the oven first, then wrap them in foil to keep hot. Potatoes put raw in the embers come out burnt outside and hard inside.
Chilli or soup in mugs. Easy to hold, and it warms your hands too.
Something sweet. Treacle toffee, toffee apples and parkin, the sticky ginger and oat cake, are the old favourites.
How much to make
For a crowd, allow one and a half hot dogs per person, a jacket potato each, and two or three hot drinks each across the evening. People eat more in the cold than they would indoors, so round up rather than down.
Keep the drinks away from the fireworks
Whoever lights the fireworks stays off the drink until the last one has gone off.
Put the drinks table well back from the bonfire and the launch area, and keep it out of the way of anyone walking back to the house in the dark.
Have a bucket of water or sand for spent sparklers, and don’t give sparklers to under-fives.
Keep pets inside with the curtains shut and the radio on.
Run the bar from the back door
If you’d rather watch the display than walk back and forth to the kitchen, let people order from their phones. With Orders Up your bar gets its own menu and QR code: guests choose a hot chocolate or a mulled cider, say where they’re stood, and the order lands on your phone. For more on keeping up with a crowd, see how to run a bar at a house party.
Questions people ask
What food is traditional on Bonfire Night?
Jacket potatoes, hot dogs, soup, treacle toffee, toffee apples and parkin, a sticky ginger and oat cake from the north of England.
What drinks should I serve at a bonfire party?
Mulled cider, hot chocolate with rum or Baileys on the side, a hot toddy, and warm spiced apple juice for children and drivers.
How do I keep drinks hot outside?
Use a slow cooker on low or fill large flasks before you go out, and warm the mugs with hot water before pouring.
How many hot dogs per person for Bonfire Night?
Allow one and a half per person, plus a jacket potato each. People eat more outside in the cold.
Light up your bar
Set up your menu in about ten minutes and let guests order without leaving the fire.
