Douze pointers for acing your Eurovision spread

Make your Eurovision menu just as fun and full of flavour as the much talked-about song contest itself.

Eurovision is a time to celebrate the bold, beautiful and (sometimes) bizarre. It doesn’t matter if you’ll just be dancing around the sofa or hosting a sequin-embellished bash with all your friends – you’re going to want some suitably showstopping food and drink to see you through.

Here’s how to put on a sensational Eurovision-themed spread without spending hours in the kitchen.

Making your mind up

The more countries you can rep in your food, the better – there are plenty of classic dishes that would work well for a party. Try these recipes, which are perfect for sharing:

• Dutch loaded fries (AKA kapsalon)
• Italian-style Margherita pizza
• Greek spanakopita
• Ukrainian pumpkin and orange kolach (bread)
• Spanish patatas bravas
• Swedish meatballs
• Polish pierogi
• Spanish prawn croquetas
• Latvian salad

NB: If you’re serving the Latvian salad, then according to official Eurovision rules (made up by us), you need to bring it to the table while playing Latvia’s entry from ’22, Eat Your Salad. Whether you do so while wearing a white suit and carrying a saxophone is up to you.

Sandwiches are party food staples – everyone loves them. So, we’ve been busy studying the Eurovision nations’ most famous versions and have come up with the ultimate sarnie spread for the big night.

Remember: not all Eurovision entries make it to the final, so if you don’t see a sandwich suggestion from your favourite Eurovision nation then, like Ireland’s 2008 entry Dustin The Turkey, it didn’t make it past the semis.

• Poland’s zapiekanka: Slice a baguette lengthways and add sautéed button mushrooms, grilled Emmental and ketchup.

• Czechia’s chlebíčky: A slice of baguette with potato salad, ham, Emmental, tomato and gherkin.

• Spain’s bocadillo: Take a mini ciabatta and add chorizo – simple.

• Netherland’s broodje kroket: Stuff a mini burger bun with a potato croquette and mayo.

• Austria’s bosna: Serve a bratwurst sausage inside a mini burger bun with onions and bosna sauce.

• UK’s sarnie: Cut granary bread into triangles and add coronation chicken and lettuce.

• France’s croque monsieur: The classic toasted sandwich with ham, cheese and béchamel sauce.

• Ireland’s crisp/chip butty: Serve Irish potato crisps or chips between two slices of buttered white bread.

• Italy’s tramezzino: Trim the crusts off sliced white bread then cut into perfect triangles before filling with mozzarella, basil and tomato for a tricolour effect.

• Australia’s Vegemite cheese toastie: Butter two slices of white bread on both sides then fill with Vegemite, cheddar and mozzarella, before toasting and cutting into triangles.

• Cyprus’ halloumi pitta: Stuff mini pittas with fried halloumi, cucumber, mint and tomato.

• Serbia’s ćevapi: Stuff meatballs, onion, soured cream (or kaymak) and shop-bought ajvar (red pepper sauce) into mini pittas.

• Denmark’s smørrebrød: Butter dark rye bread and add sliced avocado, prawn mayo and chives.

• Ukraine’s kanapky: Toast dark rye bread and add mustard, a slice of marinated herring and sliced white onions marinated in vinegar, salt and pepper.

• Sweden’s smörgås: Butter light rye bread before adding meatballs and pickled beetroot salad.

• Germany’s Strammer Max: Toast light rye and add ham, melted cheese and a fried quail egg.

Ooh ahh, a little bit more?

As if that wasn't plenty to be getting on with, we'd be remiss not to include some crowd-pleasing party food classics. Easy to make and great for prepping ahead, they'll keep everyone fuelled up right through to the end of the points announcements.

• Quick hummus
• Potato wedges
• Breaded chicken nuggets
• Easy cheese dip
• Easy sausage rolls
• Puff pastry bites

When Dana International sang 'She is all you’ll ever dream to be,' we’re pretty certain she was describing Miriam Nice’s Douze Points punch, which was dreamed up especially for Eurovision.

Punch is a great shout for parties of all kinds, as people can help themselves, says Nice. “When I watch Eurovision, I’m 100% invested and barely take my eyes off the telly, so drinks and snacks need to be self-service. I go for things that will happily sit out for a few hours while the show is on – bowls of punch or jugs of cocktails and mocktails are ideal.

“To make this punch, I went a bit nerdy: if you count the water used to make the caraway syrup and the garnishes, it uses exactly 12 ingredients to represent the full douze points. And within those, I included ingredients that gave a nod to the big five – the countries that help to organise the event.”

To keep your drinks offering budget friendly, “Look for cocktails and punches that are based on cheaper spirits or wine, and all the better if the bulk of the drink is an affordable mixer or fruit juice. Sangrias, rum punches, mojitos or buck's fizz are all great!”

Save your biscuits for me

When it comes to your sweet offering, you really want something that’s going to go Boom Bang-a-Bang. Which is pretty much the exact brief we gave to baking pro and Eurovision super-fan Kim-Joy. She did not disappoint.

Behold, the biscuits that will get maximum marks from everyone.

The shortbread only needs four ingredients and is quick to make – which is great news because you’re going to want to focus your time on decorating them. (If the flags of all the Eurovision nations seem a bit ambitious, just go wild with the edible glitter instead.)

We can't end our ultimate Eurovision guide without a nod to the winners of last year's contest.

Before the war, Mariana Maglych presented a cookery show in Ukraine, and watched her country take the crown in 2022 surrounded by food and friends.

“When Ukraine was announced as the winner, we all screamed – it was such an important moment. We needed a bit of light, a bouncy song, some hope.”

To celebrate Ukraine in our party spread, Maglych suggests whipping up deruny (“potato pancakes served with sour cream or creamy mushroom sauce),” and varenyky dumplings “with all kinds of fillings imaginable, from salted cheese or sauerkraut to poppy seeds, cherries and blueberries. And always served with smetana (sour cream).”

You can grab some Ukranian classics from East European delis too, says Maglych. “Look out for Lviv syrnyk (Ukrainian cheesecake), Kyiv tort cake or poppy seed roll cakes called makivnyk.” While you’re there, you could stock up on some drinks such as “kvas – a fermented cereal-based low-alcohol beverage – and nalyvka, an alcoholic drink with different flavours.”

So off you go – fly on the wings of Eurovision love because oh, Lordi – doesn’t this party sound great?

Originally published May 2023