Funky Party: Party Food for Happy Children

By Mark Northeast

The much anticipated follow-up to the utterly charming and hugely successful Funky Lunch. Mark Northeast sets out beyond the humble sandwich to create a collection of suitably funky party recipes, some savoury and some sweet, but all perfect for hungry little girls and boys. These simple special creations are guaranteed to set the right tone for any party and fill the tummies of all tiny party-goers. Funky Party is perfect for parents who want to create memorable party food for their children, with ideas that are perfect for birthdays or themed parties and which also cover ideas for smaller crowds, whether it's an impromptu supper or a sleepover. From adorable jacket potato people to garden worm 'bangers and mash', and from scotch egg owls to ghoulish meringues, Funky Party is filled with achieveable ideas for parents to encourage their children to eat, experiment and enjoy food.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing
• Release date: Feb 19, 2015
• ISBN: 9781408196755

Mark Northeast

Mark Northeast is the multi-award-winning creator of Funky Lunch, and is dedicated to encouraging children to learn to love food. He has two young children, who still like to fuss occasionally, ensuring he's always searching for his next Funky food ideas. He lives in West Sussex.

Book preview

To Mum, the source of my creativity... this one is for you. x

let’s party!

ladybird toasts

‘x’ marks the spot

birthday ‘cakes’

monster burgers

almost eggstinct

nocturn-owl

funky smoothie

crudités towers

wriggly dinner

camp fire crackles

a dip in the ocean

teepee treats

swamp jelly pots

spuds-u-like

garden party

stars in their eyes

croak monsieur

flying saucers

festive feast

eye-scream

yummy mummies

flower power

ca-tomato-pillar

bear claw bites

chicken pops

funky games

cracking treat

arctic delights

blooming marvellous

up, up and away

snow shake

introduction

As a child growing up, we weren’t spoilt when it came to birthdays. We were taught to appreciate the things we received and the birthday parties in our house were no different than that of other children growing up in the late seventies and early eighties. Of all the usual party food at the table – the crisps, the jelly and the sandwiches – one thing that could always be guaranteed was a great looking birthday cake.

Mum’s hobby back then was decorating cakes and throughout my younger years I was probably told on more than one occasion to ‘step away from the table’ as Mum delicately placed petal after intricate petal on to the most exquisite looking wedding and birthday cakes. She would sit for hours icing decorative patterns and shaping different flowers and characters. To this day, she will still throw herself wholeheartedly into a craft project with the grandchildren, creating costumes, building models or just simply painting a picture.

I think that’s where my creativity comes from, so too my attention to detail and now, in later life, my patience and determination to complete a project. (Those early years of Lego building tantrums are now but a distant memory.)

I remember making my first character cake with Mum for our primary school fête one summer. She helped make the chocolate sponge and then I carefully cut out a shape resembling E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial. I remember the pride of seeing it on display in the school hall with a ‘3rd Place’ rosette next to it. My very first cake. I was 9 years old.

When it came to writing this book, I was both nervous and excited from the outset. The thrill of turning my ideas into food that would put smiles onto the faces of many was constantly overshadowed by the enormous task that lay ahead: being able to put a twist on everyday party food. Where would I start?

As with most new challenges I am faced with, I threw myself into it and made note after note, sketch after sketch – my mind was racing with the endless possibilities, the complex platters of edible delights, but