What to Eat

Our Favourite 1920s food blogs:

Hors d’oeuvres are a must. Try finger foods like devilled eggs, tea sandwiches, salted nuts, prawn cocktail and canapés. Cakes were also very popular in the 1920s with red velvets, pound cakes and devil cakes popular. For a Queensland twist try a mini upside down pineapple cake. To save yourself some time pick up a Queensland classic biscuit like the Iced VoVo or even pop some Vegemite (invented in 1922) on mini toasts!

Here’s some other ideas.

Ribbon sandwiches (cucumber, smoked salmon, cream cheese)
Oysters
Deviled eggs
Stuffed mushrooms
Crudites with dips
Salmon Mousse on sliced rye bread
Roasted nuts
Olives

Salads were popular in the 1920’s. Try a Waldorf Salad or the Candle Salad (!) Finally, don’t forget the Caesar Salad! Yet another 1920’s invention.

What to drink

Try one of these seven classic drinks from the Roaring Twenties:

Champagne Punch
1 cup water
2 tablespoons orange Curacao
2 cups sugar
Juice of 2 lemons
1 bottle champagne
2 cups tea infusion
4 tablespoons brandy
Ice
2 tablespoons rum
1 bottle soda water

Make a syrup by boiling water and sugar for 10 minutes. Mix Champagne, brandy, rum, Curacao, lemon juice and tea infusion. Sweeten to taste with syrup, and pour into punch bowl over a large piece of ice. Just before serving, add soda water.

Old Fashioned
60 ml bourbon whiskey
2 dashes Angostura bitters
1 splash water
1 tsp sugar
1 maraschino cherry
1 orange wedge

Mix sugar, water and angostura bitters in an old-fashioned glass. Drop in a cherry and an orange wedge. Muddle into a paste using a muddler or the back end of a spoon. Pour in bourbon, fill with ice cubes, and stir.

Mint Julep
4 fresh mint sprigs
70 ml bourbon whiskey
1 tsp powdered sugar
2 tsp water

Muddle mint leaves, powdered sugar and water in a collins glass. Fill the glass with shaved or crushed ice and add bourbon. Top with more ice and garnish with a mint sprig. Serve with a straw.

The Mary Pickford cocktail was named for the silent film star and co-founder of United Artists.

Mary Pickford
45 ml light rum
30 ml pineapple juice
1/2 tsp maraschino liqueur
1/2 tsp grenadine syrup
1 maraschino cherry

Combine the rum, pineapple juice, maraschino liqueur and grenadine in a shaker half-filled with ice cubes. Shake well, strain into a cocktail glass and garnish with a maraschino cherry.

Bacardi Cocktail
50ml Bacardi light rum
30ml lime juice
1/2 tsp sugar syrup
1 dash grenadine syrup

In a shaker half-filled with ice cubes, combine all of the ingredients. Shake well. Strain into a cocktail glass.

Bee’s Knees
60 ml gin
25ml honey syrup
15 ml fresh lemon juice

Shake with ice, strain into a chilled cocktail glass and serve.