Busy Cooking, Decorating and Cocktail Creating for a 40th Birthday Fiesta

This weekend is all about celebrating one of my best friends turning 40, and the kitchen has been in full production mode. Between another friend and the birthday girl’s husband, we’re pulling together a full Mexican feast for over 60 guests. My contribution? A huge batch of vegetarian chilli, decor and a couple of cocktails that I hope will keep everyone smiling well into the evening.

As part of my recent course at Leiths Cookery School, we made a chilli and learnt a brilliant technique that I was keen to put into practice. Rather than leaving everything simmering together, we removed the base sauce towards the end of cooking and reduced it separately until it became thick, glossy and intensely flavoured before stirring it back through the chilli. It’s one of those small touches that makes such a difference to the finished dish.

Unfortunately, my chilli adventure nearly went off the rails.

I couldn’t work out why it was so unbelievably spicy. Every time I tasted it and tried to balance it out, the heat just wouldn’t budge. More tomatoes, more beans, more sweetcorn… nothing seemed to be helping. Eventually my eye landed on the culprit sitting innocently on the worktop: HOT Smoked Paprika.

That explained everything.

After a brief moment of panic, I resorted to some emergency chilli surgery. A little draining off through a sieve, recreating the base sauce and carefully rebuilding the flavours later, I think I’ve managed to rescue it. At least nobody should require a fire extinguisher when they eat it!

Alongside the food prep, I’ve also been experimenting with cocktails. I’ve treated myself to two beautiful five-litre Kilner drinks dispensers with stands. One will be filled with a Tommy’s Margarita and the other with a French Martini.

The French Martini has taken a little testing…After three separate attempts, I’ve finally settled on a recipe. The combination of Absolut Vanilla,Chambord, pineapple juice and a touch of vanilla syrup creates a smooth, fruity cocktail that’s just sweet enough without becoming sickly.

To make things a little more special, I’ve bought a cute little electric whisk and some Ms Better’s Miraculous Foamer Bitters. I’ve never used the bitters before, but I’m hoping they’ll help create a lovely light foam on top of each drink, giving them a bit of a cocktail bar finish despite being served from giant party dispensers.

I love prepping for parties. There’s something so exciting about the anticipation of it all; knowing that in a few days’ time the kitchen chaos, recipe testing and last-minute shopping trips will turn into a room full of people laughing, eating, drinking and making memories together. It’s even more special when it’s for someone you care about. Every dish, every cocktail and every little detail has been thought about because we want to make this celebration one to remember for our birthday girl.

Here’s hoping the chilli behaves itself, the cocktails flow freely, and the birthday girl has the wonderful 40th birthday she deserves.

Wish me luck — I suspect I’ll need it! 🍸🌶️🎉