How family gatherings in Fife town helped to inspire new book on home entertaining
A new book partly by childhood memories of family gatherings in Glenrothes is set to strike a nostalgic chord with readers across Scotland.
Sian Alison’s British Party Food Through the Decades captures the joy, warmth and unmistakable charm of British home entertaining, from 1970s buffet tables to the 1990s.
She grew up in in Bo’ness and later lived in North Queensferry for several years before moving to Austria, but said the book is deeply rooted in memories of Scottish family life.
She said: “My Grandmother lives in Glenrothes and so many of our family gatherings happened there. I remember tables full of party buffet food, neighbours dropping in and that real sense of togetherness that made those moments feel special.”
The book explores how British party food has evolved over the decades, from retro favourites like vol-au-vents, cheese and pineapple hedgehogs, cocktail sausages to 90s convenience food. With its strong sense of nostalgia, the book is expected to resonate with readers across Scotland and the UK, where home entertaining and community gatherings remain a cherished tradition.
“It’s about more than what was on the plate, it’s about the feeling of those moments, the excitement and the effort people put in and how food brought everyone together.”
This book intentionally has a simple format, style and layout to try and mirror the technology and computers at the time during these different decades.
British Party Food Through the Decades is available now in hard book on Amazon.