Party starters
The Borough Market guide to the ultimate Eurovision party spread
“WE’VE GONE WITH ESTONIAN BEER OVER BELGIAN – A DECISION AS SEEMINGLY ARBITRARY AS MOST EUROVISION VOTING”
Next Saturday, a load of charismatic and talented individuals from all over Europe will gather in an arena filled with noise and colour to share with a happy crowd the best their countries have to offer. So, just another day at Borough Market, that most lively and European of marketplaces.
Elsewhere, it’s also the Eurovision Song Contest.
If you’re planning to watch the festivities unfold from the Liverpool Arena, our highly cosmopolitan traders can offer an appropriately diverse range of party food: cheeses, cured meats, breads, sweets and enough high-quality booze to get even the most reticent of watchers dancing along to German glam metal.
Here’s our shopping list: 18 products from 18 countries whose singers will be performing this week.
If you want to be a completist, there are plenty of other Eurovision nations whose food can be found at Borough – Icelandic halibut or Norwegian fjord trout from Shellseekers, a Cypriot halloumi salad from Gourmet Goat, the Georgian khmeli suneli spice blend from Spice Mountain – but here we’ve focused on more obvious options for a sofa-based party.
The most glaring omission from our roundup is probably a premium Belgian beer, which Utobeer provides by the bucketful. We’ve gone with Estonian beer instead – a decision as seemingly arbitrary and potentially unfair as most Eurovision voting.
AUSTRALIA
Kilikanoon Killerman’s Run cabernet sauvignon from Cartwright Brothers Vintners
It’s questionable why Australia has a place at Eurovision, but this Clare Valley red makes it all worthwhile. Cassis and tobacco leaf aromas carry through to the palate, with a touch of smoky oak.
AUSTRIA
Kaminwurzen from Alpine Deli
‘Chimney sausages’ from South Tyrol, the mountainous border region between Italy and Austria. Gently smoked over beech wood and air-dried for four weeks, they’re perfect TV-watching food. No cutlery needed.
CROATIA
Kozlović Malvazija white wine from Taste Croatia
A crisp, zesty, mineral-rich white wine produced by the Kozlović family in the Valle valley, in the Istria region of Croatia, an underappreciated winemaking heartland.
DENMARK
Gravadlax from Shellseekers Fish & Game
A Nordic classic made with salmon from the Faroe Islands. But the Faroe Islands aren’t in Eurovision, we hear you say. True. But the archipelago is part of the Kingdom of Denmark – so it still counts.
ESTONIA
Põhjala beers from Utobeer
A range of consistently excellent beers created in Tallinn, Estonia at a brewery founded in 2011 by four local beer enthusiasts. Easy to drink, but not – to a non-Estonian – quite so easy to say.
FRANCE
Camembert Fribois from Une Normande a Londres
This gooey, full-flavoured, raw milk camembert is made in Saint-Loup de Fribois, Normandy. A cheese as salty and enjoyable as Graham Norton’s commentary.
GERMANY
Pretzels from Artisan Foods
Germany consistently underperforms at Eurovision comparative to its size and influence, but its pretzels are born winners. These big pillowy bows are both soft and salty. Perfect with a beer.
GREECE
Amfissa green olives from Oliveology
Exceptional handpicked olives from the Atrapos Farm, an organic and biodynamic farm in central Greece, pickled with herbs. Firm, green flesh; fresh, bright taste.
IRELAND
Gubbeen from Neal’s Yard Dairy
“Bouncy, unctuous and smooth” is how Neal’s Yard Dairy describes this beautiful brine-washed cheese from County Cork. Throw in “cheesy” and you’d have a perfect description of most Eurovision songs too.
ISRAEL
Babka from Shuk
As sweet and satisfying as a 12-point score, these braided Israeli-style bakes are filled with rich hazelnut and dark, sticky chocolate.
ITALY
Red Cow parmesan from Bianca Mora
The finest Parmigiano Reggiano, made from the milk of Vacche Rosse cattle. Has won more Slow Food awards over the years than fiddle-infused Irish ballads have won Eurovision. And that’s a lot.
NETHERLANDS
Oude Beemster Gouda from Borough Cheese Company
The Dutchest of Dutch cheeses. Not only is it the platonic ideal of a buttery, fudgy, crystal-flecked gouda, the defining cheese of the Netherlands, it’s also orange.
PORTUGAL
Pinhais sardines in olive oil, ‘millésime’ edition, from The Tinned Fish Market
Like a UK entry that doesn’t completely tank, the millésime (‘vintage’) version of these Portuguese sardines isn’t something you’ll see every year – only when the fat ratio and size of the fish are up to scratch.
SPAIN
El Artesano Raúl Valcarce bittersweet figs from Brindisa
These green figs are picked while still firm, then marinated in vinegar, sugar and spices. A delicious accompaniment to a plate of hard cheeses and cured meats. As bittersweet as a Julio Iglesias croon.
SWEDEN
Brännland Claim Iscider from The Cider House
If Sweden win on Saturday – and they’re favourites to do so – this is the drink to toast their victory. It’s the cider equivalent of an ice wine, made after the winter cold has intensified the sweetness of the apples.
SWITZERLAND
Young Emmental from Jumi Cheese
Elastic in texture, mild but complex in flavour and marked by large holes. Probably the most recognisably Swiss foodstuff and a potential winner of whatever the cheese equivalent of Eurovision might be.
UK
Melton Mowbray pork pie from Mrs Kings Pork Pies
An east Midlands classic that’s been produced in Melton Mowbray under the Mrs Kings name since the 1853 edition of Eurovision, won by a controversially up-tempo waltz from the Austrian Empire.
