Bite magazine: Fork and finger food for long, sunshiny days

We creatures of habit who tuck ourselves away for the winter are feeling the effects of longer days and are starting to think we might want to invite a few people over! It doesn't have to be an all-out party, but if we invite so-and-so, we should invite so-and-so and we haven't seen the so-and-sos for nearly a year... Goodness, how exciting - what shall we serve? Kathy Paterson's top tip for feeding a crowd is fork food- food that can be eaten standing up, with a fork. Food that is substantial but not a sit-down dinner. Her stir-fried beef with wilted watercress; salmon with coconut bok choy and tortilla crisps with edamame puree and sashimi have been created to serve four as shared dishes but are easily adapted to serve many more.

"Skewers," says Warren Elwin, "have saved many a party for me." They can all be prepared in advance, to roll out throughout the day or evening and you can guarantee there'll be plenty of offers to do barbecue duty. He shares four of his latest skewered creations here.

Now that he has The Federal Delicatessen humming along as nicely as Depot, Kyle Street is back in Bite with a monthly column, where he will share insights and recipes based around staff meals (also known as family meals). A restaurant kitchen is all about minimising waste and the chefs use offcuts, leftovers and less-than-perfect produce to create meals for the staff. They are meals I would be very happy to pay for and, sometimes, as is the case with this week's pumpkin pie, they do actually make it on to the menu.

Daylight saving starts now and we're full of ideas for what to cook, so go on, invite so-and-so over!