Munch the movies: hosting a dinner party movie screening
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A warm welcome to magic and non magic folk alike, to our series DINNER AND A MOVIE, your home for movie-inspired recipes and unforgettable cinema-themed dinner parties. In every episode, we bring beloved films to life through food, so you can host the ultimate dinner and a movie night at home.
This time, we’re packing our trunks, dusting off our robes, and jumping aboard the Hogwarts Express to dive into the magical world of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone - none of that Sorcerer’s nonsense please! With the exciting HBO Harry Potter series cast announcement still buzzing, now is the perfect moment to revisit the magic that started it all.
While we recognise the important conversations around J.K. Rowling, and are devastated that she has entered her Death Eater era, we’re putting personal politics aside, and focusing instead on the wonder, comfort, and connection these stories have offered to generations.
A Harry Potter Dinner Party Full of Magic
Few films celebrate food quite like Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone. Food helps to highlight Harry's new sense of belonging and acceptance, through the contrast between the deprivation he suffers at the hands of the Dursley's, and the abundance of delights at his fingertips in the wizarding world.
This Harry Potter dinner party menu captures that sense of cozy, magical discovery, with recipes perfect for witches, wizards, and Muggles alike. In this episode, we recreate some of the most iconic Harry Potter foods, from spellbinding Chocolate Frogs, to comforting British classics worthy of a Great Hall feast, to the iconic Hagrid baked pink Happee Birthdae cake.
You’ll find all the written Harry Potter recipes linked below, but if you haven’t yet watched the full episode, watch it here, and be sure to subscribe for more monthly movie magic and cinema-inspired dinner party ideas.
Let the feast begin 🪄✨
Love food in film?
For more cinematic feasting, check out:
THE TABLE:
The fact that there are soooo many Harry Potter themed decorations out there is both a blessing and a curse. On one one hand, endless options, on the other hand, well, endless options. This is what we settled on, to set the scene for our Hogwarts worthy feast...
No Great Hall feast is complete without floating candles hanging from the ceiling. These ones did the job brilliantly, came strung with fishing line, and are lightweight enough to attach to the ceiling with just a little white tac. They even came with a wand shaped remote control to turn them Lumos and Nox. Spectacular.
As usual, we made menus for the evening using the free version of Canva, and printed one for each guest, which we rolled up to resemble parchment scrolls.
This Hogwarts trunk giftbox made for the perfect centrepiece, and is since being used to store all of our magical new HP props!
At each place setting, we left a party favour of a homemade chocolate frog, made using this Chocolate frog kit, which contains a chocolate mould, wizarding cards, and boxes to present your frogs in. Find out how to make them yourself here.
You could even go a step further and personalise the wizard cards from the kit, with pictures of your guests, turning them into magical place cards.
Hung from the ceiling with a bit of fishing line, these vintage looking winged keys brought a touch class to the occasion, and we're an unexpected nod to the movie.
These Hogwarts acceptance letters actually came as a banner, but at the point you couldn't enter the room without banging your head on something hanging from the ceiling, so we cut off the ribbon, and scattered them over the table instead.
These cute little golden wings turned a few Ferrero Rochers into elusive Golden Snitches. Hide them all over the house to test if your guests would make the house team.
These napkins come in a set with paper plates and cups, and are the perfect finishing touch.
Mischief managed.
THE MENU
MAGICAL MORSEL
We're kicking off our magical feast with these party-favour-come-place-cards. Call us hopping mad to kick off with chocolate frogs, but nothing screams HP more than way too many sweets...
CHOCOLATE FROGS
On the table on arrival
CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE
MAIN COURSE
We've brought to life our dream of attending a Hogwarts feast
with this magical banquet 🪄
START OF TERM FEAST
Crown of lamb
Yorkshire puddings
Red Wine Sauce
Served at 46 mins
CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE
DESSERT
To finish off our Hogwarts worthy feast, we're paying homage to Hagrid's
BEST ever bake 🎂
HAPPEE BIRTHDAE HARRY CAKE
Served at your discretion
CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE
