70s cold buffet – The retro party is a collection of the popular classics that no party buffet could do without in the 1970s and 1980s.
The party
Whether it was a birthday, a wedding, a housewarming party or simply a good excuse to celebrate, there always seemed to be something going on. The circle of friends and acquaintances was large, and quite often half the village would end up together with the neighbours and the family.
And there was always a reason for that. People were members of the volunteer fire brigade, the shooting club, the local sports club or the male choir – and sooner or later, everyone had something to celebrate.
70s and 80s party music
To the hits of the 1970s and the NDW – Neue Deutsche Welle, there was plenty of dancing, flirting and partying in the basements and living rooms. And, of course, there was plenty of food and drink.
The 1970s also gave us some fantastic Glam Rock and Hard Rock. Later came the disco era, when the dance floor was packed and everyone danced to the latest disco hits.
Pop music became increasingly popular in the 1980s before the 1990s brought acid house, dance, techno, hip-hop and house music.
This is music I still enjoy playing myself as DJ Lauter-Wirtz.
By the 1990s, however, the traditional party buffet was no longer considered particularly chic or cool. It took the retro wave of the late 2010s to bring some of these classics back.
Or perhaps people simply started remembering the good old days again.
Maybe that’s got something to do with my age?
The Food
A party usually meant a cold buffet, with plenty of food that could be prepared in advance and enjoyed throughout the evening.
There was usually a keg of beer, soft drinks and, later in the 1980s, plenty of cola. A good punch was just as much a part of a summer party as dancing until late into the night.
Conversations at the Cold Buffet
Next to the dance floor and the bar, the buffet was probably the most sociable place at the party.
It wasn’t quite as loud here, and armed with a paper plate and a plastic fork, you could enjoy a good conversation before heading back to the dance floor.
And let’s be honest: the buffet was often where the really important conversations happened.
The buffet is open!
Here are some of the classics that belong on a proper retro party buffet:
Bratenaufschnittplatte
Brötchenrad aus Laugenteig
Ein belegtes Brot mit Schinken – ein belegtes Brot mit Ei
Fladenbrot
Gefüllte Eier mit Avocado
Hackbällchen
Hähnchen-Gyros Schicht Salat
Käseigel (Gouda)
Kartoffelsalat
Korkenzieherle
Krautsalat
Lachsplatte
Leberkäse
Mayonnaise
Mettbrötchen
Nudelsalat
Schinkenplatte
Schinkenröllchen mit getrockneten Tomaten und Basilikum
Schinkenröllchen
Senf
Tatar
Tzatziki
Wackelwodka – Götterdämmerung
The drinks
A Cold Duck (Kalte Ente), woodruff punch or strawberry punch was almost obligatory. Every now and then, there was also StichPimPuLi on the table.
Beer was the standard drink. It often came to the bar by the keg and was freshly tapped throughout the evening.
Women would usually drink sparkling wine or wine, or something like Kuller Pfirsich. Later in the evening, schnapps or Korn might make an appearance – something that didn’t always help with the morning after.
Some people turned to a Bloody Mary the next day to help deal with the hangover.
From my point of view, cocktail parties really became fashionable towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s, when drinks such as Mojitos and Piña Coladas became popular.
Which, of course, could lead to even more regrets the next morning.
The music
The music at these parties was anything but boring.
In the early 1970s, German Schlager was everywhere – unless you were young enough to be into Glam Rock or Hard Rock.
By the end of the decade, disco had taken over many dance floors.
Then came the early 1980s and the NDW – Neue Deutsche Welle. And with bands and artists such as Modern Talking and Sandra, pop music firmly established itself.
Playlists
I’ll soon dig out some of my old DJ preparation lists and put them together on YouTube, so you can use them to create the soundtrack for your own retro party.
70-75 Deutsche Schlager
70-79 Glam Rock
75-79 Disco Fever
80-83 NDW Neue Deutsche Welle
84-89 Modern Pop Music
Meine Top 100 (sehr gemischt)
Please send questions and suggestions to: wirtz@lecker-wirtz.de
Enjoy your cooking – and your dancing!
#leckerwirtz #leckerwirds #meinkochplatz #mottoessen #70erparty #70erbuffet #kaltesbuffet #retroparty #retrobuffet
70er kaltes Buffet – Die retro Party Verköstigung der ’70er.
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