Street party, cheeseboard and beer! How the Brits intend to celebrate the Platinum Jubilee

Nothing much has changed since 1977 in the way the Brits celebrate a Queen’s Jubilee, according to a recent survey carried out by award-winning cheese company Ilchester, with a street party including sausage rolls, a cheese board and beer being on the cards for most people – and not forgetting the ubiquitous sandwich!

More than a third of Brits (38%) have already decided to have a party to celebrate the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee in June this year, with 35% yet to decide, and 28% not getting into the party spirit, the poll by Ilchester, which makes award-winning specialty cheeses and some of the nation’s favourite plant-based cheezes, showed.

An old-fashioned street party is the most popular choice (46% of respondents) followed by a barbecue, and old favourites such as sausage rolls and a cheeseboard are popular choices of fare with 75% of respondents still including meat in their menu (40% of them have sausage rolls in their top three choices) and 68% of respondents including cheese in the buffet (with 20% offering either a cheese board or cheese and pineapple as options).

The traditional British choice of sandwiches were picked in the top three by 42% of respondents whereas, in comparison, modern trendy choices such as sushi and king prawns were only picked by 3% and 5% respectively.

And for a celebration tipple not much has changed over the decades either: beer is still the top choice for a party with 54% saying they will offer it. The relative newcomer Prosecco garners a huge vote though, with 38% giving their guests the Italian fizz (the same percentage as wine), and its more expensive cousin, Champagne, on gets 20% of votes – maybe because people are watching the pennies in the wake of the pandemic and Brexit.

Lisa Harrison, Marketing Manager at Ilchester, says: “We were actually surprised that more than a third of people had planned their parties for the jubilee but we weren’t surprised that cheese still has such a big presence at a celebration buffet though, with retro choices like cheese and pineapple and the traditional cheese board never going out of fashion.

“Cheese is a great option for finger food/buffet food and is a hit with vegetarians as well as meat-eaters. Our Ilchester Snacking Net, which contains 12 individually wrapped mini cheeses, is the perfect finger food for street parties. And our vegan cheeze range, including the Ilchester Vegan Melting Mature and the Ilchester Vegan Blue, is also a winner with those who only like a plant-based diet.”

Lisa went on: “Bring on the cheese boards, cheese and pineapple and cheese sandwiches!”