The temperature is rising and everyone’s in a party mood: it’s time for the first garden and balcony parties of the year! Naturally, these can also be gluten-free. We have collected together all the best ideas for a successful gluten-free party.

Decorations
The right decorations can help set the mood for the party. If you have chosen a particular theme, then the decorations should reflect this. Tea lights or torches always work well. Fairy lights in trees and bushes, colourful lanterns with candles and different-coloured bulbs provide light when it gets dark and the party mood sets. Lemons, oranges and limes on the tables make a lovely summery decoration, as do flowers and petals, combined with ivy leaves. Tea lights in sand-filled glasses are easy to prepare but very effective.

Food
As a general rule: in hot weather, no-one feels like eating heavy, fatty dishes. Therefore, make sure that the treats you serve up are light and will not go off quickly.
There are lots of options when it comes to catering, all completely gluten-free of course, and easy to prepare:

Appetisers and finger food
One very easy way of serving a buffet is just to make little appetisers or canapés that your guests can eat with their fingers. This even saves on the washing up, as finger food can just be served on a serviette. For example, canapés with smoked salmon and fennel, asparagus tit bits or leek bocconcini are especially delicious. Desserts can also be served as finger food; for example, how do refreshing canapés, exotic chocolate-chilli tarts or delicious carrot cakes sound? These little buffet ideas are especially good if the party is only meant to last two or three hours.

Bigger buffets
If you decide instead for a large buffet that is more like a full meal, then you should provide several courses: Starters, main courses and desserts, always, in a gluten-free version of course. A chilled gazpacho, refreshing pasta salad or classy salad of scallops and parmesan pockets are recommended as starters. As a main course, you can serve something filling but light, such as a tasty vegetable lasagne, sophisticated vegetable and salmon quiches or succulent Carpaccio skewers with bay leaves for meat lovers. As a sweet treat to end the meal, why not serve a light blackberry and Quark dessert or the spectacular strawberries in aspic; if you want to serve dessert separately, then how about gently melting After Eight sorbets.

Barbecue parties
The menu for a successful barbecue party more or less takes care of itself. When shopping, reckon on about 200 – 300 grams of meat per person. Sausages should be avoided, as they may contain or be contaminated with gluten, unless they are declared gluten-free products, marked with the crossed-out ear of corn.
Also stay away from pre-seasoned and preserved meat products, as there is a high risk that these may also be contaminated or that the seasoning may contain gluten. This means you should be careful in general with ready-made marinades, barbecue seasonings and herb mixtures! Of course, you should also not pour gluten-containing beer over the grill, even if this would improve the taste.
Prepare some cold sauces to accompany the meat. You can find some ideas for these here. Ready-made barbecue sauces are risky, as they often contain wheat starch. You should be particularly careful with mayonnaise, ketchup, sauces containing curry powder, herb sauces or soy sauces.
Salads are especially good as a side dish; plan for about 100 grams of pasta salad and about 200 grams of fresh salad per person. Here are some serving suggestions: Pasta salad with courgette and peppers or with curried vegetables, fresh salad with peanuts and bacon strips or a salad with an interesting combination of cheese, bacon and apples. Crispy bruschetta or homemade Italian focaccia make for a delicious accompaniment. To finish, who could resist a delicate coffee-flavoured mousse or perhaps a lemon parfait?

Drinks
The most important part of a successful summer party is having enough chilled drinks available. Bear in mind that not everyone wants to drink alcohol, so make sure you have enough mineral water or fruit juices. Depending on the temperature, you should count on at least 0.75 litres per person, about one or two glasses of sparkling wine or aperitif, about 0.75 litres of wine and one litre of beer for ladies, two litres for men. Refreshing bowls of punch and light, sweet cocktails work especially well in the summer heat. Do not forget to cool all drinks before the party and make plenty of ice cubes.

All that remains is for us to wish you good luck and lots of fun at your party!