Serving Mini Fish and Chips at a Wedding: Cones and Kit

To serve mini fish and chips at a wedding, you need four things: a small cone for each portion, newspaper-print greaseproof paper if you want the chip-shop look, a small fork, and a stand or tray to hold the cones while they go round. Mini fish and chip cones work as a passed canapé during the drinks reception or as evening food later on. Our Fish and Chip Shops collection carries the cones, the paper and the boats.

Below is how it works on the day, which cones, paper and stands to look at, and a kit list per 100 cones with the prices worked through.

Mini fish and chips at a wedding: how it works

Mini fish and chips is a small portion of fish and chips served in a cone or a boat and eaten standing up, usually with a small fork. At a wedding it tends to turn up in one of two places.

• As a canapé during the drinks reception. Cones go out on trays with staff, or sit in a cone stand on a station. Guests take one, eat it standing, and hand back the empty cone.
• As evening food. Cones are handed out from a station, a hatch or a van later in the evening.

Either way, the caterer, the venue kitchen or a mobile fish and chip caterer does the cooking. The kit is what the guest holds, and it decides how the whole thing looks: the cone, the paper, the fork. Settle the number of cones first; the kit list below follows from it.

The obvious worry is whether a cone holds fried food without going soft. Here is what each product page says, in its own words:

• Newspaper Printed Paper Cones: "Grease-resistant construction", "Moisture-resistant" and "Ideal for dry & fried items".
• Pinewood Serving Cones: "Grease-resistant", with "Chips and fries" among their uses. The same page says "Perfect for dry foods", so serve sauces on the side.
• Newspaper Print Greaseproof Paper: "Superior grease resistance" and "Perfect for hot & greasy foods".

If the fish and chips are one item on a longer canapé menu, our guide to how to serve canapés covers the spoons, cups and boats for the rest of it.

Cones, paper and stands for party food

Cones. We stock two cone ranges whose pages list fried food or chips among their uses.

• The Eco-Friendly Newspaper Printed Paper Cones come in Small (14 x 10 x 5cm diameter), Medium (18 x 13 x 7cm diameter) and Large (22 x 16 x 9cm diameter), from £3.99 + VAT for 50 Small. The page lists "Events Catering" among their applications and describes a "Vintage newsprint design".
• The Pinewood Serving Cones come in Medium (12cm x 9cm x 5cm diameter), Large (18cm x 13cm x 7cm diameter) and Extra Large (24cm x 17cm x 9cm diameter), from £3.99 + VAT for 50 Medium. The page lists "Weddings and events" and "Chips and fries".

The printed cones carry the chip-shop look on their own; the pinewood cones give a natural wood look. For the full side-by-side, read pinewood serving cones versus newspaper printed paper cones, and for why the two belong together, see our piece on fried food and serving cones.

Paper. Newspaper Print Greaseproof Paper comes in 35 x 35cm sheets, in packs of 1,000, 5,000 and 10,000, from £47.99 + VAT for 1,000. It is greaseproof paper printed with a classic newspaper design. Its page lists it as "Food-grade certified", with "No ink transfer", and lists "Fish & Chips" among its uses. With the pinewood cones, a sheet adds the newspaper look; the printed cones have it already.

Forks. The Bamboo Buffet Forks are 9cm, three-tine, in natural bamboo, from £1.99 + VAT for 100. The page lists "Wedding Receptions" and "Finger Foods".

Stands. The 18-Hole Black/Clear Perspex Cone Stand (42 x 23 x 8cm, black or clear, from £29.99 + VAT) holds 18 cones on a station, and the Long Wooden 6-Hole Cone Stand holds six in a line, from £9.99 + VAT. Neither page gives a hole size, so ask us which cone sits in which stand before you order. Our guide to cone stands covers choosing one.

Boats instead of cones. If you would rather serve in boats, the Newspaper Print Food Boats come in Medium (13.5 x 8cm) and Large (19 x 10cm), from £3.99 + VAT for 50, and their page lists "Fish & Chips". They are in the same Fish and Chip Shops collection. For a larger sharing portion, the Palm Leaf Boat Bowls are 30cm x 14cm and 4cm deep, and their page lists "Fish & Chips" and "Wedding Catering".

Kit list per 100 cones

Built from the pack sizes and prices on each product page, ex VAT. It is per 100 cones, not per guest: you set the number of cones.

The working. Cones, paper and forks for 100 cones: £6.99 + £4.80 + £1.99 = £13.78 + VAT. Without the paper: £6.99 + £1.99 = £8.98 + VAT. The paper only comes in packs of 1,000 sheets, so the outlay is £47.99 + VAT, and at one sheet per cone the same pack covers the next 900 cones. The stand is a one-off: how many you need depends on how many cones are out at once, not on the total.

Wedding fish and chip questions

How do you serve mini fish and chips at a wedding?

In small cones with a fork, either passed on trays or set in a cone stand during the drinks reception, or handed out from a station as evening food. Use newspaper-print greaseproof paper if you want the chip-shop look, and serve sauces on the side.

What size cone for mini fish and chips?

It depends on the portion, so set the portion first. For a canapé-sized portion, look at the smaller sizes: the printed paper cone Small (14 x 10 x 5cm diameter) or the pinewood cone Medium (12cm x 9cm x 5cm diameter). The larger sizes in both ranges suit a bigger evening portion.

What goes in a wedding fish and chip kit?

Cones, newspaper-print greaseproof paper if you want the look, small forks, napkins, and a stand or tray to hold the cones. The kit list above prices cones, paper and forks at £13.78 + VAT per 100 cones, or £8.98 + VAT without the paper.