Vol-au-vents back in fashion in craze for ‘comfort food’

VOL-AU-VENTS have returned to supermarket shelves for Christmas as the canapé makes us “nostalgic” for normal festivities.

Experts said the revival of the pastry snack – made famous by the Mike Leigh play Abigail’s Party – was due to our desire for “comfort food” and a return to pre-pandemic times.

Supermarkets, including Morrisons and Marks & Spencer, are stocking the pastries as part of their festive food selections this year.

Ratula Chakraborty, professor of business management at the University of East Anglia, said: “When things [are] changing, like during the pandemic, we crave comfort food and the memories of our childhoods and youth.

“Vol-au-vents may have gone out of fashion after the 1970s but their comeback helps customers recreate nostalgic Christmases of years gone by – which is especially important when we’re all trying to have the best Christmas possible in a time of crisis.”

Vol-au-vent is French for “flight in the wind”, in reference to its light puff pastry case. The treats were first popularised in Paris in the early 1800s and were usually filled with a chicken or fish-based savoury sauce.

In post-war Britain, from the 1950s to the 1970s, they were considered a musthave at any buffet or as dinner party canapés. But they fell out of fashion and were barely seen in the 1990s and 2000s.

Martyn Lee, the executive chef of Waitrose, said: “Nostalgia has played an important role within food over the past couple of years and the return of the vol-au-vent is a great example of this, transporting us to our childhoods while our adult tastebuds have been craving a sense of elevation and elegance.”

The cheapest way to enjoy the trend is with a 12-pack of Morrisons sweet chilli prawn-filled vol-au-vents for £3.