A comfort food formal
Jess Dodwell concocts her perfect formal menu, only this time it consists of her favourite comfort foods

A Caius student is a student well-acquainted with the formal dining experience. Say what you want, but the option of attending a formal every single night gives you plenty of chance to mull over your perfect menu. And, having eaten my way through what feels like the entire Christmas aisle of Tesco (and what actually is the entire tin of Quality Streets the neighbour brought round) over the festive season, January has me wanting all the hearty, warming home-cooking I can get my hands on. So as Lent term begins, and we’re all craving a bit of soul food, here’s my best shot at a Formal menu based on all my favourite comfort meals:
“There’s just something inherently comforting about a chilli: the warming spices, the rich tomato sauce, the minimal chewing required…”
Starter: macaroni cheese
Honestly, it was a toss-up between this and dauphinoise potatoes. Despite the fact that neither really fit the stereotypical ‘starter’ bill, I will die on the hill of the carb and cheese combo. I’d much rather tuck into a bowl of buttered macaroni, the pasta still bubbling slightly in the middle, the sides golden-brown and just the right side of crispy, than another bowl of tomato soup. Also, this is a hypothetical menu and no one actually has to eat it, so if I want to have two mains and disguise one of them as a starter, then I don’t see the issue.
Drink pairing: to the inevitable disappointment of some, the ‘wine pairings’ at my formal have been dropped in favour of something a bit more restorative and less likely to give you a headache. So, to complement your mac and cheese, you’ll also be given a warm cup of chai. Not too much caffeine, but just enough to counteract any early-onset food comas.
Main: vegetarian chili
As you’re probably realising, cohesion between dishes is lacking a little here. And as you’re thinking that, I’m having the simultaneous realisation that any future career as Food and Bar Rep is looking less and less likely by the minute. But we plough on to our next culinary destination for some Tex-Mex nonetheless. There’s just something inherently comforting about a chilli: the warming spices, the rich tomato sauce, the minimal chewing required (a must after a long day). The meat version is a bit more conventional, but by redressing the pulse-to-mince ratio and adding a generous dollop of guacamole for some customary greens, us veggies also do a pretty good job.
Drink pairing: mulled apple juice, which always strikes me as the easiest and most underappreciated non-alcoholic mulled wine alternative. Tricking your brain into thinking you’ve had a fancy cocktail is as simple as mixing together juice, orange zest and a few spices in a saucepan, then calling it a drink worthy of a formal.
“Nothing helps to calm the term time nerves quite like a hot chocolate”
Dessert: sticky toffee pudding
The best part of any meal is also, as it turns out, the best part to plan. Having returned from a twenty-minute trip down that well-loved google rabbit hole of dessert recipes, I concluded that my comfort dessert has to be sticky toffee pudding. There’s nothing that quite says dopamine hit like the combination of treacly date sponge drizzled in warm silky-smooth toffee sauce and topped with a generous scoop of vanilla ice cream. Everyone talks about sweet and savoury combinations, but pairing hot and cold foods most definitely also has a time and a place too – so the ice cream is non-negotiable, I’m afraid.
Drink pairing: hot chocolate, with all the trimmings. There’s got to be some sort of law against throwing a comfort food formal without serving up hot chocolate – the undisputed queen of comforting drinks. And since there’s not a chip of chocolate in sight in the dessert, I obviously had to make up for the deficit in the drink. Topped with whipped cream, a dusting of cocoa powder and a sprinkling of marshmallows, nothing helps to calm the term time nerves quite like it.
And with that, you’d all wander home as comforted as can be (if, perhaps, a little less than comfortable, given the small fact of having just consumed three courses and three drinks in the space of an hour). Luckily, the food coma’s going to hit you just before bed, ready to furnish you with sweetly-scented dreams of ice cream and velvety-smooth chocolate.
Features / The forgotten family member: Oxbridge College sisterhood
12 February 2025Comment / Why Oxbridge’s offers day matters
10 February 2025News / Pembroke’s TikTok famous Director of Music steps down from role
12 February 2025Comment / There is a hypocrisy of tolerance here at Cambridge
14 February 2025News / News in brief: Rowing, research, and a royal documentary
11 February 2025