The Summer List

Poolside food and drinks that ticks all the boxes

Burrata with puttanesca topping, torta fritta, fatteh.

I’ve started a “food for pool days” list on my Notes app. So far, I’m excitingly up to a dozen or so entries, and the list keeps growing.

Pool days happen at my parents’ house, which makes it ultra convenient that they have a pool. When it comes to whiling away the hot days that’s where I like to bide my time.

Unlike the rest of you lovely lot (I see that heat wave in England!) where I am, we’ve only had one really good, pool-worthy weekend. Sadly, the 2026 inaugural visit to Camp Henderson left something to be desired. At least culinarily speaking.

(My mum reads this newsletter and will be very upset. She’s requested her privacy, but as Nora said, “everything is content.” And as Anne Lamont said, “You own everything that happened to you. Tell your stories. If people wanted you to write warmly about them, they should have behaved better.” So take that, Babs.)

Anyway, my folks promised - promised!! - there was plenty of food. Don’t bring anything!, my ma insisted.

To be fair to my mother, she did call me twice to let me know she just purchased a full bottle of tequila and big bag of limes, plus a litre-and-a-half of gin, so we should be set. At least Babs’ has her priorities right.

However, for the six people eating that day, there were precisely two chicken breasts, two sausages, and one bunch of asparagus. When it came time for snacks, my dad said there was a bag of chips he just opened - “full, or damn near, anyway.”

Dear reader, this is my dad’s version of a full bag of chips.

Sigh. My parents are completely unreliable. At least when it comes to the fridge and larder. For everything else – such as stocking the bar and keeping the pool glistening – they’re pretty solid.

So back to my list.

What will now go down in history as, the pool day where we nearly starved, I’ve now decided to keep a list of delicious bits and bobs that will hit all the high notes for poolside entertaining.

Why a list? Well, other than my obsession with keeping a list for absolutely everything, I also freeze in testing situations. My sister will ask what I want to bring to the pool, and my mind will go blank. Food maybe? Which then leads to me making a decent choice, but not the one I had rolling around in my mind before all thoughts evaporated under interrogation, so the list is helpful for getting out of jam.

Plus, we’ve got a lot of boxes to tick to please all the discerning mouths and tummies lounging on pool noodles.

So here’s the start of my poolside list, and the reasons they made the cut. If you have any grand ideas, please send them along, I am waiting with pen poised.

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First of all, don’t confuse this with fancy stuff. I’d much rather dine from a food truck than a five-star restaurant, and that’s also the way I serve at home (or my parents’.)

These are the days of eat with your fingers, bathing suits at the table, and the possibility of spraying sunscreen right into your marg. C’est la vie.