Canapés for savouries can be neat shapes of bread and butter, toast or fried bread; or crisp biscuits of cheese, short or flaky pastry. Tiny, round, firm pancakes are a good base for savoury mixtures too.

Toast is the most usual, but it does become soft if prepared too far ahead. Fried bread should be very well drained on kitchen or crumpled tissue paper so that it is dry and no longer