How to Host a Dinner Party without Breaking a Sweat

How to Host a Dinner Party without Breaking a Sweat

We’ve all seen them. The charming host or hostess elegantly attired, serenely captivating – delighting their guests with witty repartee, amazing them with culinary delights and coolly shifting between dinner courses with grace and style.

Unfortunately for most of us however, the thought of hosting a dinner party brings up visions of sweating over a kitchen range for hours, attempting to juggle a myriad of pots and pans whilst suspicious smells of burning, drive us to distraction.

By the time our guests arrive, we are ready for a stiff drink, a headache powder, and bed.

Take heart – it doesn’t have to be that way. With careful planning, the right kitchen equipment and a little know-how, you can turn your next dinner party into an evening of sophisticated social intercourse, highlighted by a sumptuous display of your culinary talents.

Tool and Appliance Time – Equipping Yourself

Attempting to create sumptuous dishes using inferior kitchen equipment can be likened to giving yourself a haircut with paper-cutting scissors – it will work, but the results won’t be pretty.

Likewise, arming oneself with high-quality, professional grade utensils, and equipment, can transform the mundane into a masterpiece.

The basics should include:

  • A gas range with hood oven that can offer fast and even heating and precise temperature control for sautéing, boiling, or frying.
  • A quality chef knife set – can make preparation a breeze. For the home cook, at a minimum, consider:
    • Chefs knife – this perfect all-rounder can chop, dice and slice.
    • Paring knife – for peeling, trimming and coring vegetables.
    • Carving knife – slices meat to perfection and adds a professional touch to your presentation.
  • Stainless steel cookware, comprising:
    • Pots and pans.
    • Steamers
    • At least two fry-pans.
    • Oven to table cookware.
  • Bain Marie – for keeping food warm whilst serving or to allow guests to help themselves.

Recipes For Success

Curate recipes based on the event. This will save you a lot of time as you can quickly find the recipes of the most appropriate dishes that fit the theme of your event online. For instance, if you are hosting a March Madness Party, you could easily find tasty Snack Ideas for March Madness with a quick web search. This can include items like buffalo chicken dip, stuffed peppers, or sliders and a lot more. Similarly, if you are hosting a baby shower, you could find recipes for brunch dishes like quiches, mini frittatas, and other light finger foods.

Another important tip is to make a list of vegetarian guests. To avoid serving up a magnificent roast to a selection of guests who turn out to be vegetarians, it pays to plan ahead. A quick email out to guests requesting food preferences, intolerances or allergies, will be time well spent.

Plan a menu which you believe will have wide appeal and keep recipes as uncomplicated as possible. This guide, running down dietary requirements and restrictions, is aimed at restaurants, but it’s a great resource for catering to everyone’s needs.

The more that can go wrong, will go wrong, when preparing for a large group of guests. Prepare as much food in advance as your fridge will allow.

Setting The Scene

As the saying goes, the first bite is with the eye. Creating a welcoming ambiance, which greets guests from the moment they step over your threshold, can go a long way to setting the scene for a successful evening. So too can a sparkling dining table laid with crisp white linen and polished silverware.

For a truly special touch, why not consider adding a fire pit to your outdoor dining area? This could be a great way to create a warm, inviting atmosphere for your guests as they enjoy their meals. Be sure to use the right kind of wood for your fire pit, however, as some woods can be more difficult to light and burn than others. Also, consider using a good quality firelighter like those available on Firewood Farm, so that the wood catches fire instantly and rejoices everyone present on the scene.

Similarly, for indoor dining, you can consider the following suggestions to create a warm and inviting atmosphere, and to help your guests relax and enjoy their meal.

  • Scented candles – the smell is a powerful sense and the evocative scent of rose or lavender, can be soothing and alluring.
  • Carefully arranged lighting – creates an intimate mood.
  • Soft music playing – keep it low to allow for easy conversation.

Guest Guidance

The primary reason we throw a dinner party is to enjoy the company of our guests. As with wines, people vary in the quality and consistency of their personalities. Some may be cheeky and light, some earthy, others however, leave you with a bad aftertaste and need to be corked.

Planning your guest list can take the skill of a politician but getting it right can mean the difference between a swanky soiree and a terminally dull evening, which has guests looking at their watches around a quarter past eight.

For these reasons, consider your invitations well. Age, demographic and temperament all need to be taken into account when attempting to congregate a group of individuals whom you are hoping will generate witty conversation and intelligent repartee.

The Most Important Thing of All…

Relax and enjoy yourself. Guests won’t mind if the steak is a little tough or the veggies are a bit soft, they are there to savour the pleasures of good company and friendly banter. If you are relaxed, chatty and ready for fun, guests will take their cue from you – enthusiasm is infectious!

So start planning. Your next dinner party may just be the start of something big.

Kelly Tate
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