The Royal Chef At Home: Easy Seasonal Entertaining

make connections. Kids at the same school? Same college? Eaten at any good restaurants lately? Find the common ground, “So, are the girls going to win our important soccer game on Saturday then?” before slipping gently into the background to top up drinks and let the conversation build. By all means, feel free to invite new guests into the kitchen and give them a job. Everyone feels more relaxed washing lettuce than finding new topics to discuss. Plus helping with the meal creates a sense of intimacy, even among strangers. Soon your eclectic gathering will be off down interesting conversational paths toward (hopefully) new friendships. • Have sufficient lighting and seating. Avoid the extremes; make sure the room isn’t too dark or too bright. I’ve been to dinner parties where all the lighting in the home was provided via little tea lights. That can be fine if you use lots and lots and lots of tea lights. If not, you are essentially eating in the dark. Informal seating arrangements work fine as long as they include a few comfortable chairs and table nearby to put down a drink or a plate. Don’t feel you have to have a chair for everyone though. You want guests to circulate and get a chance to move around the room. Just give people some options. • Try to be present. Don’t separate yourself overlong from your guests. Sure, there is always some last minute work to do in the kitchen, but build a menu that let’s you enjoy the party too. • Don’t spring surprises on your guests. Let them know exactly what type of event they are invited to. Is it formal or casual? Does it have a firm end time? Does it involve a costume? That last one is important! It’s a

silly British tradition to wear paper crowns at Christmas supper and some of my Texan friends have made it clear in no uncertain terms (“Are you kidding? Hell no”) that the paper crown is not exactly their cup of tea. If it makes them uncomfortable, then off with the crown! STYLE Personal style is something we all have even if some of us are convinced our style button is on mute. My anecdotal experience tells me that stylewise, people generally fall into two camps; the minimalists and the maximalists. The minimalist loves a perfect single flower in a beautiful vase, the green of asparagus spears set off against a large white plate and room décor which is cool, uncluttered and open. The maximalist, on the other hand, loves big bouquets of flowers, rooms filled with personal mementos and platters of food filled to the brim. I’ m hard pressed to prefer one over the other, for in fact, I like them both. Whatever your style, it should be expressed in appropriate measure to the event. For example, some of us just love the look of a white linen tablecloth, shining crystal and silver and individually plated dinners. Lovely. But certainly not practical for an event with forty guests! So, the linen stays, the silver and napkins can be rolled up and tied, the individual plates set off to the side and bring out the elegant platters filled with food. Spend a minute and think about what you find beautiful in your home. You may have wonderful pearl colored shells picked up on your last trip to the beach and wouldn’t that look nice with candles tucked in around it as a centerpiece. What about your collection of

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