Dinner Party Planning

With the right planning and technique, dinner parties can become a roaring success.

Planning The Menu

• Colour:
  Colour plays a major role when deciding the menu because when dinner is served on the table, it needs to make an impression. Main courses can comprise mashed potatoes, roast pork as well as cauliflower.

  While these taste great, they pale in terms of colour. Hence, vegetables such as eggplant, green beans, golden squash, carrots can help lend colour to the table.

• Food allergies or issues:
  Check if your guests have any issues with certain foods. Some guests maybe allergic to certain kinds of foods while others maybe following a particular diet regimen or some maybe strict vegetarians. Make sure to find out these preferences before deciding the menu.

• Preparing ahead:
  For inexperienced cooks, deciding on dishes, which can be made ahead of time is a good idea. Common dishes include appetizers, crackers and cheese trays, dips along with vegetables, lemon and shrimps with a nice cocktail sauce etc.

Wine Selection

Proper selection of wine is critical because it can make or break the meal. Consult with a wine store in your vicinity to know, which wines go best with certain foods.

Focusing on the four critical guidelines of cost, weight, colour and flavour will help choosing the perfect wines.

Quick House Cleaning

While the actual dinner will be the emphasis, the house too should be neat and in order. Primary cleaning areas of focus should be the coat hanging area, the foyer, bathroom, kitchen, dining and living areas, hallways, which connect these areas.

Setting The Table

There are some basics when it comes to setting the table for a dinner. The size of the table will determine the seating capacity and hence how many people to invite for the dinner.

Dinner plate and silverware should be placed an inch away from the edge of the table. Small dishes will be placed at the left of the plate while wine glasses and water will be on the right side.

Placement of silverware should be in accordance to the course of eating. Decorations need to be subtle and understated so the focus is on the food.

Proper Mood

Choosing appropriate, soothing music, having candlelight for a subtle elegant décor and leveraging unique centrepiece ideas will help create a proper mood for the dinner.

Depending on whether this is a barbecue or a formal dinner, the dinner could be on the patio or in the dining area.

Tips To Plan Ahead

By planning, much of the stress associated with dinner parties can be avoided. Instead of spending too much time in the kitchen, the host can entertain and ensure guests are comfortable.

Things like extending invitations, checking the state of dishes, tablecloths, napkins, flatware shold be done at this juncture, doing an inventory check on supplies already available and what needs to be bought, deciding on the centrepiece and table settings, purchasing flowers and food, cleaning up the house, buying wine or non-alcoholic drinks, setting the table, selection of dinner music, placing silverware etc. should be completed beforehand.