Tips For Throwing A Successful Dinner Party

Everyone loves a good dinner party!

Getting together with friends or family can turn a regular Friday night into a memorable one. If you are looking for ways to perfect your dinner party skills, here are a few easy tips:

THE PREP:

In order to avoid any major dinner party catastrophes, there is one golden rule: plan ahead.

Start by taking a look through your pantry for some inspiration and ideas – and then most importantly, once you choose your meal plan, review your inventory carefully. Also make sure you have enough dishes, cutlery, glasses and any other necessary kitchen utensils you may need to prepare and serve your meal.

Once you have finalized your meal details and made sure you have everything you need on hand, head to the grocery store and complete your shopping list 1-2 days in advance.

Another great prepping tip is setting up your dinner table the night before. This will free up some time the night of the dinner party for you focus on your meal prep and entertaining your guests and will allow you to perfect your table décor.

THE AMBIANCE:

Get your guests excited by giving your dinner party a theme. If you are cooking up a particular culture’s foods, let your guests know they will be attending “A Dinner in Morocco” or a “Tea Party Soiree”.

Secondly, your lighting game must be on point. All the while considering your theme, decide if you should have dim lights, bright lights or different coloured lights to set the mood. One idea would be to light a few candles for a softer ambiance which in turn, will immediately relax your guests.

And finally, bring your ambiance full circle by incorporating some sweet tunes. If you have the time, make your own playlist and personalize it to the guests attending your party.

THE MEAL:

Ensure a super tasty meal by cooking something you’re confident with; something you’ve made before and were pleased with how well it turned out. A dinner party is probably not the best time to try out a recipe for the first time.

When buying wine or other alcoholic beverages for your dinner party, think about your menu and take the flavours into consideration. If you’re having Mexican food maybe you want to splurge for a nice brand name Tequila. Or if you are serving classic French food, you may want to choose and pair your menu with a nice red or white wine.

Another thing to keep in mind of you are cooking multiple courses is to make sure that not all your dishes are super heavy. If your main meal is a heavy or saucy dish, it is best to always start with something fresh and light, like a salad or small bisque.