Kitchen Essential

Whether you are hot on the trail of Don Quixote or Velasquez, or simply spending relaxing days in the warm Spanish sun, it can still be exciting to act as a hostess on a small scale when you’re staying in foreign lands.

Native specialities, exotic flowers and leaves can be combined by simple means to produce unusual arrangements. The lifestyle and culinary specialities which you see on holiday can be reflected in your decorations.

What to do:

The table impresses with its simplicity, it radiates atmosphere without too many frills, and the charm of the Mediterranean is typified by the rich colors of the flowers, framed in elegant white. As a final touch the napkins are held together with a strip of palm leaf.

The table takes its colour from bougainvillea, which is found everywhere along the side of the road. Here it is laid out on banana leaves, which do an excellent job as place mats in the centre of the table. Banana leaves are not as common as bougainvillea, but there are many other large leaves available which are equally useful and decorative as a background.

Tapas is the typical Spanish delicacy which is served as a starter or as a snack with wine. Traditionally it is served on a small saucer which goes under the wine glass, but more often nowadays it is served in small bowls on the table so that you can help yourself. Depending on the choice and how hungry you are, you can fill yourself up with these delicacies. The tapas dishes used here are placed in the centre of the table.

If you don’t want to load the table with tapas dishes at the start of the evening, you can start with two or three specialities and serve different dishes during the course of the evening.

House-moving brunch Table Decoration

You must surely be familiar with the scenario — you’ve moved to a new house and would like to do something to thank the stalwart friends who were there when you needed them. Or your friends are all so desperate to inspect your new home that you’re left with no choice but to hold your housewarming party in the middle of packing cases and rolls of carpet.

The last thing you have on your mind is inviting people to brunch amongst the confusion of boxes and shelves, pictures and suitcases. The fact that everything is all over the place, that you’re constantly hunting for mislaid items, that there are stacks of boxes — usually in your way — none of this would make you think of stopping in the middle of it all and restoring body and soul with a glass of champagne and your feet up for ten minutes.

But it can work! With a bit of courage and a dash of spontaneity, which you should expect of your guests as well, a house-moving brunch of this kind can easily fall into the category of a gastronomic experience. The great thing is that people won’t expect the setting to be perfect. The free and easy combination of all that is best in breakfast and lunch, combined with the unusual setting, is bound to appeal to your guests.

What to do:

The packing cases, which are bound to be plentiful, are used here as tables, stools, buffet tables, a plant stand and anything else you can think of.

Because your table linen is probably packed away somewhere, you can always use clean dust sheets as tablecloths. This saves you the trouble of having to hunt out your tablecloths, and the bother of washing them afterwards.

Toy furniture from a doll’s house, which you can buy in toy shops, is wrapped in tissue paper and can be used as a decoration for this house- moving brunch. The invitations can also be made with little effort: Invitation cards and envelopes are cut or folded out of cardboard and tissue paper so that they look like miniature packing cases. You can then photocopy the invitation or write it by hand.

Tip:

The buffet table shouldn’t just be one long surface like a pasting table. There should be different levels; some things should stand on the floor, others higher up on a pile of boxes, and some at an intermediate level. Don’t be afraid to build a scene around your buffet, it will look more exciting and will be better suited to the informal occasion.

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