Kitchen Essential

HIGH TEA

As high tea is a much more informal, family affair than afternoon tea, your everyday china is quite suitable. An unfussy practical setting is required, with a fairly plain table-cloth set with everyday cutlery. As hot dishes are usually served, each place setting should include a large knife and fork as well as a side plate and small knife for spreading butter and jam.

SNACK MEALS

If a very light meal is to be eaten after the theatre or in the early evening a low occasional table is ideal for arranging dishes and setting informal places. Almost any ’snack’ meal can be served in this way. If the surface is not heat-proof, any hot plates of food and coffee pots should be placed either on a heat-proof tray or large mat.

DINNER

This can vary from an informal evening meal with two or three courses to a full dinner with five or six courses, and the table setting will vary accordingly. Stick to the golden rules and techniques and it should be possible to create the right mood and style to suit the occasion. Part of the secret of a successful dinner party is that it should run smoothly, and if you have planned well beforehand and have worked out how to serve the different courses, you should not have too many problems.

Serving

When tables were larger and most dinners included a huge roast joint of meat, it was quite usual for the host to carve and serve individual portions on to a pile of hot plates in front of him, while the hostess served vegetables and sauces at the other end of the table. For this to work a servant was needed to carry plates back and forth. Nowadays, it is quite normal to place vegetable dishes, sauce boats and salad bowls on the table in front of guests. The host or hostess serves the main dish and hands a plate to each guest, who then serves him or herself to vegetables. This method suits modern menus much better since the meal might consist of a casserole with rice, or a selection of Indian or Chinese dishes and it is much easier for people to help themselves.

Alternatively the host or hostess serves all the vegetables or accompanying dishes from a hotplate on the sideboard and carries a filled plate to each guest. A heated hostess trolley is another useful aid. A hotplate is an excellent investment as all the vegetables and sauces and even the main dish can be kept hot until second helpings are required.

If there is no room for dishes on the table and no sideboard or similar piece of furniture, food can be dished up in the kitchen and filled plates brought quickly through and placed in front of each guest. If a salad is to be served, it is usual to place the salad bowl and dressing on the table at the same time as the main course. Some people may eat salad with the hot food while others like to serve it on a separate side plate afterwards. Have small plates ready to replace any used for salad, so that guests have them ready for the cheese course. If you have individual bowls for salad, place these on the table outside the place setting on the left, to balance the glasses on the right.

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