Kitchen Essential

A buffet meal is ideal for occasions where there is to be a large number of guests such as christenings, weddings and similar gatherings. It may also suit a smaller gathering such as an informal supper with friends after the theatre or an evening at home where a dinner around the table might be more formal than you want to make it.

When planning the table arrangements and flowers or other decorations, think carefully about a colour scheme or theme to suit the occasion. For example, if the meal you are planning is to celebrate a silver wedding, choose white flowers with silvery foliage, silver candles or white candles in silver candlesticks and trimmings of furled silver ribbons. Silver serving dishes and silver cutlery will help to set the scene and if you don’t have these yourself, you can hire, or possibly borrow them. If the occasion is a christening, you will probably choose pink or blue as the predominant colour, and flowers should be delicate and unfussy.

The next most important decision is where to place the table. Continue Reading »

It has become normal to expect that menu cards and seating plans are purely a matter of etiquette and reserved for official occasions, as they are thought more than a little excessive for a private dinner party. It would be a pity if this idea were to persist, because menu cards for a small dinner party or place cards for a tea party in your home can be a gesture which brings people closer together and, if you do it properly, a sign that you are in command of your role as a hostess. They also make an eye-catching part of the overall table decorations.

Imaginatively designed menu cards lead to anticipation of a delicious meal and afterwards your guests can take them home as an attractive memento. Continue Reading »

Thoughts of an attractive table setting usually start with a freshly laundered tablecloth which is carefully spread over the table. Sometimes that’s as far as the table decorations get — which is a shame, because with a few tucks and a bit of imagination, just a tablecloth on its own can provide your table with an effective “outfit”.

There are a few basic rules which will help you to make the most of your tablecloth.

The tablecloth must fit the table.

This makes sense, because nothing is more detrimental to the effect of a table than a cloth which is too small. On the other hand, your guests won’t enjoy fighting to disentangle their legs from acres of cloth hanging down from the table. It should still be possible to sit comfortably at a fully clothed table. Continue Reading »

An invitation to breakfast on a sunny summer morning is simply wonderful. The guest is met by the aroma of freshbread and coffee. That’s the most attractive thing about breakfasting together: you have more time to spend with each other, you have the whole day before you, and breakfast can easily turn into brunch, if liked, or even an afternoon get-together over coffee. The things that you enjoy as the guest of other people can also be enjoyed when you are the hostess, as there is even pleasure to be gained from the preparations involved. A summer breakfast with lots of fresh fruit can be something special and exciting for you and your guests, and the table can be made to look very inviting with very little effort.

What to do:

If you restrict the table linen and crockery to white and shades of green, you already have the basis for a fresh effect. Of course, you can use other colours in combination with white, but the green and white combination sprites to mind first because of the natural green of fruit and leaves. Continue Reading »

The finale of the opera takes your breath away, the orchestra puts everything into it and all the actors are gathered on the stage. The curtain falls, and there is prolonged applause; the evening at the opera was once again a wonderfulexperience — but, as so often happens, it was all over far too quickly.

You can change that by planning a finale using an operatic theme for your table design. Invite your friends to join you for a post-opera dinner tobring the evening to a close. The table is your backcloth, using items from the world of opera for your theme. You’re the director here, this is your stage setting. Curtain up for a table at the opera! Continue Reading »

Table decorations can tell a story - either to suit the occasion, or with reference to the guests, the host or the hostess. The example here is for the birthday of an architect, which is celebrated in a fitting setting.

The table here is not meant to be a work desk, but one for relaxation. The materials and equipment which surround the birthday boy or girl at work appear here and act as interesting conversation pieces.

What to do:

Of course, the basis of the table should be plans or blueprints spread across the table. Don’t be afraid to lay plans and drawings at angles across each other. Your guests will have more to discover and the individual plans won’t look like place mats. You can also position a few rolled-up blueprints decoratively on the table. Continue Reading »

A wedding celebration is truly something special. Nothing is left to chance. For you as the bride and groom, and for your guests it should be beautiful and exciting, a truly unforgettable celebration, and — together with the wedding ceremony — the wedding breakfast is the most important part of a weddding celebration.

The menu or buffet is planned in detail with the restaurant or catering service. There should be something special for old and young, it should be light, so people feel like dancing afterwards, and the wine list should tempt even the connoisseurs.

However, the table setting is far too often the “poor relation” when it comes to the preparations. If you leave the table setting to the caterers, you will get a nicely set table, but one which is also, unfortunately, rather impersonal. Continue Reading »

Glimmer, glitter, glamour and gaudy colours — is this an American Christmas? You might think so if you were to visit a shopping mall in the run-up to Christmas, but Christmas is not as commercialised everywhere in America as that which you see in the shopping malls would lead you to believe. Americans do tend to go to town more on decorations, but it doesn’t have to be kitsch or tasteless.

If you’d like to try a different style of table decoration this Christmas, then why not American-style? Continue Reading »

To become the ideal host, it’s important to rememberthat success lies in the details: the niceties of setting a lovely table, extra attention to comfort, and adding those thoughtful little touches that surprise and delight your guests. Whether the occasion is a barbecue, tea or a children’s party, the table setting will set the mood. Choose white linen for a formal dinner; cutlery wraps and a quilted liner for a picnic hamper. Plan your centre-pieces and candleholders, and choose napkins that suit the occasion. Continue Reading »