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 »

The most important aspect of a wedding reception is that it should be very enjoyable. Whether the meal is a formal seated affair or a buffet, everything should run calmly and smoothly and everybody should be very relaxed. This is why most people put the whole affair into the hands of outside caterers who will do all the worrying and wedding hard work for them. However, it is not impossible to organize a wedding reception yourself and still be a relaxed guest or member of the family party. Do get as much help as you can, however —wedding waiters, wine waiters and kitchen help are almost essential.

The first consideration when planning the wedding table layout is the colour scheme. The colour of wedding table decorations, the wedding cake and any wedding flowers on the cake must tone with the bride’s dress and bouquet and the bridesmaids’ dresses. Continue Reading »

Children’s parties should be fun and lively and very much geared to the particular likes of the child whose birthday it is. One of the best ways of creating an entertaining, lively atmosphere is to choose a theme which follows through from the invitations to the table decorations, food, drinks and even all the party games.

Decide first on a theme by discussing with the birthday boy or girl what they would like. They may have an interest or hobby that is the obvious topic; otherwise try and choose something that will give plenty of scope for games, fancy dress, a novelty cake, table decorations etc. Here are a few ideas: outer space; ghosts and monsters; castles and dungeons; a favourite television character; the circus; a Disney character; a visit to the Zoo. Continue Reading »

Some of the most successful parties that are fun to organize are theme parties. These are variations on the fancy dress party. The idea is to choose a theme, for example: black and white; red and gold; hats; characters from musical shows; a desert island. Send out appropriate invitations in plenty of time so that your guests have the opportunity to dream up a costume, and then plan the decorations, food and drink so that the entire event follows the theme through.

Invitations can be home-made or, if commercially produced ones fit the theme, use them. For a stylish black and white party, all sorts of design ideas are possible: a silhouette cut-out of Fred Astaire in Top Hat and Tails; a chessboard with the words written in the white squares; two masks cut out side by side, one black, one white, with the details of the party on the back. Do state clearly whether the event is to be a dinner party or a larger, informal gathering, and insist on fancy dress. Continue Reading »

For a dinner party, set a festive scene by choosing a colour scheme that has a special, celebratory feel, for example: black, gold, and purple; red, white and gold; silver and pink. Gift-wrap ribbon is always ideal for creating festive, table-centre decorations as it can be curled into streamers, and trailed over or around table decorations. As it is shiny it reflects candle-light very effectively. Choose real or artificial flowers to fit your chosen theme; arrange candles and ribbons with the flowers to form the decorations for the table. Tie curled strands of ribbon around paper or linen napkins to add to the decorative effect. Continue Reading »

For a celebration dinner or lunch at Easter, choose colours to create a spring flavour. A bright yellow, green and yellow, or white and yellow cloth with matching or contrasting napkins will set a sunny mood, and napkins can be folded into rabbits’ ears for a bit of fun. Bright, flowery china with a predominantly yellow or green pattern will look good against the cloth. Fill a large jug with masses of bright spring flowers — daffodils, jonquils, narcissi, etc. — and place in the middle of the table.

If there are children at the party lay a brightly-wrapped Easter egg and a little fluffy chick or rabbit at each place. Hand-painted eggs also make very good decorations to brighten up the table. At intervals on the table lay little dishes filled with one or other of the following: green Turkish delight, pale green fondant mints, yellow and white sugared almonds, or green grapes dipped in beaten egg-white and castor sugar. Continue Reading »

Care of table linens will depend on the materials from which they are made. By and large, synthetics require less attention than most pure cottons and linens, or mixtures of natural and man-made fibres. But the beauty of starched cloths and napkins is often well worth the effort involved in laundering and ironing them.

Synthetic fabrics should be washed in accordance with maker’s directions but as a general rule they may be either machine-washed on the appropriate programme or hand-washed in warm water. Hand-washed articles may be pre-soaked but should not be wrung out, simply drip-dried. Usually ironing is not necessary, although some fibres can be lightly pressed with a warm iron if liked. Synthetic fabrics should not be starched. Continue Reading »

Your choice of colour will determine the style and ambience of a table, so don’t rely on a quick decision. Colours can be used quite consciously to achieve precisely the effect you are hoping for.

It may help you to run through the colour palette, starting with the colour which appears on almost every table — green.

Green for freshness

For nature lovers, the fresh green of flowers and leaves brings life into the house, especially during the winter months. Therefore green is a welcome addition to the table, because besides its fresh appearance, it has another quality. Green lifts and emphasises other colours, especially its complementary colour, red. You can exploit this characteristic if you place big green leaves on the table and then lay a single, or just a few, brightly coloured blossoms on top (for example, rhododendrons orhydrangeas). Continue Reading »

For many people a country walk at Easter is a good old tradition. It gets you out into the country and you are able to enjoy the fact that spring has arrived to the full. Also, Easter is a traditional time for visiting; relatives or friends come to stay for a couple of days for a short holiday with you, or the children are back home again. If you want to surprise your guests, then maybe this idea will appeal to you — round off your Easter walk with a rustic, country Easter celebration.

What to do:

Create a mossy dell on your table! A moss arrangement stands in the centre, which you can design with the help of the whole family. All of you can also bring together the other components and prepare them. 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 »

Have you ever watched the precise and practised way in which professionals in a good hotel or restaurant set a big table for a five- or six-course meal? Lots of different glasses and table silver are placed in exactly the right spot without hesitation. The number of items involved in a setting may seem confusing to you.

However, there is a clear rule for everything.

Guests start with the cutlery furthest away from the plate and work inwards during the course of the meal. The same procedure applies to glasses. The drink which is served first is put into the glass which is furthest from the centre of the plate. There is often also a side plate, which is placed to the left of the setting.

These few rules are so basic and clear that they can become a matter of routine for any guest, so you nolonger have to worry about which knife, fork or spoon to use next during the meal. Continue Reading »

The table illustrated here is not just a still life; it is a compilation of a small selection of things which are used as decorations for various tables in this book. This should give you a fewideas about the many accessories whichsurround you in your house.

Every container, every sculpture, pretty stones or shells, decorative ribbons or marbles can provide you with ideas for table decorations. Don’t be afraid to use simple, everyday items from house and garden, or even foodstuffs. What about wire, pieces of cloth, sand, old pots or flasks, balls, candles, mirrors or even toy cars? What is wrong with a large cabbage or asparagus as a replacement for, or addition to, flowers? Why not use fifty sharpened pencils for an accountant’s fiftieth birthday party table? Or why not put brown leaves on the table, when we enjoy them so much outdoors in autumn? Continue Reading »

The history of crockery is a chequered one. There were times when nobles and merchants tried to outdo each other with beautiful china. In fact the splendour on the table was more important than the food on the plates. The finest porcelain (known as white gold) was painted with in several layers and decorated with gold leaf. Simplicity was the last thing anyone had in mind.

More recent times have provided us with cheap paper and plastic crockery. It didn’t matter whether it looked good or not — the most important thing was that it was practical. Decorated and disposable items are all crockery, but there is a world of difference between them. Continue Reading »

Holiday atmosphere. Are you one of those people who go for long walks along the beach when on holiday, collecting shells, stones and driftwood as little treasures and mementoes of your holiday to take home? Then in principle you already have theessential ingredients for this table decoration.

What to do:

Arrange a small beach scene in the middle of your table. To avoid damage to your table, place newspaper under the sand. If you don’t have a glasstable top, a blue tablecloth will do just as well to represent the colour of the sea.

If you don’t want to raid your child’s sandpit, you can buy fine white sand cheaply from craft shops. Continue Reading »

Either you’ve just come back from a holiday in Italy or you’ve got it still to look forward to. Or maybe you simply love the Italian way of life, relaxed and friendly, cheerful and colourful. Of course, you’re just as keen on Italian cuisine as well, which is so much more than just pizza and pasta. What about the typical antipasti, and many delicious Mediterranean specialities, or “formaggio” (cheese) to round off a meal, and wonderful red wine to drink?

Get together with your friends for a “Bella Italia” evening, and give your table an appropriate southern flavour. You simply must have tomatoes, red wine and, of course, spaghetti! 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 »

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. Continue Reading »

In the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, the shepherds in Scotland would gather together in their huts, known as bothies, to tell stories, sing, drink and simply get warm.

The Scots have retained elements of this along with many other good old traditions. They still get together to talk about the day’s events,to exchange news and spend some time together over a cup of, tea and a snack.

Even if friends have just dropped round for no particular reason and you’re only having a snack, you may still want to decorate the table and make it look different.

What to do:

If you have a wooden table, then don’t bother with a tablecloth. Wood looks good in this simple, rather rustic table decoration. Continue Reading »

Formerly music at home was part of domestic life. The middle classes, in the first half of the last century, met with like-minded people to enjoy music in a relaxed atmosphere.

Even if it’s unfashionable now, try inviting your friends to a musicalevening at your home. It would be nice if each guest could make a musical contribution, or if everyone could sing and make music together. Of course, you can book a chamber ensemble whose music will be the highlight of the evening.

What to do:

For this table, simply use musical accoutrements, such as sheet music and instruments which are placed on the table. 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 »