How To Put On A Dinner Party

Nothing brings people together like a dinner party. The immaculate table, food cooking all day in the kitchen, and family and friends gathered around the table, enjoying food and time together. But how can you create a dinner party that's comparable to that of Downton Abbey? How do you create an experience and food that your guests will remember for years to come? Read on to find out!

I am reminded of the extravagant tablescapes and meals served on the set of Downton Abbey. Unfortunately, these dinner parties have gone by the wayside in favor of subpar fast food. Dinner parties are a fantastic way to experiment with new cooking and spend time with those you love. Dinner parties are the perfect way to bring people together.

Although dinner parties can be done any time of the year, the holiday season is the most opportune time. Previously tailored for the wealthy upper class to elevate their social status and show off their grand estates, the dinner party can now be for everyone to put on. Although not a cheap task, it is most definitely worth it if done right.

Formality & Guests 

The first step in the planning process is to determine the degree of formality you’re going for. At one end of the spectrum is a white tablecloth affair; at the other end is an informal “family” style event. When opting for a formal dinner party, everything must be planned to a T. A formal dinner party consists of numerous complex moving parts and therefore requires extra attention.

Your guest list is also especially important. If you plan to cook more complicated dishes, I recommend a 4-6-person party if you are the only one cooking. If you want a larger party, you'll likely need someone else helping you out, or you'll need to simplify your menu. I'd keep your guest list at no more than 12 people unless you have a small kitchen brigade lined up.

The number of guests isn’t the only important aspect to be aware of. Who you invite is equally important. Ensure your guests have varied interests, but something in common to talk about. A party full of people who aren’t interested in one another or are drier than the one sitting next to them is a recipe for a forgettable experience.

Timeline & Planning

A timeline is the most important tool in a dinner party’s success. A timeline should include when to begin cooking each dish as well as when to begin setting the table. In other words, run through every aspect of the dinner party in your head, put pen to paper, and plan out when you need to perform each task. Food storage should also be planned out. In other words, what items need to be on the stove, in the oven, and in the fridge? Fridge space can be very limiting, which is why I find the wintertime to be a particularly easy time to throw dinner parties. If you live in the north, the snow mound on your patio or deck can be your best friend. I cannot recommend creating a timeline enough. This is the key to your success. I recall on one of my extravagant Christmas dinners, I went through nearly a full year of recipe R&D, leading to a timeline written down to the minute. A successful dinner party starts with a plan. Don’t rush the planning phase and create a detailed timeline.

Let’s walk through how to begin. Start by finding the day and time your guests will arrive, then begin to work your way backward. For example, if your roast takes two hours and your guests arrive at 6:00 pm. You must start the roast by 4:00 pm. Do this for all of your dishes. It’s also wise to add an hour of catch up tome in your schedule. This ensures you won’t be frantically cooking just before your guests arrive.

Now, of course, it wouldn’t be wise to block off two hours for your roast and do nothing but sit there watching it in the oven. When you test recipes, take note of active versus inactive time. During inactive time, you can work on other dishes. The more overlap you have, the more efficient you can be.

The timeline should consist of 15-minute increments. You can even help yourself further by color-coding inactive time versus active time. Keep in mind that your stove and oven are only so big, so they will be limiting factors.

With a complete timeline, you’ll be able to determine when you need to start cooking to be ready when your guests arrive. With a formal dinner party, it is unlikely that every dish will be ready to serve when your guests arrive. There will likely be last-minute preparation and plating.

You may need to get up from the party and finish cooking as everyone eats. This gives your guests a little show and ensures food isn't just sitting on the table getting cold and dry. This will also need to be planned out. Determine how long each course will take to eat. I usually plan for about 10-15 minutes.

When creating an extravagant five-course meal, I recommend starting a day ahead of time and preparing everything you can. Even with a timeline, there is bound to be a dish that takes more time than expected. Restaurants use this same make-ahead technique. If every element of every menu item were made to order, you’d wait significantly longer than what you are used to.

So, you have your food timeline down, know when your guests will arrive, and know how long it'll be for each dish to be plated and eaten. Following the dinner party, serving light cookies or small desserts is always a good practice, so be sure to plan time for this at the end of your evening as well.

Food & Drink

Food and drink are where the dinner party planning can get challenging. When choosing your food, you must remember two key themes: your guests and your timeline. A group of people with a refined palate will require more planning than those used to Minnesota Hot Dish. Then there is the matter of your timeline. Make dishes that can be prepped ahead of time or the day before. Can you portion the ingredients the day before? Cut herbs? Prepare cookie or pastry dough? Anything you can do beforehand will help you on the day of your party.

Let’s talk about formal dinner parties. What courses should you serve, and in what order? I think five courses is the perfect number, and here is why. Five courses allow you to showcase the full picture of what food and drink have to offer. It gives food the ability to pair with each other, but it's not too much that you feel stuffed. The more courses you have, the smaller each course should be.

I recommend starting the evening with cocktails or lighter drinks for your courses. While this doesn't count as a course, it'll prepare your guests for what's ahead. Begin your meal with a soup or salad, followed by a relish course* to prepare your guests for a heavier main course. Follow this with a poultry or game dish, leading to a cheese course. At the very end, you can serve your dessert. But your evening shouldn't stop there. After all the food, your guests need time to relax with a few lighter food items and drinks. Finish the night with small cookies and desserts with tea, coffee, or wine.

*A reliever course is a light course, often consisting of a fruit that will clear one's palate for food to come.

Does this sound like a lot of food? Absolutely! But remember, each course is a small taste; we aren’t serving the same size plate as you're likely used to.

Regarding the type of food you’ll be serving, a good rule of thumb: never use the same main flavor component twice. For example, if your reliever course is chilled oranges in a syrup, your dessert shouldn’t be entirely orange-focused. Instead, think of each course like a full symphony orchestra. You want each flavor to work together, but not necessarily be the same instrument/ ingredient. For example, you can serve your oranges in a syrup, and your next course could contain a hint of orange zest, or a different citrus element such as lemon

While food is an integral part of any dinner party, so are the drinks. A wine pairing has the power to make or break your cooking. I highly recommend buying a book called What to Drink With What You Eat or talking to a sommelier at your local wine store. Be very particular in your drink pairing; it's integral to every meal. I am so particular that I even stop by a local water spring so that I serve only the best water for my dinner parties. Even water can change the taste of your food based on its PH levels and mineral content.

A fantastic water recommendation: Hildon Water from England

A note on water: PH changes the flavor of water; it does not alter how healthy water is for you. Some brands advertise their water as having a neutral pH; when food or drink enters your body, the PH is adjusted by the acidity in your stomach. If PH were to change your body's PH, you would be in a hospital; even minor changes in a stomach's PH can be dangerous. When a brand markets various PH levels, it's just a marketing scheme to sell more water.

Décor

Though food and drink are the highlights of your dinner party, the décor should also be carefully thought out. Beginning with your tablecloth, ensure that there aren't any fold creases**, refrain from using placemats as it detracts from the spread of silverware, and use a charger instead; also, ensure that your tableware and glassware are clean of any water spots.

**Though it may sound pretentious, I highly recommend that you iron or steam your tablecloth to remove any creases. Unfortunately, even in some modern fine dining restaurants, this practice seems to be thrown to the wayside in favor of efficiently turning tables. Nothing draws attention more than a tablecloth with deep creases- you want the food and the place settings to draw attention instead.

As for your silverware and glassware, ensure you have a glass and different utensils for every course. This may sound over the top, but this is traditionally how a table is supposed to be set and is truly a statement piece when your guests get their first glimpse of the table.

Keep it clean and simple when looking at a centerpiece; for Christmas, I used a few garland pieces with candles and small ornaments scattered throughout. Ensure that your place setting and food are the stars of the show!

Branching off of the décor and timeline, between each course, you'll need to have the dishes bussed; make time for this in your timeline and set aside a place for you to set these dishes so you don't clutter your kitchen or dining room.

All this may sound like a lot of work for one person, and it is, so having someone to help you in the kitchen can be a great relief. You can also consider hiring a private chef; often, they will do all the planning, cooking, and clean-up for you, which means less stress!

Putting on a dinner party is not the easiest of tasks, but once you see your table set, smell the food in your kitchen, and see your guests' reaction to your hard work, it is more than worth it.

I wish you the best of luck with your dinner parties, an experience that everyone will enjoy.

Cheers

Chef Olson

"The Flying Chef"