Fandango Catering Offers 4 Tips for Hosting a Dinner Party

After Labor Day it seems that everyone is in a flurry to plan and host a gathering of some type.  Today we offer 4 tips for success at hosting a small dinner party. 

A small dinner party is 40 people or less.  Most dinner parties are 20-25 people.

Some dinners are fully plated, with servers serving every course and clearing dishes between courses.  For many this is too much work or too formal.

A seated buffet is when guests are served or serve themselves from a buffet and then seat themselves at one or more guest tables.

A combination is where you have one or more courses plated, such as a starter or dessert, and the guests go to a buffet for the main course.

Whatever type of dinner party you choose, here are few ideas to make yours successful.

Unify guest tables visually--If you have more than one guest table you should unify them visually with tablecloths or something else.  Often people press into service for their dinner party tables that aren't alike in size or shape.  So make them look alike with all the same tablecloths--also a good idea if the tables you use aren't attractive, such as banquet or card tables.

Serve hot food hot--Use or have your caterer use chafing dishes if your guests are the type to mill around for a while after being called to a dinner buffet.  You may want to serve from your kitchen, with the food taken hot out of your oven, but this only works well when people eat it right away.  Chafing dishes keep hot food hot with moist heat for up to 2 hours; or use a tableside warmer/cooker like Fagor's portable induction cooktop.  If you insist on serving from your oven, don't allow guests to mill around without serving themselves after you announce dinner or let a caterer, who knows how to work with "holding" food and keeping it from drying out in the dry heat of an oven, handle it--but be warned that even a caterer can't work miracles at preventing food from drying out if you delay serving from the oven TOO long once the food is hot/ready.

Put cutlery and napkins, if not on guest tables, at the end of the buffet, after the food--That way it's easier for guests to serve themselves or be served and then grab the cutlery and napkins at the end, whether the cutlery is rolled in napkins or not.

Consider serving dessert and/or coffee in another room--If you have room this can be a good idea as so many people don't want dessert or coffee nowadays.  That way, it gives people a gracious out, and often by then guests will want to get up and move around anyway after sitting during the dinner.

Warmly,

Kristina

Fandango Catering and Events
(713) 522-0077
www.fandango-catering.com