Remember that scrumptious quinoa salad we ate at Natasha’s brunch? Or what was that amazing orange elderflower cocktail Nikhil whipped up for us? Well, you certainly want to give your friends and family a meal they will remember and refer to in the future. But you also want to keep your sanity while bringing the home. The trick to hosting and cooking is to make sure 90 per cent of your work is done before the guests arrive, preferably over a span of two or three days, so that you aren’t exhausted and ready for a nap before the first Bellini is served. In professional terms, this is called mise en place, which literally means ‘to put in its place’. Let me break it down.
First, fix your menu. That is the backbone of everything else. Say you want to have three snacks, three salads, three mains and two desserts. Always have some roo for options, as someone might be vegetarian, gluten-intolerant or allergic to seafood. Another dish might need you to cook it from scratch at the last minute. Look for dishes that you have made before and like to eat. Beware of recipes from random sources on the internet. Rather, ask friends for recipes. Think of the cooking process or look at the recipe and see what you can make in advance. Make a shopping list and break it up into sections such as fresh vegetables and fruits, grocery store, speciality store, fishmonger, butcher and bakery. Write down quantities and also dates for when you should buy everything. For example, vegetables and protein can be bought in advance, but try to buy fruits and salads on the day of or the evening before the brunch.
Plan your prep over two or three days. Say you want to make an antipasti and cheese platter. Cheese can be bought and stored three days in advance. Roasting vegetables such as peppers and eggplants can happen a day in advance. Bread should be bought on the day of the event.
Do a check the night before the event to make a ‘collection list’ of all the things you forgot. Keep all the crockery, tableware, linen and glassware ready the day before. Ideally, you will just have to toss the salad, reheat your already baked phyllo parcels, toss the burrata in the spaghetti and brunch will be served!
Do ask for help. Enlist your best friend, husband’s assistant, sister or mom to help you or refill your glass while you play domestic goddess. Get the kids to set the table. Make it fun so you don’t feel like a slave.
I don’t know whether to thank the stars for the internet, Google and Pinterest, or to rue the day they were created. Although it helps you get inspiration and tells you how to execute anything your imagination can conceive of, it also makes the life of any professional (caterer, stylist, bartender) who is working for you a living nightmare. Keeping things real is important. Do you want to spend the month before your brunch knitting dreamcatcher return presents for your guests? Do you want to be scouring local bazaars for chairs for the wooden ledge on your terrace? Do you want to be practising how to make a soufflé repeatedly before the big day? If the answer is yes, then by all means, go for it. But if you want to keep life pretty yet relaxed, identify a few areas where décor elements will have the biggest impact, such as the entrance, dinner table or the bar counter.
Flowers that go with the theme, a few rustic items like watering cans, mason jars, wooden platters, boards and jute strings can go a long way. First, work out the look you are going for, pick two-three items that will help you achieve it, and repeat the look through the venue. ‘Online home delivery’ are the magic words here, and a few trusted stores can also help you create that magical feel.
If you are working with event stylists, give them your references and ideas but also let them present their ideas and tell you — what is impossible and out of your budget. Ask for a quotation, reference photos and break up for each item so as to avoid any nasty surprises in the end.
(Source from Penguin Random House India)
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First, fix your menu. That is the backbone of everything else. Say you want to have three snacks, three salads, three mains and two desserts. Always have some roo for options, as someone might be vegetarian, gluten-intolerant or allergic to seafood. Another dish might need you to cook it from scratch at the last minute. Look for dishes that you have made before and like to eat. Beware of recipes from random sources on the internet. Rather, ask friends for recipes. Think of the cooking process or look at the recipe and see what you can make in advance. Make a shopping list and break it up into sections such as fresh vegetables and fruits, grocery store, speciality store, fishmonger, butcher and bakery. Write down quantities and also dates for when you should buy everything. For example, vegetables and protein can be bought in advance, but try to buy fruits and salads on the day of or the evening before the brunch.
Plan your prep over two or three days. Say you want to make an antipasti and cheese platter. Cheese can be bought and stored three days in advance. Roasting vegetables such as peppers and eggplants can happen a day in advance. Bread should be bought on the day of the event.
Do a check the night before the event to make a ‘collection list’ of all the things you forgot. Keep all the crockery, tableware, linen and glassware ready the day before. Ideally, you will just have to toss the salad, reheat your already baked phyllo parcels, toss the burrata in the spaghetti and brunch will be served!
Do ask for help. Enlist your best friend, husband’s assistant, sister or mom to help you or refill your glass while you play domestic goddess. Get the kids to set the table. Make it fun so you don’t feel like a slave.
I don’t know whether to thank the stars for the internet, Google and Pinterest, or to rue the day they were created. Although it helps you get inspiration and tells you how to execute anything your imagination can conceive of, it also makes the life of any professional (caterer, stylist, bartender) who is working for you a living nightmare. Keeping things real is important. Do you want to spend the month before your brunch knitting dreamcatcher return presents for your guests? Do you want to be scouring local bazaars for chairs for the wooden ledge on your terrace? Do you want to be practising how to make a soufflé repeatedly before the big day? If the answer is yes, then by all means, go for it. But if you want to keep life pretty yet relaxed, identify a few areas where décor elements will have the biggest impact, such as the entrance, dinner table or the bar counter.
Flowers that go with the theme, a few rustic items like watering cans, mason jars, wooden platters, boards and jute strings can go a long way. First, work out the look you are going for, pick two-three items that will help you achieve it, and repeat the look through the venue. ‘Online home delivery’ are the magic words here, and a few trusted stores can also help you create that magical feel.
If you are working with event stylists, give them your references and ideas but also let them present their ideas and tell you — what is impossible and out of your budget. Ask for a quotation, reference photos and break up for each item so as to avoid any nasty surprises in the end.
(Source from Penguin Random House India)
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