The top tips for hosting a perfect dinner party include delegating tasks to helpers, pre-planning the meal – and remembering to relax and have a laugh during the process, according to a cooking expert.
Chris Sim, 35, has spent the last six years volunteering for food poverty charity FoodCycle, preparing weekly, three-course meals for up to 40 or 50 guests at a time – as many as 2,000 mouths to feed each year
The passionate chef has honed his skills by following five simple tips – including pooling ideas from a group of people, and not fretting about the smaller details.
Chris, from Ealing, London, say the best cooking and hosting results come from collaboration, paired with delegation.
By getting those helping you to buy into an idea, and then delegating individual tasks, this will make the group more motivated as a whole.
And following a timeline of prep is also key – from setting the table, to the timings of the food in the oven – to make sure everything gets served up on time.
He also advises taking inspiration from meals or ingredients you have tried from other parts of the world.
And lastly, Chris says that as long as meals are prepared with love and care, guests will appreciate it, and the food will be more memorable.
Chris has worked with Finsbury Park project, FoodCycle – which aims to reduce social isolation with community meals – every Saturday for six years, creating restaurant-standard meals from surplus ingredients, inspired by recipes from around the world.
When he and his fellow volunteers turn up each weekend, they usually have no idea what ingredients they will receive until they enter their community kitchen that same day – and then have just three hours to cook.
Chris said: “When you are preparing food and a lovely occasion for many people, as soon as you relinquish a little bit of control and realise you can’t do everything – things tend to run a lot smoother.
“From the outset, always pull in as many helpers as possible – and give a few tasks for others to own while you can focus on what you’re best at.
“Combining other people's ideas, alongside your own, not only makes people more motivated to help you, it tends to deliver a tastier, more creative result.”
Chris Sim's dinner party advice comes as a study of 2,000 adults found 72% of people that have ever had people round for dinner, enjoy hosting.
And the research, via OnePoll.com, showed 23% would like to extend their hosting or cooking skills by sharing them with the local community.
When asked what qualities makes a good host or hostess, being welcoming (74%), relaxed (64%), and attentive (53%) were named as some of the most important elements.
And when it comes to hosting a dinner party specifically, the quality of food on offer is the most important thing, for 57%.
The research was conducted by community dining charity, FoodCycle, which hopes to rally home chefs and dinner party hosts to help meet their 10,000-volunteer target.
CEO Mary McGrath said: “Week in, week out, thousands of volunteers like Chris Sim across the country help transform surplus food into delicious vegetarian meals for anyone that needs them, no questions asked.
“As a nation of dinner party hosts and home cooks, we want to encourage more people to take that skillset from the home, and extend to the wider community.
“Over the last year, we have seen a 59% increase in the number of community meals being served – and with cost-of-living and rising food prices, we anticipate this demand will continue to increase.
“Volunteers Week, which starts today, presents the perfect time for people to get more involved.”
CHRIS SIM'S TOP TIPS TO PUTTING ON THE PERFECT DINNER PARTY:
- Collaboration enables delegation – pooling ideas from many different people, then getting people to buy into a shared vision for a meal, will make those helping you more motivated.
- Utilise ideas from your travels, or family and friends from other parts of the world. Try to remember that dish, flavour combination, or ingredient that made your holiday that little bit more memorable.
- Although it is easier said than done, don’t fret about the smallest details. As long as it's done with love and care, your guests will appreciate it.
- Pre-planning is a must when you have many mouths to feed. Creating a timeline of prep – which includes everything from when the food needs to go into the oven, to dressing the table – can help to create a slick process to getting everything served on time.
- Try to smile, relax, and even have a laugh during the process – you're more likely to enjoy cooking, which will translate into tastier, more memorable food.
