at the risk of sounding like a cross between alison roman and an edwardian socialite, I live for dinner parties. I firmly and fiercely believe that joy, in its purest form, exists in the few hours you spend eating and drinking with people, crammed around the kitchen table. sure, you could also call it “having friends over” or “casual drinks at my place” but casual has never been my main modality when the flamboyant and melodramatic is easily my first instinct. i’ve been drawn to the role of the host my entire life, without exaggeration. it began with my parents, who are both excellent and gracious hosts, having friends and family over at any opportunity. it followed me all the way through high school and university when I’d take any chance to turn “having drinks at someone’s place” into a gathering with an over-exaggerated dress code. and finally, it resulted in my pursuing jobs as a chef and now a sommelier out of a love for hospitality, ancient etiquette, and the ritual practices of dining.
though the dinner parties i host have gotten progressively less dramatic and more intimate over the years, i think the backbone of them remains pretty much the same. having people over for an evening of festivities no longer takes a month of planning and a great amount of stress, mostly because i’ve done it so many times. this is why i feel inclined to share this guide with you so that you can host dinner parties of your own that the guests will still bring up in conversation years later. speaking purely from experience.