Get Top Tips For Food Party

Introduction

Whether you are hosting your first dinner party or just inviting a few friends over for hors d'oeuvres, food choice and presentation play a key role in the success of your food party event. You also don't want to end up in the kitchen for your entire food party and end up with no time spent with your guests. Planning simplifies execution and ensures you have a food party that your guests will enjoy and remember next time you send out an invitation.

Step 1

Plan your menu at least two weeks in advance of the party. It may be tempting to try a few last minute recipes you come across, but if they don't work out or are more time consuming than you originally planned, you will end up stressed and unhappy during the food party. Primarily select foods you have prepared before and know are enjoyable. Only use one or two completely new recipes and try them out in advance to make sure they are suitable for your party. You don't want the food at your party to be a dud because you didn't properly experiment with the ingredients beforehand.

Step 2

Choose foods that require little to no preparation on the day of the food party. Foods you can prepare ahead of time to freeze or refrigerate work especially well. Keep in mind any reheating needs on the day of the food party and ensure you have enough oven or stove top space to heat as needed. If you must prepare a dish on party day, prepare as many ingredients ahead of time as possible. For example, you can chop vegetable or precook meats ahead of time, then assemble the dish and do the final cooking right before your guests arrive. When possible, cook the food in a dish that doubles as a serving dish – this means fewer dishes to clean and quicker serving.

Step 3

Enlist help before the food party. You can enlist members of your food party guest list to help if the party is casual and you are close friends with guests. Most people are willing to help you set out food or finish one or two last minute preparations. For more formal or involved affairs, you can hire help to come in and serve your guests. Regardless of your choice, put off clean up until after the food is served at your party and your guests have gone home.

Step 4

Hire professional caterers for your food party if you don't want to be in the kitchen in the days leading up to the event. Caterers are especially useful for highly formal events or those with a large guest list. You can even order the food for your party from a restaurant that is ready to serve. This food usually comes ready to heat or it may be cold food already arranged on serving platters. For larger parties, choose a catering service that handles the serving and the cleanup to save you even more time and effort.

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