Presentation is everything

Presenting food is sometimes just as hard as preparing it. 
(reproduced from my previous blog, Life, Friends, Food and Good Times)

We all cook, not only for ourselves and the pleasure of it, but also for friends, family and, for some, for clients.

In many ways, its just as important to take time to present your food as prepare it.  And of course, if its for clients, we want them to come back to us!

I'll admit, I am one of those annoying people who go to charity shops and flea markets buying pretty single or dual pieces of china, just because I may need it "sometime".  But of course there are always the "bargains" for 3 plates or for 5 cups without saucers, and I do refrain, most of the time.

I've only a few pieces readily available at any one time because you need space to put the regular china as well but displaying my recent recipes I have found a new lease of life for the collecting bug and then it occurred to me what do other cooks or chefs use?

Many chefs in 4 and 5* restaurants and hotels (and those who aspire to be them) will use white, but looking through my not insubstantial number of cookery books, I seem to have found at least a few themes.

If its a country style recipe (read French, Spanish or Italian country cooking etc) these seem to be brightly coloured small bowls of gorgeousness or large white platters and serving dishes of stews and baked fare.  Although the more we venture to the east of the mediterranean or to North Africa, the bowls seem to come in three varieties, silver servers, brightly coloured terracotta and beautiful white china with elaborate edging.

The more sophisticated the dishes, it would seem, would invite a layered approach with a base plate of a colour or with pretty edging and then a simple white serving plate on top.  Plain or coloured clothes are used to dress the table and, in some cases, the amount of silver out numbers the china and the food.

But it doesn't stop there, serving bowls can be anything at all, pieces of moulded metal, pressed glass or carved wood.  I have been inspired, but what to do, without space to store it all?

And then there is the question of the shape of the bowl/plate/server, oval, circular, square or something different still?

My own thought is to present food as well as it can be.  If at a dinner party, especially an informal one where the party is all about the food, at least one main part of each course should be presented on a platter or large bowl.  Or if not at a table, then in an array of baskets, servers, bowls and plates.

For a more formal setting, white tablecloths are a must, but that doesn't mean smooth and starched, and you know that antique lace one that your great aunt, grandmother, or next door neighbour gave you all those years ago, well it was made to be used.   I've seen crape paper and crushed velvet used on tables before, and I must admit, having a white base tablecloth along a plane oak table with a roll of gold wall paper down the middle as runner, may sound cheap, but add your candles, your flowers and your place settings and funnily, it can look fantastic.

Park Life - an alternative venue

"Fresh air, brilliant company, a picnic and a show!"

We've all watched groups of friends in the park before now, from simply gossiping in the sunshine, having a game of old fashioned rounders (soft ball to my US readers) to having a full blown sports day.  But if you stay and watch the comings and goings in our cities and towns, you'll see other groups of friends doing other activities which made me think that with a little tweaking this could be a real alternative way to entertain, extend your network of friends and perhaps to have some fun along the way.



St Paul's Church yard
City of London

I've seen a trio of musicians on Hampstead Heath and a pair of actors practicing their lines in Soho Square.  The musicians obviously needed practice but with the hoots of encouragement from the sunbathers, they soon hit their stride and their confidence grew in the 40 minutes or so I was watching.   The actors practicing their lines were so focussed on the moment, they weren't aware of the number of people who simply stopped, sat and enjoyed their lunches and before you knew it, they had finished to a very loud round of applause.  Blushes aside, they left very pleased with themselves.  I hope they got the parts they were working towards.

On a weekday lunch time, a group of friends were enjoying the sunshine in the little park next to St Paul's Cathedral in the City of London.  One of them had a Spanish guitar and the other two were just singing descant.  It was an enchanting moment and the business people having coffee or wine in the nearby establishments came away from their bars and were completely enraptured.

When I was visiting New York and Barcelona in the 1990s, the parks, and the beaches for that matter, were used for a lot of different purposes.  Impromptu, what we would call today "pop-up", performances were, and still are, common.  

I've seen a makeshift stage made out of a tent and some brightly covered shawls in Central Park with a group of actors practicing a script that was terrible, but they were having fun and they had brought along friends and family to be their audience.  The show still attracted dozens of strangers, some would stay a few minutes and others (myself included) watched for a couple of hours.

Barcelona in the mid-90s was amazing, it was vibrant and edgy whilst still full of traditions.  One of the relatively new attractions were its beaches.  Before Barcelona had hosted the Olympics, the beaches were ports and so with this new facility on their doorstep the locals and the tourists alike, used them to their full potential.  One visit I watched and listened for over an hour a group of opera students.  I asked my friend why they were performing on beach and she laughed, "they are practicing for their exams!" was explanation and then proceeded to take me for a walk to show off other's doing the same thing.  The term for their exams were coming to a head and there were a number of groups and individuals practicing different forms of music along the beach in front of friends, family and strangers alike.

So the idea is this, if you're a musician, actor, poet, writer, what's to stop you arranging a picnic with a group of friends one Saturday afternoon to practice a performance, read your latest verse or sing your practice piece for your next audition and have some fun too.   Maybe connecting friends that haven't met before?  And if you live in a flat that doesn't have a garden and is too small to entertain, then a park or the grounds of nearby stately home or a beach surely would be the next best thing?  Probably not so convenient in the Winter, but on a dry and ice cold Winter's morning, with a backdrop of a city or pocket park, a few friends gathering to help practice lines over donuts and coffee or read through a script on the roof or a balcony of your office building in a lunch hour, the possibilities are endless.  It could simply be another way to connect to work colleagues or neighbours and have a break from the day to day chores we all need to do.  Isn't it wonderful how entertaining reveals itself in so many different forms.

Angela, a good friend of mine who was a make-up artist turned puppeteer took my suggestion and ran with it last Summer.  She invited a group of friends and friends of friends and neighbours as she wanted to practice a mini-show she was designing for a art festival in the South of France.  She had three new puppets and needed to practice the transport of them, the makeshift stage and her own belongings (it was only her that was going to France).  Two cases with wheels and a rucksack was diluted down to one case and one rucksack with a long drum attached to the latter which held poles for her "stage".  All in all she had about a dozen people to watch her show and after practicing three variations, she had a crowd of a hundred surrounding her.  A great success!

Entertaining this way may need a little forethought, perhaps your friends, family, work colleagues, neighbours and contacts could bring their favourite tipple and you and your closest circle could bring the food.  Then its blankets at the ready, instruments, vocal cords, verse or prose at the ready and off you go. 

Could it be that simple?

Well, sort of...

An open garden square
in Chelsea

Just check that your park, stately home or beach doesn't have any byelaws or rules that would restrict you performing, even for free.  Remember to check to make sure you are allowed to drink alcohol there too, there may be restrictions for the park as a whole or certain parts of it. 

If you are going to a stately home which is open to visitors, you are likely to pay an entry fee just to get in.  But also check if they mind you and your friends (especially if there is a large group of you) having your performance.  They may say yes so long as you sit in a particular area, or they might shrug and smile and forewarn you that you may have some additional listeners and watchers.

The idea is sound, and I'm sure not many grand old houses open to the public in the Summer would object, but check with the family who own the property, or perhaps with English Heritage who may manage it, in advance.

Entertaining, enjoy it!

"Entertaining is one of the things I enjoy most of all."

Entertaining has been one of the most consistent aspects of my life, whether as part of my work or privately, with friends or with my partner.  The main thing is to enjoy it.

Serpentine Pavilion 2015 designed by Selgascano

For work it can be as simple as booking a restaurant for a business meeting or letting your receptionist know that you will need sandwiches for a working lunch or booking drinks for a reception in the evening.   You will already know the client, whether they like formality or not and you naturally adjust your approach (and your bookings) accordingly.

At home it could be inviting neighbours over for drinks or for Sunday lunch.  Perhaps you have been meaning to have friends around and have not quite got to the point of organising something.  Most of us entertain without really thinking about it, a few friends or family over on a Saturday evening is second nature.  It's when the numbers start creeping up and all of sudden the invitees are in double figures and climbing that we start to check ourselves.  But just remember, the basic plan of action remains the same. 

However, when most of us think of entertaining, we imagine, professionally anyway, formal drinks with anything between 10 and a 100 guests or more or celebratory dinners for a similar number.  The basics are the same, you need a space, you need to know your audience and you need to know what would be appropriate refreshments to give them.

Domestically, dinners of eight and above are normally harder to coordinate at home (table size and oven space aside, how many of us borrow chairs once it gets to this number), especially if you are planning on formal courses during the evening, but these is easily simplified.  For example, try platters which instead of separate starters and pre-dinner nibbles can be sorted out well in advance.

I think it's more the Summer or Birthday parties that most people dread.  All those people in your home, what happens if it rains, will I be able to cope.

Again, you can take a leaf out of the professional aspect of organising and simply break it down to space, audience and refreshments.  Timing, staging and hosting will fall into place once you have fixed your date when everyone, or almost everyone, can come.  Agreeing a space, agreeing a formal invite (probably a good idea for larger events), agreeing a budget for refreshments, will follow and then the real fun begins.

For example, at my partner's birthday last year, we hired a room above a gastro pub and a friend dressed it with flowers and other friends also helped with other aspects.  One sourcing live music for a couple of sets, another put together a play list for the rest of the evening and others contributed cake.  The in-house kitchen organised food and wine. 

If you do plan on going down this route, simply making an appointment to look at private dining rooms will give you ideas, if not about the room or venue itself, simply how to set it up for what you want to.  Once you've seen a few, you will get an idea of the quality of venue you would like.  Some have some very good wines and choices of menu, but if some of your guests are elderly or disabled, remember to ask about step free access and whether the toilets are on the same floor as the room you are hiring. 


private dining room, City of London

By default a corporate venue will dress a room formally with neutral colours.  If you actually want a more flamboyant or casual version, ask them what they can do for you and if not to your taste, ask them if they would be willing for you to do this yourself.   Some will only let approved suppliers do any third party contributions.  This could mean flowers, decorations, cake (if they don't offer to make one for you themselves), special wines - perhaps they don't have a favourite champagne or whiskey, or serving staff - not all private venues will have additional staff in-house and may hire in agency staff to assist.

Venues need not be restaurants or pubs, art installations, like the Serpentine Pavilion 2015 designed by Selgascano which had a café in the middle of it, how would you use the space?  We visited in September last year (2015) and the light and the space was very impressive. 

Of course, if you had a friendly art studio, this may be an option for you as well.  Private art studio's are used to hosting drinks/launch parties for their artists, so may be open to suggestions for a private networking party.  They will have the facilities to support such a gathering and, so long as it isn't too wild, it will likely be centrally placed within your town or city so your guests will find it accessible.