Now is a great time to drive off the winter chill with hot food and warm friendship — and to show off your cooking skills. Hosting a dinner party can be a challenge, but with these tips, it doesn’t have to be.
Don’t Leave Everything to the Last Minute
It might seem obvious, but getting everything organised ahead of time will ensure you’re not stressing to pull everything together 10 minutes before everyone’s scheduled to arrive. That doesn’t mean you need to plan down to every last detail (no matching tea towel sets are required just yet), but for the big-ticket items, at least give them a few minutes’ thought. Like the obvious one — the ‘dinner’ part of ‘dinner party’. If most of your daily meals trend towards simple and nutritious, not elaborate and flashy, you might want to consider getting out of your comfort zone. For inspiration, take a peek at QBD’s huge range of popular cookbooks. There’s everything from surprisingly simple-but-sophisticated recipes to incredible cakes and desserts, and even cookbooks with vegan, keto-friendly, dairy-free and gluten-free recipes.
If you want something that is a guaranteed success, try the MasterChef at Home cookbook. It’s filled with recipes (suitable for all skill levels) which have already won the hearts of judges and food critics, so are sure to impress your guests as well. For something a little different, try Vincent Lim’s The Wolf of Wok Street, which will help you to perfect wok cooking with a choice of more than 80 Southeast Asian dishes. Or check out MasterChef Australia 2024 winner Nat Thaipun’s THAI — your straightforward guide to mouth-watering Thai cuisine.
For after-dinner sweets, flip through the pages of Just Desserts by Charlotte Ree, which is layered with treats that look amazing, taste incredible and come together surprisingly easily. Alternatively, you could whip up a real blast from the past — one of the gorgeous creations from the vintage edition of Australian Women’s Weekly: Childrens Birthday Cake Book. It might not be your birthday, but just tell me the train or pool cake wouldn’t be a hit at almost any party.
Remember, don’t cook something for the first time at a dinner party! Try making it at least once or twice ahead of time to make sure you know what you’re doing (and so you can taste-test). Double and triple check you have all the necessary ingredients, as there’s nothing worse than the dreaded last-minute dash to the shops.
Ready Your Kitchen
They say only a bad craftsman blames their tools, but that doesn’t always apply to cooking. To create the best dishes, you need the best (or, at least, pretty good) kitchen appliances and the right dinnerware to serve it on. If you want to impress your guests, take a look at the inside of your kitchen cupboards and see if there’s anything that could really do with a quick siesta. Possibly in the trash. Matched sets of plates and bowls are a cheat code to seem like you have this hosting thing down pat, even when you don’t. As such, if your usual dinnerware is made up of odds and ends from different sets, consider having a dedicated one for hosting.
Kitchen Warehouse has a wide variety of dinner sets that typically comprise bowls, dinner plates and side plates. They also come in a range of colours and styles to match the rest of the home or the feeling you’re trying to achieve. The 12-piece Salisbury & Co Signature Dinner Set is a classic choice — sleek and elegant but without overdoing it, so the food can take centre stage. For a more effortless vibe, the 12-piece Salisbury & Co Maison Dinner Set comes in soft seafoam or nougat colourways. Each piece has an organic shape and unglazed ceramic base for an artisanal look.
Don’t forget the cutlery and utensils, either. The cohesive effect is ruined if everyone is wielding slightly different forks. Another option is to really show off with a flashy new appliance — something impressive in both looks and utility, which will allow you to present restaurant-level dishes. Grab the Baccarat Gourmet 180mm Pasta Machine for meals just like Nonna used to make or the Scullery Sushi Maker Set for neat handrolls with that perfect cross section. Personally, however, I find you can’t go wrong with the classic waffle maker. Not only does it allow for easy and fun desserts while hosting but it also means you can enjoy a quick treat for a weekend breakfast. Even better, this Davis & Waddell Electric Waffle Maker is currently on sale. For more appliance deals, see our highlights of House’s EOFY sales.
Now I don’t know about you, but no matter my intentions, whenever I cook something fancy for myself my kitchen ends up a right mess. If you’re hosting, having a dirty kitchen in the background is what some might consider bad etiquette. A quality dishwasher to place used dinnerware in after each course is a good idea, especially when current EOFY sales have them available for cheaper. Check out JB Hi-Fi or The Good Guys for some amazing deals like this Fisher & Paykel Series 7 contemporary dishwasher, which is now $1199 (down from $1499). Catch this one before July 1. As for cleaning the floors, if stray food scraps aren’t immediately hoovered up by a dog, get something else to do the job instead — like a vacuum cleaner, many of which are also on sale due to the end of the financial year. No need to get overwhelmed by choice: we’ve compiled some great deals on Dyson vacuums.
Get the Details Right
Kitchenware and fancy meals are, of course, the foundation of an excellent dinner party, but they’re no guarantee of success. If you want to up your chances, there are a few little things you might find helpful. You can easily spruce up your drinks with a few wine or cocktail accessories — think an aerator to enhance the flavour of your favourite red wine, whiskey rocks to keep spirits cold without watering them down or even just a humble set of cocktail straws to really capture the bartender-at-home vibe. If you really want your beverages to impress, consider a basic cocktail set such as the four-piece Barpro Stainless Steel Cocktail Set. With this, you can learn to mix cocktails with ease. They’ll be simple for you to make but amazing to anyone who isn’t a mixologist.
Don’t forget to pick up some wine charms either — like the Cellar Tonic Gem Wine Charm set — if the whole group has similar tastes in drinks. They provide a simple but highly effective way to tell everyone’s glasses apart. If you’re hosting in the colder months, creating a cosy space is also crucial — you don’t want guests timidly requesting blankets during after-dinner coffee on the couch. We have you covered with our recommendations for achieving a comfy ambience your guests won’t be able to resist. For the entertainer who prefers more casual gatherings, sprucing up the games room or home theatre is another way to make your party one to remember.
