5 Ways to Serve Food like A Pro at Your Dinner Party

Now that we can slowly get back to everyday life, you might soon find yourself playing host to your friends and family for dinner parties again – which is fan-freaking-tastic! However, you may have forgotten a few essential details regarding dinner party etiquette, but that’s okay because you have come to the right place. Below are five handy tips and tricks for serving food like a pro. Your guests will be none the wiser that just a few hours before their arrival, you were largely clueless – that can be our little secret. We’ve all been there.

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Always Serve From The Right

Serving food at a dinner party should always be done from the right of the host. Serve at a steady pace, and don’t overfill your serving utensils. Use your left hand to dish up the food for your guests and serve from the left-hand side of your seated guest. Remove their plate from their left side. The same rule will apply for removing plates once your guest has finished that course.

It may sound a little too much, but serving in a method helps to avoid issues with people knocking things or spiling along the way. You know what they say; planning always helps.

Use Quality Ingredients

The worst thing you could do to jeopardise your dinner party is by serving subpar ingredients. Always opt for top-quality ingredients like Angus ribeye steak – your guests will thank you later. Having friends over for a dinner party should celebrate all things good in life; good company, good wine, and most definitely good food.

This doesn’t mean you have a spend top dollar, make sure to find and source your food at the best prices possible.

Refill Drinks

Never leave your guests thirsty at your dinner party; you need to be the perfect host. Refill your guest’s drink from the right and pay special attention to ensure you never touch the rim of your guest’s glass. Drinks should constantly be refilled timeously, particularly before they run out – aim for filling as it drops to the below the last quarter in the glass.

Dessert Tip

When it comes to the final course, dessert, there are a few things you need to focus on. Being the last course of the evening, your timing on dessert needs to be perfect – you don’t want to serve dessert to your guests when they’ve just finished their main course, but you also don’t want to make them wait 45 minutes or longer. Aim for around 20 minutes after you have cleared away their plates after the mains – from the left, of course.

Be Prepared

Lastly, make sure that you are fully prepared to host the perfect dinner party. Make sure you have ample napkins, seasoning available, and enough beverages to last the evening. Have a selection of drinks, including non-alcoholic options. Also, consider catering to various dietary preferences by offering options such as vegan ice cream flavors, ensuring all your guests can enjoy a sweet treat at the end of the evening. You’ll be guaranteed to receive rave reviews from your guests if you show them that you have put the time and effort into throwing your dinner party, so make sure you don’t leave anything to the last minute. Make a checklist of items you might forget, like ice, and ensure you have everything you need hours before your guests arrive.

What matters is that you, and most importantly, your guests, have fun, so focus on that while trying to keep things easy for them and you. Planning allows you to do just that.