The Menu - Setting
The Table - Serving Order
of Each Course - Serving Your Guests
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The Menu
1) Plan your entire
dinner with several courses.
2) Make sure each course is compatible; textures and colors.
3) Choose recipes you have already tried and tested and know they are
good.
4) If using an oven, choose recipes with similar temperatures, this will
make it easier for you if you have to bake several things between
courses, and it will be quicker, you do not want your guests waiting too
long for the next entree.
5) Make a list of all the grocery items you need to purchase.
6) Make a detailed list of all food preparation that needs to be done,
no matter how small you may think it is, write it down. Plan ahead and be
well organized.
7) Do as much
ahead of time as possible, do not leave many things to be done the day of
the dinner party.
Label every
ingredient that you have prepared ahead of time and what it will be used
for, (e.g. 2 tablespoons chives for soup), so that you can grab it and
use it immediately when you need it.
7) Plan a garnish for each course; this adds elegance to a dinner and
makes a beautiful presentation.
8) Determine the wine to accompany each course and how much you will
need. If you are not sure, ask a wine steward or sommelier.
SETTING THE TABLE
1) Use your best
China, glass stemware, tableware, table linens and napkins, no paper
please! This sets the mood for an elegant evening.
2) Use charger plates if you have them.
3) Choose a centerpiece low enough that everyone can see over it.
4) Use candles as the only light. This sets the mood for an elegant
dining experience. Light them just before everyone is seated.
5) For something different, type your menu in the format of a fine dining
menu, then translate them into French or Spanish, or Italian, or whatever
theme your dinner may be. Print them out small enough so that you can
place one beside each place setting.
6) You may want to use placards.
7) You may want to make take-home favors.
Seating Arrangements
1) Seat yourself and your
helper closest to the kitchen.
2) Use random seating or specify seating by placards.
3) Consider placing shy people next to talkative people.
Set The Mood
1) Use soft, mellow, pleasant
background music that does not interfere with conversations.
2) Don’t forget to light the candles.
SERVING ORDER OF EACH COURSE
What course to serve
first? The salad course, pasta course, soup
course, cheese course?
1) An amuse-bouche, if used, should be served
first, followed by the appetizer course, being either a stand-up or a
sit-down style or both.
2) Alternate your courses by serving a heavy course then a light course,
e.g. cream soup (heavy), followed by a green salad (light), then a pasta
course (heavy), etc.
3) Always serve a citrus sorbet before the main entrée as a
palate cleanser for the main attraction. Do not use a sweet sorbet, save
this for a desert course.
4) Once you determine the order of your courses, write it down and refer
to it in the kitchen so you will know what course comes next.
SERVING YOUR GUESTS
1) Do not ‘pass the
dish’. Plate up each course in the kitchen and serve ‘restaurant style’.
This allows you to be creative by decorating the plate with the food you
have so carefully planned and it also delights your guests to see their
food arranged and presented to them so beautifully.
2) Determine ahead of time what plates, tableware if additional is needed
from what you already have on the table, etc. and how many you will need
for each course. It is a good idea to use the "layering" system to make
each course look even more elegant, that is, use several plates, etc. of
different colors and shapes to present your creation. Put them in the
kitchen with a note on each stack so you will know what course is to go
on what plates.
3) For each course, make a list of all the foods that go on that plate
for that particular course and refer to it as you are plating up. Many
times I have overlooked certain things that should have gone on the
plate, now I make a list to refer too. Don’t forget the garnish!
4) Serve no more than one-half cup serving per person for courses such as
the soup course, the salad course and the pasta course. If you serve too
much of one course, your guests will not have room for the beautiful
dessert you have prepared.
5) When plating up,
keep the rim of the plate clear of food and garnishes. Think of the plate
as a painting. An artist never paints the frame. Use a clean damp cloth
to clean any smudges or spills on the rim before serving.
6) Do not keep your dinner guests waiting too long between courses. If
you have planned your dinner well, you will not have this problem.
7) Announce to your guests at the time you serve them what each course is
and name a few of the ingredients, tell them a little about the wine you
have chosen to accompany this course. This is another added touch to the
elegance of your meal and they will appreciate the information.
8) Serve women first, from the eldest to the youngest, and then serve the
men, eldest to the youngest.
9) Serve food from the left and pick up empty plates from the right.
Leave the charger plate on the table.
9) Ask a helper to pour the wine while you are serving the different
courses. |