Do you want to prepare a perfect dinner but you don't know how to go about it? You need help because the guests are coming? Fine dining Sydney is a big deal. You’re worried about table linen, seating, late arrivals and salting – don't get nervous now. No worries! We offer you a perfect guide on how to give your guests an amazing dining experience!

Hosting friends at home is good – being ready is even better. Organizing a convivial dinner requires good organization.

To avoid disappointments, discover our unstoppable tips for hosting a successful evening.

OFFER A VARIETY OF APPETIZERS

There’s nothing like an amazing appetizer to whet your appetite. Gather all of your guests around sweets and refreshing drinks.

Choose a rich and varied platter: appetizers with a variety of satiating items are enough to cater to what’s the most difficult.

MAKE A NICE TABLE

The decoration is also very important. If you want to bring a warm atmosphere to your dinner, set your table with solid colored napkins, a tablecloth in taupe fabric and possibly original cutlery rests. You can also buy cheap table runners for sale to add colors and textures to your table décor.

SURPRISE YOUR GUESTS

There is something for everyone. However, it is not easy to satisfy several people. Put the odds on your side by concocting an elaborate meal full of surprises.

As a starter: serve spicy Thai prawns and a black tea marbled egg.

As the main dish: offer a soy-coated chicken supreme, accompanied by a risotto.

SERVE A LIGHT DESSERT

End your dinner in style with a light dessert. Prepare small strawberry pies or delicious sweets (with mint for example). Your guests will thank you.

BE SMART WITH THE DISHES!

When dinner is over, wash the dishes. To make your task easier, choose an effective product for your dishwasher. There will be no residue left on your plates and cutlery.

Relax! That is the central lesson

Everything else is footnotes. A dinner party is not a competition – you don't have to prove anything to anyone. Your guests want to have a nice evening. They don't come to give points, provided you only invite guests who you want to be with you. A dinner party should always be free, no-obligation thing. It doesn't matter whether you spent an hour in the kitchen or ten; the result alone counts. Tastes? Does everyone feel comfortable? Thinking about all this might cause chaos in the kitchen.

Don't let your visitors starve

They come with a growling stomach, so welcome them with nuts, olives and puff pastries. Otherwise, they are tipsy after the first glass of sparkling wine. When inviting, you should leave a buffer of two quarters so that everyone can relax and talk to each other in peace, only then will you serve the food. Don't rush, invite for 8 p.m. and put the bowls on the table at 8.05 p.m. It is your fault if you are more than half an hour late.

The times for dinner parties have never been better

It was never so easy to get good ingredients. There were never so many and varied cookbooks. Keep it simple with serenity instead of perfectionism (which is always the death of comfort). We recommend the host to concentrate on preparing a course, otherwise doing something easy or buying ready. Pasta always works.

Today, those who are short on time can call the delivery service, but that's just an impersonal restaurant meal. Good bread, butter and olive oil are important. If everything goes wrong, you can still eat enough.

"Preparation, Preparation, Preparation"

Prepare as much as possible. The best thing is to start the day before, with leisure. The whole thing should be a pleasure. If you want to perform one-minute tricks on the stove, you should only do this in small groups. The host belongs at the table and not in the kitchen. After all, the guests want something from you. That's why I prefer braised or oven-baked items. Comfort food is trendy anyway. Soups can be prepared the evening before.

A tablecloth turns the simplest table into something special

Cloth napkins enhance the effect, but I'm lazy and use profane paper. There are wonderful patterns available. Dishes, glasses and cutlery from a single source are no longer popular – mix and match are the eclectic rules. Everything should only be dishwasher safe. I like to drink water and wine, but not from the same glass, so if there is not enough stock, the neighbor will be happy to help.

Just no paper plates and plastic forks! Lively conversations and music are enough for me. Flowers? Yes, but not too intensely scented and distributed in small vases. Nobody wants to have a thick bouquet between them and their counterpart. The same applies to candles. Expansive candlesticks belong to the periphery. Light is the simplest mood maker: dim the lamps and light many candles. Professionals advise different heights, like a mountain landscape. Since I am not a handicraft mouse, I do not have knitted table cards or upcycled mason jars. Nobody has complained yet.

It's all in the right mix, for food and guests

Monothematic menus – everything in white. I prefer colorful. In the dishes, I mix the tried and tested with the new. I like to try out new recipes without a rehearsal. I learned that you should never apologize for a meal, not even for a flop. Otherwise, you shouldn't overwhelm your friends. Spare them the request to make an original contribution to the guest book at the end of the party.

The host is not a sole entertainer

He only prepares the stage on which everyone acts together. Some hosts feel comfortable in the role of a string-puller. I count on the guests to mix on their own. Finally, I invite people who I think are interested in each other. Eight to ten people are an ideal size because everyone can still talk to each other. In larger rounds, you cannot avoid a table arrangement so that couples and friends do not squat together.

Generosity is more important than all culinary arts

My father refused to go to my uncle's house to eat again because he was counting potatoes there. That's why I'm not a friend of plate service. Everything seems lush and tempting, and everyone can take what and how much they want.

It would have solved one of the biggest problems of today: special requests, culinary dislikes and intolerances. It is best to compile the menu according to the modular principle. Another advantage of the bowling service, which is called "family style": everyone can open up to their neighbors. After all, dining is sharing. Here’s more on giving your guests outstanding fine dining experience.

Conclusion

These tips should help you host the perfect dining experience for your guests. Even if something goes wrong, don’t take the behavior of your visitors personally. Do not be offended if one sorts out the pepper cubes from the salad, to which he has added a lot of salt. Don’t worry if the other leaves half of the soup in the cup, or if the third breaks before the last course. They’ll all have their reasons – triggering babysitters, hard days, sleeping too little, working too much or simply feeling bad. As a host, you are not responsible for the quirks and bad mood of your visitors.