You don’t need to be a celebrity chef or have an expansive kitchen to throw a successful and memorable party. One of the best ways to make sure your event is one for the books is by catering it yourself, which means you’ll also save tons of money! In fact, you can cook crawfish just like professional chefs do in no time. In this blog post, we’re going to teach you how to throw the perfect food party so that you can celebrate with friends and family.
Start with a theme: A theme will set the tone for your party. It will give you a place to start brainstorming the ideas, and it can help make sure that everything is cohesive (and, more importantly-not dull). You may want to choose a category of food or dishes from around the world, such as Mexican cuisine. You could also go with a themed dessert, such as cupcakes. Some of the food themes that you can go for are:
- International cuisine such as Mexican or Italian
- Desserts like doughnuts and pies
- Summer favourites including grilled foods and salads.
Next, think about how to execute the theme
Once you have a theme in mind for your food party, it’s time to consider how you’ll be presenting these dishes. Are they going to be served on plates with forks? Or will guests just grab them from platters? What kind of appetizers should I serve at my event? Will there be drinks available? You might want to sift through some recipes online or find a recipe book that suits your needs.
Choose how many courses: Now that you have an idea in mind for what type of food might be served at your event, decide how many courses there will be. This decision should also take into account how much work you’re willing/able to put into planning this event – if catering yourself means preparing five different types of appetizers but skipping dessert because you don’t know how to bake anything elaborate, that’s perfectly fine.
If you’re still not sure how many courses to serve, it can be helpful to base your decision on the number of people at your event and how hungry they might get just by looking around a party. For example: If there are 100 guests expected and half will have appetizers only while others may eat two or three different dishes (depending on how large their appetites), then it would be better to plan for five courses in total with appropriate dessert options as well.
Plan for desserts
What kind of desserts are you serving, and how many options should each dessert have for guests who may not like it. For example, if one cake is chocolate and another vanilla, then pick five different types of cakes or a variety so that no guest feels left out. How about some more savoury items as well, like bread pudding with bourbon sauce or even shortbread cookies stuffed with pistachios and topped off with lemon curd frosting? You can have fun exploring new recipes at Chopnotch.
- Make an invitation: Send invites out three weeks ahead of time so that people have enough time to plan their schedules around it if needed. The important thing here is not how fancy your invite looks-it’s about expressing how excited you are in words rather than aesthetic design. Include all necessary information like how to dress, how many people are invited and what time the party is going to start.
- Set up your kitchen with all essentials: Party prep doesn’t have to be a headache. You can get all of the necessities you’ll need at your local grocer or department store (if you’re looking for something specific, try online shopping). Stock up on paper goods like plates and napkins, wooden spoons, plastic wrap-you name it! Also, don’t forget the food items, like a cheese platter or trays of fruit. Have a designated area to store your supplies and utensils so that guests can help themselves as needed. This will also make cleaning up easier for you when the party’s over!
Food Party Menu
It’s important to have foods that both kids and adults will enjoy at your event (and don’t be afraid to mix things up). There are multiple affordable options available on grocery shelves if you’re in need of inspiration. Here are some popular ideas for how to cater for yourself at home:
- “A few different types of finger sandwiches”: These could include ham and swiss, chicken salad, egg salad with dill pickles, or any other sandwich you like.
- “A variety of salads”: These could include a traditional green salad or something with more of an international flair such as Greek pasta salad, Thai peanut chicken and noodle salad, Moroccan couscous and chickpea, or Indian curried lentil.
- “An assortment of refreshing appetizers”: This is the perfect time to try out some new recipes! Try making cheesy garlic breadsticks (kids love them), buffalo shrimp dip w/ celery sticks, spicy beef skewers with sesame rice crackers for dipping; how about anything from your favourite ethnic cuisine?
- “Fruit platter”: This one can always be made in advance, so there’s no excuse not to have it on the table.
- “Beverages”: If you’re a bit of a wine connoisseur, this is the time to break out your favourites! Or how about creating an impressive cocktail bar with different types of beer and other options?
- “Desserts” or “Cookies & Brownies”: This will depend on what type of party you have planned; if it’s more for adults, then something like red velvet cake would be perfect, but brownie bites are always a big hit too!
Add some wine to the list
Instead of buying wine by the bottle from a liquor store, how about picking a few bottles that are perfect as an accompaniment with what you plan to serve? That way, when guests arrive, they will have everything necessary and enjoy their experience even more because they were able to pick out their favourite type of wine. Also, consider serving wines in different colours so people can distinguish between them without having to read labels. For example, if you are serving red wine, how about purchasing either a white or rosé as well.
Conclusion
Throwing a birthday party doesn’t have to be a stressful event. With a little planning, preparation and some creativity, you can have an enjoyable experience with your loved ones that even includes how the party is served.