How to throw a killer dinner party if you don’t have much time or money
Party season is upon us which means countless social occasions to attend and host. We want to host the kind of dinner party that everyone talks about the week after because the food was so great, the atmosphere so warm and welcoming and the finishing little touches were just so special. Oh how we want to be that woman.
But, the thing is, we're busy and we just never have enough time to put enough thought into it as much as we want to.
Step forward Alice Levine and Laura Jackson, TV presenters and McArthurGlen ambassadors, who have launched their own supper club. Six times a year, they throw legendary dinner parties with simple, good food and a friendly, fun atmosphere at the heart. Partners in crime, they are about to launch a Channel 4 food show and are working on their debut cookery book. They're also big into fashion, having fronted McArthurGlen's Wonders of Autumn campaign, choosing 10 investment pieces for the season that you'll want to check out.
These two know their stuff when it comes to hosting, so we sat down with them after a day of shopping at Cheshire Oaks Designer Outlet to find out their tips for throwing an amazing dinner party even if you don't have much time or money:
Edible flowers makes something look really special, so they're worth buying. Mint peas and bread is the easiest and tastiest thing in the world - just add some lemon juice.
Toast some bread and make bruschetta. Just buy the best tomatoes and basil you can find and then loads of lovely salt and pepper. That's a great starter and it's so cheap and easy. Or you could make boats out of lettuce, fill it with a curried avocado or lemon crab.
Don't complicate things. We once tried slow cooked lamb, easy enough to do, but we thought we'd left it in for too long. It turned out to be one of the simplest and tastiest dishes we've ever made.
Buy nice linguine and olive oil. You can get nice veg that's inexpensive, but you might want to buy a fancy box of salt that will last ages. It's about choosing which ingredients to save on and which to splash put on.
People seem to think salad has to be a bit of limp lettuce, but throw in some blood red oranges and beautiful cheery tomatoes. Don't be afraid to experiment.
Our secret weapon are cheap tea towels from Ikea that cost 30p. They're white with a red strip, then we iron them so that there stiff, and lay them out at table napkins. Everyone always ask where they're from. Find little flowers and put them in jars on tables. Put a piece of rosemary or lavender on place mats - it'll make the room smell nice too.
We sometimes put Compote in jars and leave them as place settings. Or we've made rosemary-flavoured olive oil - which is really easy to make and very cheap.
Don't let it look like a sterile doctor's waiting room. Never use central light and light tonnes of candles everywhere. Use nice side lamps and arrange the room in a way that makes the table the centre piece. It makes it feel special. People do that at Christmas, they move the furniture about, but actually it takes 10 minutes.
We love Northern soul; don't go near anything too avant garde.
