Last weekend I had another opportunity to do an interactive dinner party. It was for a small group of ladies getting together at one of their homes. Interactive dinner parties are always such fun as the hostess/host along with their guests get to participated cooking along with me. I usually will let the party prepare and cook at least one of the dishes that they will be eating that night, sometimes even more, depending on what is on the menu and how big the crowd is going to be. It is hard to do more than two dishes as people tend to get distracted after the first dish. Again depending on the crowd, I will pick a dish that will allow maximum participation by a few people along with recipes, cooking techniques and kitchen tips.

Interactive party is a party thrown at your home or place of choice with lots of entertainment provided by the chef, host/hostess and guests themselves. It is a great way for people, new and old friends, to get together and have fun cooking, eating, and having fun together. It gives everyone something to do, talk about, and share as a group. It is a whole lot of fun to watch each other prep and cook. You will see novices learning new kitchen techniques and the competitive cooks trying to out do one another all in the name of fun. Overall it is a relax atmosphere charged with fun and laughter.

Last weekʼs party was held by Donna Russell for four of her friends and her daughter. I had met with Donna a few years ago during a Chamber event and she had read about my services through a local magazine write up done on me a while back. Donna and friends wanted to do small plates/tapas for their party. After taking in consideration their taste in food, I created a menu to suit her party. For Donnaʼs party I created a menu of Moroccan Lamb Sliders with Lemon Yogurt Sauce, Vietnamese Shaking Beef in Lettuce Cups, Antipasto Skewers, Brie Tartlets with Grape Relish, and Cornmeal-crusted Avocado Fries with Two Relishes (which was their dish to do). We set a date and time to have the party, went shopping for the ingredients, and brought everything to her house to be prepared. On arrival, I prepped and cook some of the dishes ahead of time other than the dish that was to be cooked by hostess and guests. Depending on the dish, I sometimes help to prep some of the ingredients with a few left for the guests to prep on their own; however, for Donnaʼs party, I had left all the ingredients for her and her guests to do. As Donnaʼs party was small, I also let them assemble some of the dishes with me for more hands-on participation. The ladies had fun cooking along with me at the same time learning a few tricks of the trade. Best part of all they got to eat everything prepared and spent time catching up with each other.

So if you are planning a party in the near future, why not make it an interactive dinner party.