Duty Entertaining
Five great tips for making 'duty' entertaining less of a chore:
- Give parties at odd times, like 11am, 5pm or after the cinema.
- Ensure that there are at least twice as many guests as chairs or floor-space.
- Never give any choice of food. The dish you serve should be slightly difficult to eat and rather rich. Energy and appetite will soon flag.
- The only choice of drinks should be between a relatively numbing and sticky alcoholic concoction for non-drivers and a non-alcoholic version of the same thing for all other guests. Prepare roughly the same amount of each then juggle the jugs if the alcoholic one starts disappearing too quickly.
- Present all the food and drink together as the party starts. Then you will be free to join in and, as the food cools and the drinks warm, a natural end to the proceedings will declare itself. If people want more, you can always suggest that they reserve a table for you all in half an hour at the local Indian.
Courtesy: Jeremy Round, The Independent Cook, p.10-11
Last modified: 31 Dec 2004 11:08