Are you having an affair? Styling tips for the dinner table
Take dinner-party hosting up a few notches with tricks that will impress the boss, the buddies and the snootiest cousins
Partying changes as people grow up. Big pot of biryani, a pile of disposable plates, and Today’s Top Hits playing on Spotify? It’s perfect for a drunken, impromptu Friday night meet-up for those who’ve just graduated college. Sunday potluck lunch with too much of everything? A great way for family to get together, show off, and gossip forever about Aunty’s runny curry.
For anything more special, it helps to go a little OTT. Table stylist (yes, there is such a thing), Ami Kothari, founder of Mumbai-based Dining Couture (@DiningCouture)has styled settings for BMW, Taj Mahal Palace hotel and Good Earth and has conducted over 250 workshops in India and abroad for six years. She says that dinner-tables are an unexpected but memorable showcase for the host’s personality.Here are her tips for playing it right.
The Dining Couture golden rule is to stay away from complications that could put a person off hosting forever. Don’t stress about themes or accessories. Start simple and work to your own strengths and bandwidth. Parties are about people having a good time, not about matched china and chilled salad forks. Keep them happy and they’ll remember the evening well.
