Today I am in awe of the fine art of entertaining.
The gathering of guests.
The fine tuning of the menu.
The selection of wines.
The decorations.
The setting of the table.
The prep work!
All the decision making and, more importantly, the implementation. Most of us can do it with a significant amount of aplomb but it’s the ones in which this rare skill is so finely tuned that leave me in amazement! The party people who perform entertaining with such ease.
Have the vases filled with pungent leaves. Throw pinecones on the fire. (Florence Pritchett Smith)
You know the ones that honestly make it look like a breeze. And are loving every stress free moment as it unfolds. Even when the orange Bavarian cream has curdled 
Take my good friend KD and her husband PD. Throwing together nibbles of haloumi and chorizo charred on the grill, a main of lamb accompanied by exotically roasted vegetables with stewed pears covered in marsala sauce for desert. But thats not all! We were then served a sumptuous platter of cheese – just in case we needed to eat some more – and all of this gorgeous gourmet complemented with bubbles, taste-paired whites and fine reds. Delicious!
KD’s table was a smattering of silver and crystal easy elegance, with candlelight the only illumination. She (seemingly) effortlessly created a wonderful ambient evening of breezy sophistication.
Anyhoo, I can’t help but admire this social ease. Decorator, Robert Couturier, is (in my mind) very much of this ilk however he takes it to an even higher level of laid back sophistication, offering separate tables for different stages of the evening.
The drinks table…
The dining table…
Served with scrumptious seafood
And then the old fashioned elegance of retiring to the drawing room for a post dinner beverage…
Couturier describes his style of entertaining…
My dinners are a little more Old World. They’re simple elegant, not fussy elegant.
I like it!
Till next time.
Tipsy Pipsy