Sophie Grove presents this exquisite book from her own kitchen. She plunges straight into the joy, fun and often nerve- wracking world of hospitality and switches between a tea party in a Viennese apartment to a stylish housewarming soirée in Paris to a rooftop ‘cena fiesta’ in Madrid. It begins with a cast of flamboyantly gorgeous women- they present original meals in glorious Italian sunshine or in Scandinavian snowscapes The recipes are relayed from their recipes and ideas in their own kitchens. The photographs alone are sensational, but it is the intimacy with these delightful foodies that lifts the spirits and makes you believe – yes you really can do it yourself? Only a page into a tour of the larder of artist Sarah Illenberger in up in the Tuscan hills – aptly named Il Paradiso, I found myself looking up the lovely summer frock she changed into for lunch. (Nackiyé a Turkish brand. By the way.) And I’m only on page 12. The meals these European - and American hosts serve up are wonderfully simple. Recipes all here. And thus begins a photographic glamourous guide through the lifestyles of a range of delightful hosts worldwide – and how they do it so well. As the author says After all , a a really great host is not only charming , attentive and disciplined ( not sure about that last one)- but they also make sure that they’re having a ball.”
So far so motivational – surely I can knock one of these dinners up? It doesn’t stop there. Part 2 is Setting the Table – my favourite sections.” Pull up a chair at Konfekt’s sumptuous table where each meal has its own aesthetic. dinner is a stage set for candlelit dinner ( later read Parfumier Sophie Cecil’s delightful essay on her desperate need for candles – in which we discover her aunt was a bunny girl with a flair for entertaining and who even had breakfast by candlelight..)
This can lead to discontent. A silver asparagus gripper is clearly a sine qua non for some and even I I cannot imagine how I have managed without knife rests all these years. Genuinly and the guide to flowers is frank even brutal – not the long-stemmed ones that get in the way.
But now you are only quarter way though this fabulous tome. The exciting writing arrives with a clutch of essays. I couldn’t stop reading. You might say it is here you arrive at the philosophy of hosting.’ Don’t be dull’ packs a punch with a plethora of stories from entertainment frum Louis X1V in Versailles to that ever-original couple Gertrude Stein and Alice B Tocklas. Gourmet magazine reported their lunch to last for four hours, with Boeuf Bourguignon, eels in sauce verte and flaming peaches ‘serving as ‘a trampoline for conversation and pithy criticism” An inspiration for the rest of us”.
But that’s not all. The book bursts into dangerous territory with an essay entitled Dining-table decorum, a stimulating whirl round the world of manners – which still matter apparently – and written by Anne Ubauer who hosted cocktails in Paris Fashion Week – al crème de la crème of charm needed. I still did not agree with her view that the rule you shouldn’t start eating before anyone else was ‘flexible’ . Imagine it! But then she is an American. Iloved the salsa-based dinners in Mexican Manhattan born expert where no one was allowed to sit down and never offered a chair. On the dance floor you had to go – mid mouthful or not! There is even a list on how to re-create this at home – ‘Launch into a twirl, Clap. Step forward firmly. Above all smile. For tonight your dance card is full.
Esprit de l’’escalier ,is a witty round -up on how to leave a party. We shall never agree whether it’s essential to say Goodbye – and thus hint the party’s over) or take “French Leave’ and disappear. Or as it’s known say an “Irish Goodbye’ – an expression the Irish have never heard of. Or to settle for a friend “ I usually overstay my welcome by several days, wait for them to call the authorities and then leave under duress.” I have still to read the essay on timekeeping by Gillian Orr – latecomers cause problems but so do people who arrive bang on time, at least in my house! And writer Zara Meerza takes on ‘helpng out’ – should you offer or not? There is also What to Wear a brilliant piece by Noora Raj Brown who puts in a plea for a colourful outfit ‘ as a host , “take this a an opportunity to wear your beautiful impractical things ( After all you’re not going anywhere) “
From Virginia Woolf on tablecloths ( she couldn’t abide a bare table to writer Brenda Turohy’s fabulous essay on placement ( note, you say it in the French style) She explores the dangers of getting the wrong people next to each other. To find out how to do it perfectly you will have to buy the book
This book is a true Keeper: a bold and beautiful Guide to Entertaining with a modern twist. It draws you in with its wit and humour – and offers personalities whose charm and pizazz you have never encountered before, not stars or celebs but working people, artists and shopkeepers
A book like this, and let’s face it there are very few, is an asset all round, a showcase for design psychology and art
As artist Carole Ellison enthused
