Hosting for Foodies: How to Make the Refreshments the Main Event

As food lovers, we know how social gatherings and events typically seem to go. Everybody else is mingling and networking, laughing and having a good time, and you’re just lurking at the refreshments table and trying to get the host’s attention to find out what she put in that amazing dip. There’s nothing quite like the art of good food and a lot of us foodies see events as nothing more than a great excuse to sample something interesting and experience new flavours. Why can’t events just be all about the food? While that’s not always realistically possible, taking matters into your own hands and hosting your own event gives you the power to put the focus wherever you please. Who needs dancing when you have an exotic cheese platter, right?

Brunch and Coffee

The first idea is one for the coffee snobs – those of us who turn up our noses at instant coffee because we simply know better. Not everybody understands, but hosting a coffee event is the perfect opportunity to introduce your friends and acquaintances to a side of life where the grass is greener, darker, roastier… 

A late morning brunch event is the perfect opportunity to do so, who doesn’t love a brunch? A simple at-home continental breakfast spread of some pastries, cold meats, cheeses and fruit, all brought together with a beautiful selection of coffees, and one to suit every guest. Having options for everyone – including delicate light roast coffee beans, a stronger, darker roast for the braver guests, and coffees from different parts of the world, is a good way to get everyone interested in all the different options there are and how to enjoy them. 

Your event could focus simply on tasting and sampling different roasts, you could host a cupping event or even offer your guests a mini barista lesson and teach them some different brewing techniques. Either way, this event is all about the beans.

Cheese and Wine Night

This one is a classic that everyone knows and loves, and for a good reason. Your cheese and wine connoisseur friends will be in heaven and so will basically everyone else. An event like this offers an opportunity not just for sampling and pairing gorgeous flavours but sharing your own passion and knowledge as well. Your guests will love to be given hints about what notes to look for in their wines and be offered ideas on what meals they could pair them with at home.

Putting together beautiful platters featuring slices of bread and crackers, a selection of nuts and preserves, and of course the main event – an array of cheeses. It’s a good idea to include at least one hard cheese (like Manchego), one semi-hard cheese (like Gruyere) and one soft cheese (like a Camembert). It’s also a good idea to include a blue, though people are often picky about these. 

When it comes to the wine itself, some people even hire wine experts for events like these or organise days out at wine farms instead to get a fuller experience, especially if they don’t have the knowledge themselves. Learning and tasting are all part of the fun and the experience, so whichever way you choose to host your cheese and wine event, make sure you and your guests are going to savour every minute. 

Olive Oil Infusing

This one is a little different and a simple but fun foodie activity to throw into your next dinner party. Infused olive oils can transform the flavour of any dish and making your own is as simple as 1-2-3. On top of that, another benefit is that olive oil is a great source of healthy fats, which form an important part of any healthy and balanced diet.

Setting up a table where guests can choose their own ingredients to infuse a small bottle of olive oil to take home is both an interesting activity and an out-of-the-box party favour. Some ingredients you can spread out include garlic cloves, different types of chilies and peppers, a selection of fresh and dried herbs, citrus fruits and even sundried tomatoes. Guests can mix and match flavours to suit their tastes and you can show off some ideas by using your own homemade infused oils in the dishes you serve at the dinner party as a way to get everybody interested involved. 

Build-Your-Own

This type of event is less about showing off and more about good, clean fun. Everybody enjoys a dinner where they can pick and choose their meal according to their tastes, and a build-your-own type of dinner party allows for just that. 

The options are endless here and you can introduce fun themes that encourage your guests to dress up and really be a part of the event. At a build-your-own taco or burrito night, you can introduce loads of exciting Mexican flavours with spices, salsas and mouth-watering guacamole to top it all off. Build-your-own pizza is always a winner (with kids too!) especially if you happen to have a pizza stone, and for something a little more different and exciting, you could try out a build-your-own poke bowl event with a selection of seafood, edamame beans, pickled veg and delicious sauces. 

These kinds of events are a great way to get everyone involved and invested, discussing and enjoying every element of the food. On top of that, this kind of dinner party makes it fairly easy to be accommodating to all diets and dietary requirements: vegan or vegetarian, gluten or dairy-free, you can provide options to suit everyone’s needs. 

Hosting a foodie event can be more than a simple party or get-together. Whichever kind of event you choose to host, sharing your love of food with the people closest to you is a truly fun and heart-warming experience. Food brings people together and can teach us about other’s cultures and experiences more than we realize, and sharing these experiences with our loved ones fills our souls and bellies whether it’s through extravagant tastings, learning about different cuisines or simply enjoying the process of cooking and eating together.

Category: Food.Fun.Stuff.