9 Ways that Foodies Can Impress Their Guests
It’s natural to want to impress your guests. After all, no one wants their party or event to fail. However, since most events have some form of food involved, foodies may feel even more pressured to make their guests happy. This makes sense – if you’re known as the food lover of your group, people may have certain expectations of you, and even if they don’t, you may have these expectations of yourself. Luckily, we’ve put together this handy tip of unique ways to make your event stand out and impress your friends.
Offer them coffee and tea afterward
If you’ve just had a filling meal, you may not be in the mood for a dessert. But that doesn’t mean that the culinary experience should come to an end after the main course! Instead, why not have some coffee or tea on hand to offer your guests? This could act as a palate cleanser before dessert, or it could just create a nice social atmosphere – all of your guests, chatting over their drink of choice. It sounds pretty cozy if you ask us. If you really want to go the extra mile to impress them, don’t stick to your normal morning cup of coffee. Try something a bit more luxurious, like this Arabica coffee.
Involve your guests
Foodies tend to want to do all the food for their own events, and not accept any help from anyone. While this is good – you do want your guests to enjoy themselves, not be working – sometimes changing things up can be fun. For example, if you’re having a pizza night, you can make the dough, but have all your guests put on their own toppings. This is sure to be a fun way to make some memories!
Know how to make specialty drinks
Whether your guests prefer cocktails or mocktails, there’s something impressive about sipping on an expertly made drink, and it’s even more impressive when your host made it for you. Instead of having the usual wine or beer on hand, or asking your guests to bring their own drinks, why not learn to make a few unique drinks? You can, of course, make them without alcohol if that’s your preference; it will still be just as much fun! If you do want to do the old-school way, we suggest something interesting, like these whiskey sours.
Take their dietary needs into consideration
Aside from impressing your guests, this is something you should be doing simply because it’s decent and thoughtful. Many people have special dietary needs or preferences. This could be because of their religion, allergies, ethical beliefs, or health reasons. Whatever their reason, you should always try to be accommodating to all of your guests and make sure that everyone feels included and has something to eat that they will enjoy. This could mean having vegetarian options, or low-carb options if you know someone is on a diet. Be sure to ask your guests well in advance if they have any dietary needs or preferences you should be aware of.
Entertainment
No matter how great your food is, your event won’t be a good one if your guests are bored. If you’re really into food, it’s easy to get caught up in that. This often means that foodies focus solely on the food, and forget to think about other aspects of events, such as entertaining their guests. If you don’t know where to start, try some of these tips for keeping your guests entertained at home. Be sure to take part in the fun! While it may be tempting to spend all your time in the kitchen, making sure that everything is perfect, your guests probably care more about spending time with you than they do about the food.
Try new things
If you saw a few new recipes or ideas that you want to try, why not try them on your guests? You can even turn it into a theme such as a taste-test party. This is a good way to get opinions on new dishes from a lot of different people. Just be sure to not take it personally if something doesn’t come out perfect, or if a guest doesn’t like a certain dish.
Homemade dessert
Some people can cook, some can bake, and some can do both. Yet even the most experienced cook will often take the easy way out and get a store-bought dessert or pop into the bakery for a cake. This makes sense; after all, making a dessert can be more effort than all of the other courses put together. But that’s what makes it so special! Even if the dessert isn’t perfect, your guests will likely appreciate the fact that you took the time to make a homemade dessert. If you’re not an expert baker, don’t let fear hold you back. Try some of these cake-baking tips to make sure that your guests will be impressed.
Broaden your horizons
We tend to stick to what we know because it’s familiar and easy. But wanting to impress your guests is the perfect opportunity to challenge yourself. Why not try making some meals from a different culture? You can make it the culinary theme: from starters through to dessert, you can try incorporating elements from this particular culture. This will likely mean that your dishes will all pair well, and it will also offer your guests a unique experience.
Be fancy
Finally, if you’re having an event, it can be the perfect excuse to pull out all the stops. When we have guests over, it often tends to be a casual thing. A few friends or family members, a nice meal – but nothing too extravagant – and some conversations. However, we think that your guests deserve to be spoiled and that you deserve to go all out for once. So, bring out the fancy cutlery and tablecloths, make the most decadent meals you can think of, and treat your guests to a nice meal, with as many courses as you want. Of course, this shouldn’t be the norm, but it can be fun to change things up now and then.