The Pocket Butler by Charles MacPherson

Author:Charles MacPherson [MacPherson, Charles]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 978-0-449-01681-7
Publisher: Appetite by Random House
Published: 2015-04-28T04:00:00+00:00

Believe it or not, these two tips are more important than the décor, the music or the food being served. At any gathering you host, if you can just make sure people feel comfortable, relaxed and connected with others, your event will be a success.

Another thing to consider, before you entertain, is the shopping. I find the biggest mistake people make is that they wait until the last minute to prepare. If you know you are going to have a party in two weeks, buy items for your bar ahead of time. A professional butler would be dead from exhaustion if he we were to try to prepare every aspect of a party on the same day.

I used to have a small apartment on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. My apartment, like many in Manhattan, had a tiny kitchen. Cooking meals for a crowd was a serious challenge, especially given that I had only a little bar fridge—and it was in my home office, not in the kitchen! As a former caterer and as a butler, I studied my space and came up with a formula that allowed me to entertain as though I had a big flat on Park Avenue.

My first rule was to never greet guests at my apartment door. When guests would call from downstairs, I would buzz them into the building and meet them in the hallway at the elevator outside my apartment. I would welcome them there and take their coats and any parcels, so that by the time I opened my door and they entered my home, the preliminaries had been taken care of. I also contained the clutter immediately by using my office as a cloakroom. Next, I found a perfect little spot in my living room where I set up a self-serve bar. My second rule was to pour guests their first drink. After that, I invited each guest to help himself or herself to the handy, self-serve bar.

When it comes to food, people always have the best of intentions, but unless you can cook throughout the party, complicated menus either fail (nothing ever goes as planned when you’re in a rush), or you as the host resent the work because you spend all your time alone in the kitchen. No one wants that—not you and not your guests—so what’s the best way to deal with this problem? If you can’t hire professional caterers, that’s okay. Instead, prepare a buffet menu that is easy both for you and your guests. While working at the famous restaurant Fenton’s in Toronto, I learned how to prepare cheese trays that were attractive, interesting and delicious. When I entertained for small or large groups, the cheese board was the centrepiece of my coffee table. I prepared it ahead of time so that the work was done, and the board included a variety of soft, medium and hard cheeses, from mild to strong. I made two boards in advance, so that when the first one started to look messy and picked over, I could do a quick swap and present a fresh platter.

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