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How to survive throwing a dinner party

By Ragan Robinson | Hickory Daily Record

Published: March 4, 2009

Hickory - John Duke is the executive chef at Hickory's Market on Main, the gourmet kitchen store, bistro and culinary learning center.

He knows what it's like to be the one cooking for the event and he knows what it's like to be the one hosting the event. Here is his advice for having a successful soiree.

1. Plan the menu before you do anything else. Is there a theme? The food can help tie it together. And be sure to put the menu on the invitation.

2. If you have more people than you can seat and you still want to serve a sit-down meal, have some rhyme or reason for how you separate people. Try men in one room and women in the other.

3. When you have the party determines what you can serve. If you don't want to serve a full meal, you can't have the party at 5 or 6 p.m. At 8 p.m., you can get away with light finger foods. Again, make sure to tell people what they they can expect to eat when you send them invitations.

4. Hors d'oevures aren't going to be cheaper. You just assumed, right? But think about this: A good hors d'oevure spread has several kinds of meat in addition to vegetables and something sweet. A sit-down dinner means one kind of meat. The up-side of finger foods: They let people be more social.

5. Know what else is going on at the same time as your party. If it's Sunday afternoon, you will probably have to turn on the race. If the playoffs are on, your TV should be, too. Let your guests know in advance you'll make those allowances so they're less likely to skip.

Need some advice on how to survive your next sticky situation? E-mail buzz@hickoryrecord.com or call 322-4510, x5403 to make sure we add you to the list.