Hosting

Have people over, actually enjoy it

The small tricks that let you sit down at your own table. Nothing fussy, nothing you can’t pull off on a Tuesday.

A table set for six, candles already lit

Start early

Do the boring parts the night before.

Anything that keeps, do it while no one’s watching. Wash the greens, make the dressing, set the table, chill the wine. The version of you at 6pm with guests at the door will be grateful to the version of you the night before.

future-you is the real guest of honour

Prep bowls, lined up and covered

Less cooking, more spread

Build a board that does half the work.

A generous grazing board buys you an hour. Good bread, a soft cheese and a hard one, something pickled, something sweet, a bowl of olives. It looks like effort and asks for almost none, and it keeps everyone happy while the real food finishes.

The board, halfway demolished

The table

Set it like you meant it, not like a magazine.

Mismatched plates are fine. Cloth napkins matter more than you’d think. Light the candles before anyone arrives so the room already feels warm, and put one sprig of something green at each place. That’s the whole trick.

One plate, one napkin, one sprig of thyme

The only rule

A relaxed host is worth more than a perfect one.so pour yourself one first

Katya

One drink, made for many

Batch a cocktail so you’re not stuck mixing.

Pick one drink, make it by the jug, and let people pour their own. It keeps you out of the bartender role all night. There’s a short list of seasonal ones that batch beautifully over at The Bar.

A jug of something, thyme floating on top

Before they arrive

A short host’s checklist