THE new DINNER PARTY

Unfussy, relaxed and with delicious food — try less, have more fun

For me, the best moments of a dinner party happen minutes before the first guests arrive. I bask in what I’ve created: a crudité platter, still untouched, atop a gleaming white kitchen island. Brigitte Bardot cooing from a speaker, a fresh candle flickering nearby. If I’ve opted for a tablecloth, it’s unironed linen, topped with a cheap and cheerful grocery-store bouquet.

Welcome to my aspirational casual dinner party, where the glassware doesn’t match, the food is a mix of homemade and store-bought and the vibe is more ripped jeans than designer dresses.

Thanks to demographic shifts, shrinking homes (formal dining room, we hardly knew you), and the general casual-ification of everything from our closets to our decor, the meticulously planned, three-course dinner party hosted by the likes of Betty Draper is a bygone fantasy.

Still, entertaining hasn’t lost its lustre. Anyone who sets out to throw a dinner party wants to get closer to their friends, invite their favourite people into their space and conjure an atmosphere for memory-making. But a classic dinner party is a lot of work. “It’s a three-day affair—the cleaning, shopping, the food pairing,” says Mika Bareket, the owner of cookbook shop Good Egg, in Kensington Market. “It feels very performative. So I wonder, why do I do this to myself?”

There’s plenty of inspiration to be found if you want to host a fantastic dinner party without sacrificing three days of your life. Over on TikTok, Brooklynite foodie Fresh Erica has coined the term “micro-dinner party,” a fancied-up term for having a friend or two over for an unfussy but special meal: champagne and snacks; tinned fish platters; takeout pizza bookended by homemade salad and dessert.

More sources of inspiration include “For the Table” by food writer Anna Stockwell, a recently released book that is billed as “a toast to the art of the dinner party” and puts focus on single, epic platters that encourage guests to help themselves. “A Table for Friends: The Art of Cooking for Two or Twenty” by cooking author Skye McAlpine is full of strategies for successful hosting, including how to juggle oven and cooktop space.

Yes — strategies, a concept that seems like an uninvited guest to the casual dinner party. But a successful casual fete still requires some planning. Bareket shares that her friends who throw dinner parties professionally actually sketch little pictures of the food they plan on serving, down to the garnishes.

That attention to detail extends beyond the food to the experience. “My top strategy is having something o say,” says Bareket. “Maybe it’s pathological, but I try to think about engaging topics for conversation before a sit-down over a meal: nifty and obscure anecdotes, interesting movies and books, recent recipe successes or failures.”

Because at the end of the night, it’s the conversations and genuine connections that will be remembered long after the paté has been devoured.

The meticulously planned, three-course dinner party hosted by the likes of Betty Draper is a bygone fantasy