George’s Kitchen
Dinner parties are a great way to bring people together, whether it’s a long awaited catch up with friends or an opportunity to network and connect with people. It can be a sophisticated evening of sharing anecdotes and eating exquisite food. One of the main reasons dinner parties can be so great is the intimate atmosphere and personal touch that you wouldn’t get in a restaurant setting.
However, hosting an evening of formal dining in your home can be quite stressful and executing the cooking to the same level of standard as restaurants can be difficult. This is why many people are hiring a caterer to take care of all their dining needs. One company that is becoming increasingly popular across London and the home counties is George’s Kitchen. Renowned chef George Rouse, and his head chef Rob Rolfe are using their 38 years of combined experience to cater dinner parties for some of the city’s elite, to the highest of standards.
As a boutique catering company George’s Kitchen has a passion for creating bespoke fine dining experiences for clients, whether it’s a large corporate event or intimate gathering. With an ethos that’s ‘dining done differently’, George believes innovation is the way to go when you’re trying to impress your guests. He says, “the most important thing for my clients is the passion we have for delivering the most unforgettable dining experience with bespoke menus made up of the freshest local ingredients”.
Having the service in your own home can really set you aside and impress your guests. One of the main benefits of this is that it allows you to concentrate on hosting the evening and making sure all of your guests are happy. Having to keep running back into the kitchen takes your attention away from the guests but with the cooking in hand, you will be able to enjoy the evening with the rest of the party.
However, even if you’re doing the cooking yourself, there are still ways to enjoy the hosting role. Try going into the evening as prepared as possible. George says, “preparing things the day before is always a good way to avoid stress, whether it is a dauphinoise potato gratin that needs to be set or just par boiling and fluffing your potatoes for a crisp roast potato”. Even the smallest jobs will save you time.
Another big part of being prepared is having the right equipment to execute your dishes as best as you possibly can. This could be gadgets that help you save time or appliances that take your food to the next level. George says, “the pieces of equipment I swear by have to be blenders to make silky smooth purées, Japanese mandolins for those wafer-thin slices and a digital temperature probe to make sure you achieve the best medium rare meat”.
One way that George ensures his team is fully prepared for an event is by making sure he knows exactly what the client wants. This is why George has remained at the heart of the business. He says “I make sure to oversee everything as the clients put their trust in me. I think it’s really important to meet all of my clients face to face to discuss details like menu choices”. Choosing the right dishes to serve on the evening is also key to throwing the best dinner party fit for the finest of guests.
You can use your menu to set the tone of the evening and get creative. If you’re cooking yourself, this is your chance to show off your culinary skills, but the key is finding the balance between an impressive menu and not being too ambitious. George says “when creating bespoke menus, I usually try and keep it simple with only 3-4 ingredients on a plate so as to not over complicate. Focusing on perfecting three items will enhance your up-scale home cooked feel to the meal”.