As a thirty-something who is friends with other thirty-somethings, dinner parties have become one of my life’s greatest joys. There’s wine, a curated playlist and, on weeknights, a 9pm cut-off time.
These events also bring with them the potential for one of the all-time best feelings: bringing the one dish that flies off the table.
I’m not proud to admit it, but my entire Easter weekend hinges on how many people compliment my roasted cauliflower and pine nut salad. Credit: Michael Howard
No matter how full your life is in other areas – you may be rich and beautiful, with perfect children and a rewarding career – true contentment is an offhand compliment about your chickpea salad. “It’s honestly so easy,” you’ll say in mock surprise. “I’ll have to send you the recipe!”
For the remainder of the day, you will be untouchable, high on the knowledge that people love your food and, by extension, they love you.
Conversely, there is no more crushing sight than seeing your untouched plate, largely ignored amid a sea of demolished dishes. Who among us hasn’t anxiously hovered near the serving area, death-staring everyone who passes by our obviously disgusting roasted cauliflower and pine nut salad without stopping to load up?
This was the dire situation I faced when attending a recent birthday dinner at a friend’s house. As is often the case for these kinds of events, food planning was carried out via a WhatsApp thread. The host offered to take care of the meat before everyone else chimed in with a chorus of “Let us know what we can bring!”
This is usually the moment when an invisible clock begins to tick as the crowd competes to nab either the most preferred or the least laborious options.
My laziest friend got in first with Greek salad, which is fine in theory, even though everyone knows it requires little to no effort. Next up was a guy who unashamedly hated cooking, so instead offered to “put together a cheese board.” Again, this is a necessary element of any get-together, but it is also an admission that their contribution will be primarily financial.
The stress of Bring A Plate dinner parties
14
0
30.03.2024
As a thirty-something who is friends with other thirty-somethings, dinner parties have become one of my life’s greatest joys. There’s wine, a curated playlist and, on weeknights, a 9pm cut-off time.
These events also bring with them the potential for one of the all-time best feelings: bringing the one dish that flies off the table.
I’m not proud to admit it, but my entire Easter weekend hinges on how many people compliment my roasted cauliflower and pine nut salad. Credit: Michael Howard
No matter how full your........
© The Sydney Morning Herald
visit website
login
who are we?
contact us
qosheapp
Toi Staff
Gideon Levy
Belen Fernandez
Rami G Khouri
Mort Laitner
Donald Low
Ali Fathollah-Nejad
Nikkei Editorial
