Try a digital dinner party
A digital dinner party could be the perfect event when meeting up in person just isn’t possible. Join the trend and share, eat and connect with your friends. Here are some top tips to help pull it off in style:
1. Choose a date to look forward to
Pick a date and time you can all do and get it in the calendars as soon as you can. Give your guests time to fit it in and get themselves organised.
2. Pick a theme
Pick a country’s cuisine to keep things exciting. You could change it up each week with Italian in the first week, Thai in the second week and so on and so on.
3. Recipe swap or Ready, Steady, Cook!
Decide if you are all going to cook the same thing or each cook something different – both work. You could:
Organise a recipe swap - make sure the ingredients in these recipes have some flexibility as shopping is a little tricky at the moment. We have some great recipe ideas that are really simple and quick to put together such as these 5 pasta recipes using roughly five ingredients.
Another great option would be to all start off with the same easy to get hold of ingredients and make it a challenge to see what you come up with – Ready, Steady Cook!
4. Keep it simple
While some of your group might be approachable versions of Gordon Ramsay, you might not all be. Save the Michelin star dinners for post-lockdown and keep it simple otherwise you might be too worn out to party.
5. Prep prep prep
Nobody wants to spend an online dinner party staring at an empty chair for too long. Have your dishes prepped so they can be thrown together in a matter of minutes and you can spend more time chatting with your guests
6. Get online
Zoom, Google Hangouts, Microsoft Teams, Skype and Houseparty. People are meeting up virtually for pub sessions, yoga classes, quizzes and all kinds of social events. A member of your group probably already has a preference for one, make sure you’ve all got it downloaded before dinner time.
7. Rate my plate
We eat with our eyes first, show off what you’ve made and if you’re feeling competitive you could also include a rate my plate competition, revealing the winner at the end. Just don’t spill your dinner on your laptop whilst showing it off.
8. Add entertainment
Why not organise a quiz between courses, a food theme might be fun to get the ball rolling? Just like on Come Dine with Me, there’s extra points for entertainment between courses! Why not organise a quiz, a round of Pictionary or a challenge for your guests.
9. Make it regular
Get the date for your online dinner in the diary each week, with the same bunch, your other friends, as a family dinner or even a date.