A Great Meal
A Great Meal
A sumptuous meal depends as much on its taste as upon how it is served.
Many of us fail to realize that much of food’s appeal lies in the manner it is offered to the guests.
Even if the most exotic dishes have been readied, the people sitting down to the meal will fail to relish it the way they deserve to be, if no attention is given to serving these temptingly.
True, these days when life is a non-stop roller-coaster ride, few of us have time to make an elaborate ceremony of a meal. Few dress for a meal, as in the old days, or lay out the full complement of table cutlery while sitting down to dinner. There is less formality and a lot of casual manners on display when food is served.
Should Look Special
Nevertheless, a few distinctive touches can make the meal look not just appetizing but very special too, making your guests feel important and cherished.
It is wise to invest in attractive utility tableware. Pretty ceramic bowls, dainty bone china saucers, artistic serving dishes…anytime you come across any at a sale, snap them up. It is really amazing how much these contribute towards making a meal look grand and appetising.
A friend of mine served an idli-chutney-sambhar menu on decorative dishes and bowls, and we decided we were eating royal fare. By the same token, rich shahi mughlai dishes replete with cream and expensive ingredients will fail to be appreciated fully if served in unimaginative degchis or patilas!
Every home should have an assortment of eye-catching food serving paraphernalia to help out when the fare is simple.
Another thumb rule which is often ignored is cleanliness. The table should be spic and span, and if a tablecloth is used, it should be spotlessly clean. Napkins must be laundered and sweet-smelling. Drops of gravy from an earlier meal or crumpled appearances simply show you up as a sloppy homemaker, or worse still, that you do not care much for your guests. The simplest of table linen when washed and ironed looks great at a meal.
Cutlery should be given an extra rinse to make it sparkle. Grimy spoon handles and dirt in the fork tines are a definite no-no. Plates should be checked for cracks and all glasses should be free of smells and finger prints.
The best way of removing food smells from plates and glasses is to rinse them in soapy water with a dash of vinegar.
Do check the chairs kept in readiness for the diners. These should be cleaned and polished to gleam invitingly. Remove wobbly chairs. Borrow a few from your neighbor if you have too few for; can be embarrassing to have inadequate seating arrangements.
Even a sparse meal wills look festive if the table is decorated with a few artistic touches. A bowl of flower’s can add the special effect but do take care to see that the blooms do not scatter pollen on the food. It’s advisable to keep the flower centerpiece low so that guests can see and talk across the table.