A Good Host

A good host is someone who makes the effort to ensure that his or her guests have a good time. Take a dinner party for instance. Sure, good food is always appreciated. Drink too for that matter.

For me though, I look at the other little details. An sms reminder a few days before the party with a teaser of the planned menu. A text of the address so as not to lose our way. Pairing drinks with the appetisers and main courses. Coffee for the coffee drinkers, tea for the non-coffee fans. A variant of decadent chocolate after another for dessert. Most of all, does the host give up the best seat in the house? Does he or she forgo place settings if there aren't enough to go round?

I may be in an industry that celebrates special occasions but I readily admit that I do not necessarily have the required patience to host a party that pays so much attention to detail. That's why I love working with my industry friends who are event planners for they are the ones who can carry out such functions with aplomb. But going back to why I am writing this post. Well, I had the pleasure of being invited to a dinner party last week that inspired these musings. Here's to that perfect host.

Dining alfresco in Istanbul, Turkey.