Creating a stylish “tablescape” begins with your selection of well-designed and innovative pieces.
There are buffet servers for wine-and-cheese night, hors d’oeuvre dishes for creative canapés, salad servers for healthy starters, and three-dip servers for chips and nachos.
There are also cake and cupcake stands, and chocolate fondue fountains.
Home entertaining tips from SM Home:
Set a centerpiece which doesn’t have to be literally in the center. Try setting it off to one side. This works especially with buffets staged against a wall or window.
Go high. To keep it interesting and dramatic, create the illusion of height by using multi-tier cake plates and dessert servers. Put the highest serving dish in the center and go down from there. The more you stack up and layer, the more room you can create.
Plan the dishes and serving utensils to be used for the food on your buffet table. Arrange them—start with entrées, side dishes, vegetables and salads at the end. Make sure you have small plates beside each dish for the utensils to rest on.
Put cutlery at the end. Roll utensils inside a napkin and store these in a decorative basket. This allows guests to move from the line more quickly and keeps everyone from touching others’ utensils while grabbing their own.
Make it easy and put the food in individual servings. Put anything in individual cups—like individual servings of mousse or individual shooters of soups. This way your guest can reach out and snag one without having to go through the whole line.
Add finishing touches to your buffet. Add flowers and place on votive cups or flank with a pair of candlesticks. Garnish your platter with greens to make it more appealing.
Create your own tablescapes with SM Home’s Buffet Server Collection, available at the SM Home section in all SM Stores.
Kitchen ideas
Meanwhile, get kitchen ideas for home gatherings—whether entertaining visitors, inviting close friends to an intimate dinner or planning a big family reunion.
SM Appliance Center has kitchen ideas with compact, innovative appliances.
There are multifunctional sandwich makers, blenders and juicers for healthy drinks and smoothies, grills for outdoor barbecues and smart ovens that will make your favorite recipes even more delicious.
These are available at selected outlets of SM Appliance Center nationwide. Visit smappliance.com; facebook.com/smappliance.com; twitter.com/smappliance.