tablesetting

Inspirations

INSPIRATIONS is a lush sourcebook of ideas for creating the perfect ambiance for any major party or event. INSPIRATIONS is packed with gorgeous photographs of 10 such parties. Ranging from modern to romantic, and the majority of arrangements pictured have never before been seen. The chapters will focus on Bailey's inspirational elements derived from art, travel, nature, and more. Preston Bailey has established himself as the floral designer for celebrities and the affluent alike, and he continues to set the bar for event design. Over the past year, some of his clients have included Donald and Melania Trump, Regis Philbin, and Oprah Winfrey.

Knife Skills Illustrated: A User's Manual

Don't be surprised if it changes the way you cook.

Knives are the most common pieces of equipment in the kitchen, yet few cooks know the basic techniques that can allow them to carve, chop, slice, and mince effectively. Peter Hertzmann teaches you skills that encompass everything you need to do with a knife in the kitchen, whether you're a four-star chef or an at-home beginner. This comprehensive guide fills a gaping void in culinary literature.
• Over 800 step-by-step illustrations for right- and left-handed cooks.
• Exact instructions on how to do everything: mince onions, julienne ginger, bone trout, carve turkey.
• How to select the best knives and cutting boards.
• Directions for proper knife maintenance.
• 2-color throughout; 800 drawings.

The Simple Art of Napkin Folding: 94 Fancy Folds for Every Tabletop Occasion

Use The Simple Art of Napkin Folding to duplicate those beautiful napkin folds you've admired at elegant restaurants and memorable events. It's easy with Linda Hetzer's detailed step-by-step directions and illustrations.  Using cloth or paper napkins, create standing triangular-shaped folds (the "Tavern") for dinner parties.  A few accordion pleats transforms a piece of cloth into the "Poinsettia." Need festive ideas for a children's birthday party?  Make "Sailboats" or "Paper Airplanes." Graduate to more intricate designs that combine napkins with silverware, flowers, and wineglasses.

Special features include

• A stain removal guide for heirloom linens and synthetic fabrics
• Easy-to-follow instructions for making napkin rings
• Graphs for embroidering initials on napkins
• Instructions for stenciling your own napkins

Filled with inspired ideas, The Simple Art of Napkin Folding turns any square of fabric into a work of art.

Perfect Party Food: All the Recipes and Tips You'll Ever Need for Stress-Free Entertaining from the Diva of Do-Ahead

Perfect Party Food is the ultimate resource for throwing every kind of party imaginable, from a casual get-togethers to elegant soirees to festive bashes. Phillips outlines her do-ahead approach to entertaining and offers 500 recipes, from appetizers to desserts, that can be made ahead of time so most of the work is done before the party begins.

Southern Lady: Gracious Tables: The Perfect Setting for Any Occasion

Entertaining doyenne Phyllis Hoffman shows how to prepare a stunning table for any occasion.

So many of the events of our lives, from the formal to the informal, are celebrated by gathering around a table. Whatever the occasion—whether it's a holiday dinner, Sunday brunch, or a casual lunch with friends—the table is the place where we relax and enjoy each other's company while savoring a great meal.

No one knows how to dress a table with elegance and flair better than Phyllis Hoffman, publisher of Southern Lady magazine, the quintessential resource for entertaining the gracious Southern way. Now, Hoffman draws upon her years of expertise to create Southern Lady Gracious Tables, the definitive guide to creating gorgeous "tablescapes" for every occasion.

Starting with the basics, Hoffman presents a series of breathtaking spreads for a whole range of occasions, from formal settings to casual get-togethers, and describes how to achieve each look, right down to the recipes—55 in total—for her mouthwatering specialties. Enjoy a lovely outdoor lunch of tasty Fried Green Tomatoes with Crab and Green Chile Cream Sauce, or finish off a dinner party with delectable Praline Bread Pudding with Bourbon Sauce.

Hoffman then builds a "wardrobe for the table," navigating through the complex world of dinnerware, fine linens, and serving pieces. Each and every element of the table—from fruit saucer to lemon fork to water goblet—is covered in a friendly, helpful way.

Finally, there's advice on adding that all-important personal touch, with instructions on how to craft flowers, family heirlooms, collectibles, and other unexpected treasures into the perfect centerpiece, place marker, or accent. All along, her advice includes refreshingly simple techniques for presentation and encourages the reader's own creativity in playing with colors, patterns, and styles.

Complemented by lush photography and told in Hoffman's accessible, encouraging, and deliciously Southern voice, Southern Lady Gracious Tables is a must-have for every aspiring hostess, south or north of the Mason Dixon. The perfect gift for any woman who loves to entertain, it has all the tools, tips, and inspiration you need to elevate the ordinary to the unforgettable.

Set with Style: Perfect Tables from the Dining Room to the Kitchen

Whether using heirloom china or a hot designer’s latest tableware collection–for an intimate dinner for two or a family feast for ten–set a table to impress.

Faced with thousands of inspiring choices for table settings and decorations to fit every occasion, hosts and hostesses have never been more enticed to turn out both a great meal and an equally appealing stage on which to serve it.

Author Caroline Clifton-Mogg knows that creating a table setting, no matter how simple or instinctive, is a form of interior decoration and design; so she has put together a masterful list of internationally acclaimed designers and decorators (such as John Saladino and Vicente Wolf), all of whom have showcased their signature styles for table settings. Set with Style offers an unprecedented cache of ideas that will ensure that entertaining your favorite guests is a pleasure instead of an overwhelming challenge; if your taste tends toward delicate crystal romance or even whimsical flea-market flair, you can achieve the most breathtaking visual treat on your tabletop.

Illustrated with more than 300 lavish photos, Set with Style highlights:
• The history of dining etiquette and traditions (from time-honored rituals to quirky customs)
• Table-setting styles (from contemporary style with Peri Wolfman and Reed Krakoff to retro style with Glen Senk and Keith Johnson of Anthropologie)
• Practical tips (from the creative use of accessories to what to look for when buying china, glass, flatware, and linen) from designers such as Sally Sirkin Lewis
• A resource guide (featuring a directory of china and glass suppliers and table-accessory manufacturers)
Whether you just want to spruce up an ordinary family supper or pull out all the stops for a high-class event, Set with Style will ensure that every occasion will be a beautiful one.

Semi-Homemade Gatherings

Table Flowers: Innovative Floral Designs for Entertaining

Paula Pryke's floral designs set the paradigm for excellence and innovation. Her latest book explores the newest trends in floral design and provides hundreds of ideas for bold centerpieces and elegant bouquets to make any table feel festive.
Starting with the type of occasion and the personalities involved, she explains her signature concepts, such as using unusual containers and accessories like candles or nightlights, and combining flowers, foliage, and even fruit. She demystifies the art of using colors, textures, and architectural form for contrast.
This gorgeously illustrated how-to includes all manner of floral details and accents, such as floral arrangements to adorn chair backs and miniature hand-tied bouquets to decorate napkins. Packed with ideas and techniques, this book features step-by-step instructions that make any project achievable.

The Art of the Table: A Complete Guide to Table Setting, Table Manners, and Tableware

Do you know how to set the table? Worry about your dinner manners? Finally, with The Art of the Table, Suzanne von Drachenfels comes to the rescue with a truly comprehensive guide to the correct use of tableware and confidence-building information about proper dining etiquette. Von Drachenfels, a former Tabletop Consultant for dinnerware makers Fitz & Floyd, defines the vocabulary of tableware and explains the selection, use, and care of dinnerware, flatware, stemware, and table linens. She expertly details the basic service techniques for all types of entertainment, and even includes advice on menu planning. Learn how to read the labels of wine bottles or how to filet a fish at the table; learn where and when to sit down and the proper way to eat finger foods.

Spicing up the how-to text are fascinating tidbits of social and culinary history. Who knew, for instance, that the first napkin was a lump of dough or that ancient Egyptian feasts often concluded with a coffin laid out with an imitation skeleton to remind diners to appreciate the bounteous gifts of life? The author reveals the origins of everyday expressions--such as "eating humble pie"--and covers the history of table manners to shed light on the commonsense reasons behind today's customs. Food service professionals--restaurateurs, service staff, and caterers--will find the book an indispensable guide to the correct way to set a table and present food, but anyone who has a need or yearning to know the nitty-gritty of table setting, table manners, and tableware will be sure to find answers to all of their questions and more in this exhaustive reference book. --Robin Donovan

Coming together to share a meal is one of our most vital traditions. Whether dining with friends, family, or business associates, we know that an elegant setting and gracious manners bring a sense of harmony and order to the occasion. Yet when it comes to knowing precisely how to set a table for formal and informal dining, which fork is for dessert and which for the appetizer, how to serve different types of wine -- even how to eat certain foods -- many of us are not fully confident.

Suzanne von Drachenfels learned this firsthand in her career as an expert on table setting, tableware, and etiquette. Conducting seminars throughout the country, she would hear the same questions again and again: Should bread be buttered entirely or bite by bite? What is the purpose of holding a wine glass by the stem or the base? Is handmade crystal worth the price difference?

The Art of the Table answers all these questions and more. A treasure trove of timeless information, this complete guide is to the table what Joy of Cooking is to the kitchen. Von Drachenfels shows us how to select, lay, and use tableware to enhance any dining experience, and how to properly store and care for it -- whether it's your grandmother's porcelain or everyday stainless steel. She provides guidance on mixing and matching tableware patterns; the basics of coffee, tea, and wine; menu planning; napkin folding; and the proper service techniques for all types of entertainment. So as not to let the lore of the table fall away, she delves deep into the history of specific tableware and the customs we keep, making today's practices understandable.

For the novice host, this is an easy-to-follow, step-by-step guide with more than one hundred helpful illustrations. For the host with more experience, it is a rich and exciting source of new ideas. Like its author, whose passion for the table is contagious, The Art of the Table is an authoritative, elegant, and sophisticated resource for all one's dining needs.

Decorative Napkin Folding for Beginners