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The question
I always struggle with whether to plate the food at my dinner parties or to serve it family-style so guests can pick their own portions. Any advice?
The answer
It depends on what you're serving, the size of the crowd and the tone you'd like to establish. Plated courses can suggest a level of formality and plating for six or more can take effort and time that's better spent socializing with your guests. Setting out platters, by contrast, can loosen up a crowd: Your guests are forced to mix, to pass dishes, to gripe about being stuck in front of the Brussels sprouts bowl, in a way that having them passively accept prepared dishes just doesn't do. I typically do both: I'll set out platters of hors d'oeuvre and mains, but then plate dessert. Everybody's relaxed by then, and the evening's tone is already set. And for home cooks, at least, it's usually far easier to make individual dishes of hazelnut cake with chocolate gelato and candied orange peel look impressive than meat and potatoes.
Follow food writer and restaurant columnist Chris Nuttall-Smith on Twitter: @cnutsmith. Have an entertaining dilemma? E-mail style@globeandmail.com.