Food is one of the main ingredients of a party. Ask anyone about the parties they have recently been to and they will probably make some reference to the food. Or ask someone who has recently organized a party and they will most likely mention the food when they talk about the preparations.
Since it so easy to see that the quality and availability of food are so important in the context of a party, many people also find it one of the most stressful aspects of the organization phase. Timing is usually the most common issue — making sure that food preparation is completely done before the first batch of guests arrive.
It’s not very hard to see that being ready with the cooking is a matter of time management. The preparation process can be broken down into smaller stages, making it easier to organize. Let’s take this approach step by step.
It all starts, of course, with deciding what you would like to serve your guests. Make a list of the ingredients you need and make sure they are all available. This way, you can avoid having to run to the food store in the middle of the preparations to get what’s missing. If you’re not a very experienced cook, you might want to double the amounts — just in case anything goes wrong and you need to start again.
This brings us back to the main problem: time. You should know exactly how much time you need for each stage we mentioned earlier. Make a worst-case scenario to decide when you should begin preparing each dish.
Decide on their sequence and see if there are any particular culinary items that can be prepared at the same time. Don’t count on your guests being half an hour late, better aim at being ready earlier than the moment when you’re expecting the first ones to show up.
This actually is as easy as it sounds. This approach will help lessen pressure on you, which means you’ll be able to enjoy your own party much more.
