Food is so much more than what you put in your body.

鈥淔ood is the great connection for us all. When we break bread together, we really are communicating with other people. It鈥檚 a gesture of love,鈥� said Denise Marchessault, the self-described 鈥渁mbitious home cook鈥� who has now published two cookbooks, The Artful Pie Project and British Columbia from Scratch.

Along with being a cookbook author, Marchessault stays busy teaching online cooking classes from her commercial kitchen in Victoria, where people can cook with her live, step by step in their own kitchens or watch and cook later.

For Marchessault, cooking and sharing food is her love language.

For others, breaking bread and immersing ourselves in deep conversations with friends may be something we enjoy partaking in, but planning the event can be quite stressful.

What do I cook? What if I don鈥檛 have enough food? Do I decorate?

HARVEST asked Marchessault if she could share her tips and tricks for hosting a dinner event. Here鈥檚 what she recommended.

Keep it seasonal

鈥淢y planning always is based around the menu.鈥�

The easiest way to plan your menu is to start with what鈥檚 in season. For summer months, this may be fresh fish like salmon or steelhead trout, corn on the barbecue and a kale salad, she recommended.

鈥淭he more appetizers you have, the less you have to worry about the main dish and the fewer portions you have to have.鈥�

Easy appetizers include dips, nuts, tapenade, crackers, strained yogurt and fresh, in-season berries.

鈥淭hose are nice grazing foods that you can put out.鈥�

Keep it simple

It can be easy to go over the top, but what鈥檚 easier is to keep it simple.

Marchessault likes to put craft paper on the table and decorate it with whatever is in season, which you can also theme the party around.

鈥淚f it鈥檚 summer, it鈥檚 going to be wildflowers 鈥� If I have a lot of salal, I鈥檒l decorate with salal, and I would put it directly on the table in a long stream.鈥�

For fall, she recommended leaves and in the winter, pine cones.

Another simple but fun thing you can include is coloured markers next to each person鈥檚 plate or in a few jars on the table.

鈥淯sually, people don鈥檛 pick them up until the wine is flowing, and then it makes for a very interesting evening to see what people have written beside [their plates]. Sometimes it鈥檚 really lovely and sometimes it鈥檚 really silly and sometime鈥檚 it鈥檚 really funny. Sometimes it鈥檚 just pictures and doodling.鈥�

It鈥檚 also a great activity for kids.

As for the rest of the decor, 鈥渓et the food speak,鈥� much of what can be prepared ahead of time, including dressings, pickled vegetables or desserts, Marchessault said.

Maybe it means having the pizza dough made in advance so guests can be ready to top them up with the pre-chopped ingredients.

鈥淏uffet style works best.鈥�

Collaborate

Still intimidated? Rest easy for the rest doesn鈥檛 have to fall on you.

鈥淸Ask guests] to bring something.鈥�

Not only does this take the weight off the host鈥檚 shoulders, but it makes the evening interactive.

鈥淧arties are fun when the host is having fun. If they鈥檙e not鈥攚hen the host is stressed or worried about the timing of the food鈥攊t definitely reflects on how the guests are feeling.鈥�

Guests can alleviate this stress by getting involved. They can bring appetizers, salads or drinks or be in charge of laying leaves across the table.

They can also make their own meals鈥攕ay gyozas, where the dough is premade and they select their own fillings鈥攚hich gives them a sense of pride.

鈥淚t gets them involved and they鈥檙e very proud of it. You know, if you鈥檙e putting [the food] in the oven, they get very territorial. 鈥楴o, that one鈥檚 mine!鈥� 鈥� They鈥檙e very proud of their work when it comes out of the oven.鈥�

Liberate yourself from perfectionism

鈥淚t really, truly is about sharing and I think sometimes because we see such beautiful food all the time in magazines and we see these beautiful spreads, we have these high ideals of what it should look like and what it should be like.

鈥淚t really is about sharing. When someone makes something for me, I am so thrilled. To me, that is a gift.鈥�

Marchessault鈥檚 most recent cookbook, The Artful Pie Project, came out last year and was a collaboration between her and Deb Garlick, artist and photographer.

鈥淪he brought the cookbook to life with her playful blend of creativity and artistry.鈥�

Preparing for the pie cookbook involved a lot of, well, baking pies, which meant further collaboration was needed.

鈥淲hen I was writing this pie book, I did not know any of my neighbours but I was testing a lot of pies 鈥� I would send my husband out with a tray of pies around the neighbourhood and I got to meet so many people that way. People were so touched. It came back to me tenfold,鈥� explained Marchessault, who had neighbours returning the gesture with knitted socks, bottles of wine and vanilla from Mexico.

鈥淲hen you make something for somebody or invite somebody into your home, it is very special 鈥� Plan something, you know, with a little bit of heart, then it always turns out well.鈥�

You can learn more about Marchessault, her cookbooks and cooking classes by visiting denisem.ca.

kim.kimberlin@blackpress.ca
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