welcome
Welcome to my blog, on all that is entertaining. My intention is to inspire you to entertain by sharing experiences and providing articles, recipes, helpful tips and hints on all elements of entertaining. I am passionate about entertaining, which I have been doing for over 20 years, and am of the belief that the ultimate compliment you can pay anyone is to prepare them a meal from the heart. I believe that entertaining should be a joy, not a chore, and I want to inspire people to entertain.
I am not a trained chef – I am a self-taught cook. I have an extensive collection of cookbooks and subscribe to numerous food magazines, and my skills have been developed through trial and error. In my experience, people’s reluctance to entertain is often because they feel that the lack cooking skills, but to quote from the movie Ratatouille, “anyone can cook”!
It is my opinion that one of the key fundamentals to successful entertaining is being organised and advance preparation. By having the majority of the food prepared in advance, you are left free to enjoy yourself and the company of your guests. Who wants to feel like a kitchen slave while their guests are drinking their expensive champagne?
My blog will provide plenty of useful tips and hints to get you out of your kitchen and into your party. Please have a look at my website www.lifesafeast.com.au where you will find a number of interesting and useful articles. I also publish a free monthly newsletter, called entertaining made easy – click here to subscribe.
Gail
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7 comments
Being a fellow Aussie (living in the UK) .I love your ideas. Good luck with it all. I am a newbie to this but just really love food experiences and writing about them. Got some friends from Perth coming to us in Oxfordshire this weekend. Can’t stop thinking about what to prepare.
Hi Anthony, thanks for your comments. I am planning a dinner party for 10 to celebrate my husband’s 10 year anniversary living in Oz (he’s Dutch). So it’s going to be an Aussie theme – prawns, lamb, pavlova… Stay tuned as it develops! If you’re interested in entertaining, you may like to sign up for my free monthly newsletter, which provides all sorts of information and articles on entertaining. The link is http://www.lifesafeast.com.au/subscribe.htm.
Good luck with your dinner with your Perth friends!
Gail
Being a thoroughly commited foodie, I love what you are doing – keep it up. Like you, I take great pleasure cooking up a storm in the kitchen. I’m a self-taught chef (not a cook), who learned out of necessity as my first wife hated cooking, and it showed. I made the decision to take over the role of culinary aficionado following one particularly disastrous dinner party. My wife decided to pre-cook the dinner in the afternoon. The menu was grilled (actually incinerated) chops, mashed potatoes, boiled frozen peas with a slice of boiled pumpkin for colour. When it was time to sit down for dinner, she simply threw all the pre-cooked plates into the microwave and PRESTO! One guest was trying so hard to cut through the boot-leather-like texture of his chop, that it flew off his plate, and on to the floor. With that, he announced he was going into the kitchen to make himself a vegemite sandwich, to which all the guests followed suit. My wife thought it was hilarious and a highly successful dinner party. Henceforth she was banned for ever from the kitchen, which henceforth became my domain.
That’s hilarious Cam! I’m sure everyone has had a culinary disaster at one time or other. A couple of weeks ago I mistook table salt for sugar when making pears poached in port (my excuse is that I was using some else’s kitchen…) Thankfully I discovered my mistake before serving dessert!
Hi Gail,
Just thought I’d let you know I had my first mango of the season on the weekend!!! My neighbour had a surplus & generously handed over a shopping bag full…sorry to have to tell you this
And they have been nothing short of delicious!!! I have had them with vanilla ice cream & custard for an easy dessert!! I am going to make the mango tart with the next batch I think…yum!!!!
Love reading your website & getting the monthly updates!! I will be looking for tips on ideas for a party which caters for itself…ie platter finger food that will be interesting & nourish guests, but allowing the host to be free (virtually) of having top do much more than eyeball the platters & replenish them as they empty!! Any tips or suggestions would be most appreciated!!
What are your thoughts on a chocolate fondue set, with assorted fruits for dipping? I have been thinking of getting one for a friend for a birthday gift, to go with the self-catering party.
Fantastic website, great pics, brilliant tips, recipes & ideas!!!
Talk soon
Caroline
Hi Caroline, I’m extremely envious that you get given bags full of mangoes for nothing. I might just have to move up to Darwin!
You’ve inspired me to write an article about easy finger food, so stay tuned for some ideas in the next couple of days.
Re. the fondue set, I think it’s a great idea. Fondue is supposedly back in, and everyone loves chocolate so you can’t go wrong. So yes, go for it!
Last weekend I had the absolute pleasure to spend around 4+ hours with Gail & 3 other lovely new friends attending one of her new Cooking classes ! Our theme was ” Australian Christmas Feast ” & along the way learnt some great simple tips, met some really lovely people & helped prepare & EAT a 3 course meal . I would highly recommend one of Gails classes to anyone …attend alone , with a friend/s or with a group … you will learn , laugh & go home with a very full stomach ( plus a load of receipes & guidelines in your ‘ take home pack ‘ to replicate & impress friends ). Thanks so much Gail , I will be back for another course , it was Fantastic !!!!
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