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Filtering by Category: HOSPITALITY
Recently, the Dean sat down with StyleBlueprint to offer a few tips and guidelines for hosting a truly memorable dinner party: whom to invite, what to wear, how to make it special, and more. You can read the article here (and feel free to tell us about your favorite parties below!)
One tip the Dean picked up this Summer in France and adopted at home in Charleston is an elegant way to serve nuts during cocktail hour. Fill one bowl with nuts and another with little spoons -- for instance, those sterling demitasse spoons your grandmother left you that lay hidden and unused in their felt rolls. Show your guests how to take a spoon, fill with nuts, then place nuts in their hands and snack away. The French approach accomplishes two results: individual portion control and avoiding fingertips in the food. YUCK!
It's inappropriate to talk about current politics at any dinner party, ever, or even worse, to assume that everyone you know thinks like you do. Almost always the topic (along with sex and religion, categorically) leads to disaster, outrage, gnashing of teeth. We entertain our friends and go to parties to relax and enjoy ourselves, not to get blood boiling.
When you are at a party and the talk goes to politics, even when everyone agrees with each other, turn to your neighbor and begin another subject or else take a break. Find the powder room, find seconds, find another bottle of wine. There are finer things to discuss during social situations.
F.O.M.O. Folks! You are missing out if you do not know it is NOT okay to serve yourself first, yourself only, yourself continuously. The modern approach to eating is gluttonous.
How to tell if you (or your partner) are a glutton? Use your eyes, pay attention, look around the table!
Bolt hits his top speed of about 27 miles per hour at the 70 meter mark. A cheetah reaches their top speed of 60 miles per hour in 3 seconds. You, my dear, have all night to reach your peak, and win your gold medal. Cheetahs, Usain Bolt and other incredible fast runners have to slow down quickly, after a few seconds. Hosts slow down too, the moment the first guest comes through the front door. That’s when we get our groove, relax into our rhythm and timing, pace and energy to set the mood. Our purpose is to lull guests into relaxed, comfortable feeling, or sometimes an anticipatory excited state…depending on our goals.
Usain and cheetahs have more in common than fast running -- they are both beautiful and graceful, as you will be too when you greet your guests, scented and dressed, everything ready to go. Going for gold means thinking through that first drink, the timing of dinner, music for mood, lighting to create a mystery (relying on the full moon outdoors.) Notice that food is not the most important part of entertaining at home. The end goal is to make guests feel good inside: connected, seen, heard, entertained. Imagine all this taking place in your own four walls! It’s amazing what a house can do if you just set it up correctly. Your impact can be lasting, solid gold in the Academy’s world. Filling others with delight, even for a couple of hours, makes your own life more enjoyable and can spark surprising results. Watch what happens!
One of Dean Pollak's favorite friends could be the coolest woman in the world. She should be Head Dean of the Academy, but her life is too full and she doesn’t have time to share her secrets. Luckily for you, the current Dean does have the time and is willing to pull back the curtain on this doyenne's latest extravaganza: a white tie ball held in one of New York's grandest party spaces, the recently redone Rainbow Room in honor of the host's granddaughter.
The room is the talk of the town, and this party will be the talk of generations to come. No detail was too tiny for this party genius, and not one of those details was over the top. Our lady has perfect pitch -- from drawing up multi-generational guest lists, seating guests so each feels thrilled, to timing, pace, arrangements, music content and volume, food and drink, and every single particular in between -- each detail woven together to envelop everyone in a web of fantasy for one wonderful night.
Flower arrangements as big as buildings...
Chandeliers raining down crystals and music for every moment: string instruments to set the mood during cocktails, allowing all ages to chatter...
A 22-piece band (yes, you read that correctly) seamlessly segueing into dance tunes while eight pros twirled their partners, like magnets, pulling guests from dinner tables onto the revolving floor...
Spinning so slowly, like an old-fashioned LP, that at first the Dean wondered, Am I tipsy? Is there really magic in the world? Can I cover a dance floor so expertly? No! It’s the moving floor!
The Deb. and accompanying rappers whooped it up in the middle of the crowded dance floor, hours and hours after start time.
Some nights should never end!
Wondering what to do when a dinner party goes south?
*Luckily behavior this bad is a reality on reality shows only and not likely to occur at any real life dinner party.
The definition of FOMO: Fear of Missing Out.
Are you suffering from FOMO? The Charleston Academy is particularly designed to cure this contemporary malady. Suffer no more! Learn how to build a beautiful and rewarding life so that YOU will start living the life that OTHERS fear they are missing. This is not rocket science, people. With a little guidance and hand holding from the Dean, paths will open that you may not have envisoned for yourself. Relationships, experiences, living spaces, free time, balance, behavior, social ease -- there is nothing we can't improve. The Acadmey is a cure all for this ailment of FOMO. Our solutions:
Step One: Subscribe to periodic newsletters and weekly blogs. Frequent tiny tips are easy to digest, like spoonfuls of great tasting medicine.
Step Two: Plan a social engagement that is easy as PIE. Here's one that will mark you as a person with her/his very own style. We will keep it a secret that you borrowed the Academy's Cliff Notes to stake your territory as the person who knows exactly what to do and is confident enough to pull off something original.
Bake a Summer Pie. Make your own crust, throw in some sugared and spiced Summer peaches, buy some vanilla ice cream, whip some fresh cream. Email the Academy if the way to whipped cream is a mystery! You are giving your guests a choice on how to gild their lily, their piece of pie, in addition to showing off your culinary skills.
Invite a group. Not just your posse. Make sure you invite a person you want to get to know better. Our tip: schedule last minute (day of or day before) so you only gather people who really want to come. Two important truths you must pay attention to (1) whoever comes is meant to be there and (2) do not freak out that your current crush didn't show up. Word will get around on how cool, original and fun your pie party was. Next jump up you will find yourself turning people away. They will all have their own cases of FOMO.
Set a table/sideboard/porch table/kitchen with the pies, forks, cool dessert size plates, bowl of hand whipped cream, another of ice cream, a pitcher full of sunflowers or tall greens cut from outside, wine glasses...and don't forget napkins.
Play these tunes to set the mood for dessert, from musical wizard Alex Collier* and finally...
Serve this wine, which our favorite sommelier Femi Oyediran** describes as "a late harvest wine from South Africa that easily contends as being one of the greatest sweeties out there. Made from the Muscat grape, it is a must-have on the dinner table at the end of a meal. A charming combination of orange peel, honey, and exotic spice, Vin de Constance is the perfect match for peach pie you didn't know you were looking for!"
***These dudes are the definition of cool, and you will be too when you follow our advice. You will be well on your way to making others a little envious of your life, parties and style. You are erradicating FOMO from your life, but possibly spreading it to others. Oh Well, we can only help those who follow the Academy!
Recently, the supremely original Madame Magar stopped by for an Academy lunch, bringing along her sumptuous Indigo-dyed silks, linens and baskets. The artist AKA Leigh Magar remains widely known for her handmade hats sold at Barney's and beyond. But her current "life's work" harvesting and hand-dying with Indigo speaks to the legacy of Eliza Lucas Pinckney, who championed the crop on 18th-century Carolina soil.
A quilt, featuring Eliza Pinckney's profile, hand-dyed and stitched by Mme. Magar.
Two years ago, Magar moved from her Charleston home to a Clark & Menefee-designed house on 400 acres in rural John's Island. She planted her own heirloom seeds there and eventually discovered Indigo plants growing wild in the backyard! Instead of making Indigo powder like Eliza Pickney did, Madame adheres to the ancient methods of the Greeks and Romans, soaking Indigo leaves to prepare the dye, and then dipping the softest silks into her dye to fashion napkins, tea towels, aprons, handkerchiefs and scarves.
The Madame at work...
On stacks of indigo-dyed napkins.
So, in honor of the Madame of Indigo, we threw an Indigo-themed luncheon. Naturally, front and center stood the Academy Salad, this time gloriously embellished with crispy slices of blue potatoes plus roasted Mepkin Abbey shitake mushrooms. To really guild the lily, the croutons were smeared with whole milk ricotta and drizzled with olive oil. Local heirloom tomatoes added red and yellows to our blue salad. Dessert was more blues in the form of blueberry pie! Who knew the blues could be so delightful?
It's never to early to be thinking of Winter cockails, especially when one friend gives you a GREAT gift and another, an even better idea! The gift was a large mason jar filled with Moonshine, and the idea was what to do with all that white whiskey.
Cameron Eubanks, star real estate agent and super star of Bravo’s Southern Charm, presented the Dean with a bottle of Moonshine made by one of her husband’s patients. Another friend, who happens to be Director of the esteemed Metropolitan Museum's Collections, came for dinner, spied the hooch on the kitchen counter and immediately recommended soaking cherries in the elixir. Is everyone at the Met a painting, sculpture AND cocktail expert?
Being the ever-resourceful leader that the Charleston Academy requires, the Dean knows a genius idea when she hears one. Once the mason jar was opened, the aroma intoxicated in the most delicious way, defying hooch's longtime reputation as a toxic, radiator-strength, not-to-mention sometimes illegal, hillbilly concoction. By the following morning the counter in the Academy’s lab was covered with jars filled with cherries and white lightening.
Twenty four hours later and tonight is the NIGHT to bite into the cherry (because who can follow Carrie’s advice and wait?) For a dinner party dessert, we'll serve a moonshine cherry sitting atop scoops of vanilla ice cream and roasted peaches for an Academy Sundae. The next taste will have to wait until October, Old Fashioned month, when we will serve our trademark cocktail in a flat-bottomed crystal glass, embellished with a twist of citrus, Party Ice, and cherries bursting with hooch.
P.S. POP QUIZ! What is the best part of attending class at the Charleston Academy of Domestic Pursuits, besides learning how to live a more beautiful life? The answer: No other institution of higher learning starts class with a cocktail!
Antique soup plates...
antique dinner plates...
Ted Mueling salad plates (complete with bugs!)
& a silver chalice, to reflect it all.
The Dean decided to give an all-green dinner party in honor of both the weather and the surname of an esteemed invitee. So, green plates, green cocktails, green foods became the theme of the night. Luckily the guest of honor was amused. His eyes twinkled when he heard that a theme was involved, and twinkled even more when he heard that the theme was no doubt his favorite color.
Generally themes are too silly to be discussed (with the exception of Halloween), but a green theme is not too serious. Maybe a little silly, but so what? It’s fun! Anything to please a guest, and any excuse to serve margaritas at cocktail hour.
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The centerpiece? Greens snipped from the public park across the street. Shhh...
From the moment the Dean woke up on Tuesday morning, she could tell something was different. There was fresh energy, a new crispness in the air. It didn’t take her long to put two and two together... Southern Charm’s 'Cooking with Cameran' segment aired the night before and the Academy hotline was positively abuzz.
Thank you Cameran for coming to the Academy for help! You are now on your way to being a Domestic Diva.
What this show made the Dean realize is that the Academy is not helping nearly as many people as we should be. So we used the May-mester to create our new curricula and wrote an e-book for your very own minute-by-minute party plan. Yes, you can throw the celebration of a lifetime at the drop of a hat! And for those lucky enough to be invited to said celebration-of-lifetime at the last minute, our two cents on receiving an invitation at the last minute:
The last minute party requires a two-way avenue of communication. If you wake up Saturday morning and are lucky enough to have a text inviting you for drinks or dinner that night be sure to answer promptly. The inviter has put himself out there and given himself a short time frame. This is a numbers game and size matters. Your host won’t cook for two people what he would for twelve, so answer quickly so he can get his game plan ready. Everyone hates turning down invitations but the last minute invite is guilt-free because it is highly conceivable that you would have already had plans. Your response is essential.
Southern Charm Season 3 premieres tonight!
On next week's episode, the Academy's very own Dean lends a hand to the fabulous Cameran Eubanks, a Mama Hen on the show, with her first ever at-home dinner party. Check out our guide, Cliff Notes to Cameran's Southern Charm Dinner Party, available to download directly from our site. Maybe your style matches hers, or maybe not…
Entertaining at home is all about attitude, all yours. It’s not about rules, copycatting, or tremendous pressure. There is no one way to give a dinner party. The way to give unforgettable parties is to develop your own personal style and use it 100%.
Are you a Nervous Nelly? Too many children to contend with, or hours slaving away at work? You need a plan that is streamlined and a menu to match. There is nothing wrong with ordering your city’s finest pizza, or serving grilled cheese sandwiches with craft beer, or even champagne; this shows spunk and creativity.
Even foodies who love cooking, grilling, smoking, or pickling, might still need a guide to entertaining, lighting, setting the table, centerpiece arrangements, timing, organization. One thing is certain: nobody comes to a dinner party at anyone’s house, even the White House, for the food. It’s all about the company and connections.
The Academy’s expertise is developing a plan that works for your life and style so you can give the best party on your block. And of course we are also geniuses with making a timeline that is positively foolproof. Purchase the Cliff Notes (for less than $3!) and relax at every one of your future dinner parties, just like Cameran and the Southern Charm crew.
Haute To Go, Holly G.-style. 1961.
The Charleston Wine & Food fest begins today! In the midst of all action, the Charleston Academy has found ways to celebrate our loved local chefs from the comfort of home.
In the space of 20 hours, the Dean once attended two totally different parties with a single brilliant solution: takeout food that went far beyond just calling for a pizza. At one, the host was expecting a James Beard award-winning chef and called the Academy all aquiver about what to serve. We had an immediate answer, not only innovative but it was also humorous. We told her to order the entire meal from one of the OTHER James Beard Award-winning chefs in town's restaurant. This would keep everyone on their toes while the hostess received all the credit (and all she had to do was make a phone call.) We realize this is a very expensive dinner party, but it is one that also astounds with its originality and cheekiness.
The other event benefited from takeout, but for a totally different reason. Anybody with toddlers knows that taking them to restaurants results in a huge bill and not one moment of peace. Even the Dean gets tired of cooking but never of seeing her favorite people; so if toddlers are part of the event, even if there is just one, then at-home entertaining is a must. You can put your toddler down for a nap and enjoy your guests because the food is taken care of. One partner can go get the food while the other puts out the plates, silverware and napkins. When the guests arrive, down goes Jr. and the party begins!
Most restaurants that serve food will let you order and take it home with you. Pizza is delicious, no question, and there will always be a time and place for Chinese food, but don't limit yourself to these old war horses. Charleston has a variety of local favorite options to choose from: Artisan Meat Share, goat.sheep.cow, Ted's Butcher Shop, Butcher & Bee, Chick's Fry House, plus most of the finer dining restaurants in town (if you call, perhaps not at the last minute or at the height of an 8PM dinner rush, and ask nicely.)
The show must go on, folks, even when you don't feel like cooking or going out at all. The Academy eliminates that option with a friendly reminder that Charleston's world-class chefs and restaurants are always just a moment away.
“This is the way the world [/year] ends
Not with a bang but a whimper [almost].”
After all the sparkly Christmas parties, crushing crowds, decorated windows, doors and trees, not to mention major cooking…New Year’s Eve could be a time for going off radar. A big New Year’s bash is unabashedly out to blow all your circuits -- isn't that the whole point? Make no mistake, this night's party takes sustained effort both to organize and enjoy (as any New Year's host will attest.) This year the Academy takes our cue from our favorite poet, T.S. Eliot, and decided to end our year with a whimper.
How do you orchestrate a whimper that is also unforgettable? An evening worth staying up for, and going out to? Start by inviting several couples for a champagne cocktail before they go off to blow out all their circuits, but invite one or two of those couples to stay longer for dinner. New Year's Eve isn't without a little over the top, but keep it classy & do it with your menu. Key words: Simple and Extravagant.
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We also like to to have plenty of seltzer on hand, because bubbles, as well as the words to Auld Lang Syne so that everyone can join in a round of song to usher in the New Year.
Here's to you, your parties, and 2016!
![Ava Gardner & the very chic-est of compacts. [Photograph by Ida Von Dee.]](https://images.squarespace-cdn.com/content/v1/527a76b5e4b07965b54b1e2b/1449840205731-7GWEZS25JH7OPU7HG1JZ/image-asset.jpeg)
Ava Gardner & the very chic-est of compacts. [Photograph by Ida Von Dee.]
Have we mentioned it's party season? And somehow it always seems that while that may be true of the whole Western world, it's at a real fever pitch here in Charleston. We always manage to find an excuse to gussy up, go out, share a cocktail, and make merry with our neighbors.
In all the commotion, we can hardly see straight, let alone focus on the mirror long enough to put on our faces. So we turned to our friend Tim Quinn, Celebrity Face Designer at Giorgio Armani, with all of our burning "party-ready" queries. He was so gracious to oblige.
Q. How should I prepare my face for a party?
For a party, I usually recommend a hydrating mask first and foremost. I love the Luminessence Mask, which totally infuses your skin with hydration and brightness. If you haven't had enough rest, you need lots of moisturizer, then a lightweight light-reflecting foundation.
Q. How does it differ from daily makeup?
Typically for daily makeup, start with a tinted moisturizer to make sure that your skin is even...
Q. If you don’t wear much makeup, what do you simply have to do before going out?
Perhaps just terrific eyeliner, a flush of color on the cheeks and pop up the lip. You don't need to go overboard if you're not used to a lot of make up.
Q. Eyes and lips? Or just one?
Try a smokey eye. Play up the lip a little bit if you're just doing a classic holiday look.
Q. Is there a way to avoid lipstick on the wine glass?
Use a straw with your champagne!
Q. Is it okay to apply lipstick at the table?
It's OK to apply lipstick at the table if you have a chic compact. I think there's actually quite at an art of seduction to a woman using her lipstick and applying at the table with a a beautiful compact and perhaps even a lip brush.
Q. What do you think about glitter on the face? Should it stay on the tree?
Glitter should stay away from your face. Shimmer is fine, glitter is not.
Q. What are your views on getting work done in your 20s? In your 50s? (Asking for a friend. : )
I've seen this new trend in Hollywood: people getting worked on at younger ages. While I'm starting to think that the face God gave us was just a suggestion, we should keep it to a minimum. Little tweaks at a maturing age, I'm all for...but starting too young leads to disaster.
Many Thanks to Tim Quinn!
There are a million and two engagements happening in Charleston this Holiday season, per usual. Were you invited to all of them? No, probably not (full disclosure: neither were we) but perhaps could be in future seasons if you heed this advice.
It's not Rocket Science. Just say "Thank You!" in the most memorable way possible: a handwritten note, in specific detail, on your favorite stationary.
Time for Math class at the Academy, Put away your calculators -- this one is easy. What do you get when you add one part water with one part sugar over heat? The answer...delicious drinks!
The secret to so many great cocktails is Simple Syrup. No need to buy this in a bottle. All you have to do is count to two: equal parts sugar and water, boiled for a minute, and then stored in your refrigerator for up to a month. What could possibly be easier?
James Bond may not have preferred ice in his cocktail, but at the Academy, it's paramount. The old adage is true: "You can never have enough glasses, nor enough ice." But why not serve your drinks over ice worth remembering? With just a few 7" water balloons (and tin foil to stabilize them in your freezer), you can impress your guests with idiosyncratic spheres that will keep cocktails colder, longer. Nobody wants a watered-down drink, ever.
Here's why our freezer is filled with balloons:
May we suggest serving Party Ice with a tipple of Old Weller, or better yet, an Old-Fashioned made with it. Cheers!