Dining In The Great Outdoors

It’s time for the return of posh picnics and bottomless brunches, so BONNIE MAY shares her top tips for relaxed al fresco feasts.

- Bonnie May

WITH the weather now finally starting to be on our side we think about braving the concept of al fresco dining again and with the plethora of choice of delicious foods on our supermarket shelves, entertaining at home has never been so easy.

Gone, I am confident, are the days of having to go to such a lot of work when putting the invitation out to come for lunch. With us all having ever so little time on our side (which does seem somewhat crazy in the world of online shopping and apps for everything surely we should have more time?!), and with a few tricks of the trade, posh picnicking and bottomless brunches provide the perfect scenario to throw open your French doors.

With any form of entertaining, it is always important to ask yourself how much actual time you have to prepare. Different occasions will call for different styles, but invariably we are squeezing this into an already busy schedule. I am the queen of lists and pre-planning and the more I can get done in advance the better. You have heard this before from me - use that freezer, and never worry about what you have served before, having a signature dish is great!

I rarely try something for the first time when I have guests over. It just isn’t necessary to add another layer of pressure. You also don’t need to have 20 items on the menu either and, I have to say, I have fallen into doing this in the past. Now I am firmly in the school of doing something simple but very well and if you do end up hosting a bigger crowd than initially planned, don’t be shy in asking for help. I remember years ago, when my parents entertained, the safari supper was a firm favourite with the local villagers. A modern-day twist on this is great fun with like-minded friends who are more into the social side of life than the Michelin stars.

SERVING TRICKS