Come Over for Dinner

Hosting at home, Effortlessly

May 06, 2026

Being able to gather people around your table has recently become the ultimate flex. It’s about creating intimacy. It’s about building community. And quite honestly, about bringing people together, in a world where everyone feels just a little bit lonely.

This has been one of my favourite things to do for years now. From casual hang outs, to picnics to going that extra mile just to do a slightly fancy dinner. There is something about having people over, that I love.

So I will share with you how I curated this French Themed Dinner Party- which all came together only because Sen has been wanting to make Beef Bourguignon for ages now.

How I curate the Menu

I start with what I want to feature as the star of the evening. In this case, it was the Beef Bourguignon that Sen has been wanting to try out for ages. So everything else was built around that.

Natually we leaned in on the French Theme

Lets start with the Appetizers

Since the main meal is going to be heavy on the meat and more on the richer side, the appetizers are going to be a little bit lighter.

I settled on these Caramalised Onion Pastry Bites- which was inspired by the flavours of a french onion soup.

Mushroom Paté & Tomato Chutney on Toast ties in nicely with this theme because it compliments the flavours of the Beef Bourguignon from the mains, but isn’t as heavy and rich as a chicken liver pate. Dolloping the tomato chutney or any chutney on top adds a bit of sweetness and tang to elevate the flavour profile

I also added some sliced Cured Meat & Raspberries to complete platter. Just so that it still looked impressive and full but not too filling and heavy on the stomach.

Welcome Drink

A French Martini is one of my absolute favourite drinks! Usually I would shake these up individually, in a cocktail shaker for anyone who wants one but since this was a French themed dinner I decided to batch make this and serve everyone a French Martini as a welcome drink

Of course, when batch making this I did mess around with the recipe a bit. I pureed up some canned Pineapple with the syrup to give the drink a bit more body.

Into a large jug I poured the pureed Pineapple, Pineapple Juice, Chambord- which is a Raspberry Liquior, Vodka and a pinch of salt. The salt compliments the tang of the pineapple.

Tasted it, and popped it in the fridge until I was ready to serve. I also popped some Raspberries onto skewers and froze them to garnish the drink with later.

That way, once everyone arrived, it was just a matter of popping some ice, stirring everything through and serving it up

Mains

The star of the show was the Beef Bourguignon. Everything else was curated around that.

We needed another protein. But a lighter protein. Something that didnt compete with the Beef. So we settled on a Garlic Prawn, which didn’t feel so French. So I paired with a Beurre Blanc just to tie it in to the theme

Creamy Mashed Potato, to kind of soak up all the gravy from the beef. Sautéd Beans and Asparagus cos we needed some veg. A Rocket Salad with a Balsamic Vinaigrette for freshness.

And I have been wanting to make a Caesar Salad inspired Butter for ages now. So though it wasnt on theme I made and paired it with some warm crusty bread. And it was so so good! I will be making this for many gatherings in the future.

Dessert

I wanted to keep dessert light, cos the the meal was on the heavier side. I was tossing up between a Créme Brulee & a Chocolate Mousse. But I still havent replaced my blowtorch from the time it caught fire a few months ago. So Chocolate Mousse it is.

Served this up with some hot Tea