When should I begin serving food to my dinner party guests? It depends on the menu. If you are going serve your first formal course at 6:30, I would make sure everybody knows that from the invitation. Deciding...
Deciding when to begin serving food to your guests at a dinner party is an extremely important aspect to the overall success of your event. You want people to leave feeling pleased and satisfied and not like they were either rushed or had to wait too long to eat. A month later, people might not remember what you served or that it was served perfectly at just the right time, but they are likely to remember anything negative!
Brian Hay, a chef and culinary instructor at Austin Community College and a sommelier who also teaches for the International Sommelier Guild, says, "If you are going to serve your first formal course at 6:30, I would make sure everybody knows that from the invitation. Your arrival time is at 6 o'clock, which gives a half hour for appetizers to be passed around. If it's made clear, then I think it's not an issue." Hay also says that although he normally gives people half an hour to show up, it is alright to serve appetizers for up to 45 minutes while waiting for guests to arrive.
There are several factors you need to take into consideration when setting up your meal time, including what you are serving and how late you are willing to entertain.
If it's an extremely formal meal with several courses, you will need to consider the time it will take to serve and consume each of the courses and possibly plan an earlier dinner, such as 5:00, depending on how late you want the evening to go. For shorter meals, anywhere between 6:00 and 7:00 is acceptable.
You will also need to take the time required for your own preperations into consideration and make sure you will have plenty of time to have the food ready for your guests plus a way to keep it warm so it doesn't get cold. If your dinner is being catered, be sure to have the times coordinated with your caterer. They will want your event to run smoothly also as it is good advertising for them. No caterer wants to be known as one who couldn't keep diners happy.
If you plan to serve appetizers while you are waiting for guests to arrive, you will want to stop serving them ten to twenty minutes before your first course is served. You don't want to give people too long to eat appetizers, as you don't want them already full when it's time to sit down for the meal.
Let guests know ahead of time what they can expect. Send out invitations that include a time set for appetizers and a time set for dinner - and then stick to it.
Don't invite people to arrive at 5:00 and then serve them dinner at 7:00. This is just too long to wait and while your guests might like the company, they won't appreciate being kept hungry. Be specific on your invitations, such as "Hors d'oeuvres from 6:00 until 6:30. Dinner served at 6:45."
Remember, when it comes to pulling off a successful dinner party, timing is everything.
