Let’s be honest: dining out is one of those little luxuries that always feels good. Whether you’re heading to a fast food establishment or sitting down for a 3-course meal. There’s something about not cooking and having no dishes that brings much satisfaction.
However, unless you have the disposable income to do that every day and for every meal, home cooking is a skill everyone should have. Daily home cooking can feel like a repetitive chore, but there are plenty of adjustments you can make to ensure it’s a more enjoyable experience and feels just like dining out.
1. Setting the Stage: Ambient Environment
Your kitchen setup and dining environment can heavily influence the enjoyment of cooking and eating the food you’ve made.
Dim any harsh overhead kitchen lights and instead go for low-level lamps, warm candles, and under-cabinet LED lights to create that intimate mood of a restaurant.
Curate a dedicated playlist, whether it’s jazz, acoustic or lounge music. This helps mask the background of household noises and helps to create the dining-out energy.
Swap out your everyday placemats for a crisp linen tablecloth, cloth napkins, and your finest glassware and crockery available.
While you might have your phone in a restaurant, you’re not always on it, so consider a ‘no phones at the table’ rule to ensure deep conversation and immersion into the experience are achieved.
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Elevating the Plate: Presentation Secrets
Recreating that restaurant experience in your own home is about elevating the plating and adding extras to the plate, like garnishes, for example.
Focus on building height and using vibrancy in colours. You could garnish your dishes with a little drizzle of extra virgin olive oil or fresh herbs. Consider exploring some recipes from ASK Italian if you’re not sure what to cook for your next meal at home.
Saucing techniques are useful to learn, too, creating a more visually beautiful display before you eat. Be sure to serve your main course on oversized white plates to ensure your home-cooked food pops visually, just like when you’re in a bistro.
3. Curating the Menu: The Restaurant Formula
Look at curating a meal by adding structure to your dishes. Designate a signature welcome cocktail before eating or pair up wines for the dishes you’re enjoying from the comfort of your home dining table.
You could also go the extra mile with a printed menu to really recreate an authentic hospitality experience.
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Operational Magic: Managing the Kitchen Stress
Make sure to prep everything in advance so you’re not sweating over a hot stove when it’s time to eat. Be sure to clean as you go, too. Wash up your mixing bowls and empty out the dishwasher in preparation for all of the dirty crockery and cutlery, so tidying up is as stress-free as possible. It means there’s less work to do after you’ve eaten your meal.
With just a few adjustments, your dining room can easily become an exclusive seat for dining experiences. Pick a night this weekend or opt for a weekday evening if you want to break up a busy week of working.
