My tips for summer hosting!

1. Get inspired by fresh, seasonal produce: In summer, we’re lucky to have so many fresh ingredients at our disposal! A quick trip to the market is all it takes to fill up on seasonal produce at its peak. The fruits and vegetables of the moment are so tasty that you don’t usually need to add a lot of ingredients to create a delicious dish. Take tomatoes and strawberries, for example. When these products are in season in Quebec, simply serve them together in a salad with a drizzle of olive oil, lemon juice, fresh herbs, salt and pepper, and you’ve got a superb accompaniment to your grilled meats! Simple and delicious!

2. Choose a theme: I love theme parties! When I’m entertaining, choosing a theme is a great guide for choosing recipes. It seems to help me find lots of inspiration!

Here are a few theme ideas:

•  Aperitif evening: The advantage of a “bite-sized” formula is that you don’t need a main course! It’s a festive idea, and super convenient if you want to prepare everything in advance. Try my crostini with caramelized onions and pear, my mini skewers of marinated cantaloupe and prosciutto, or my whipped tofu dip with grilled tomatoes! I like to offer my guests two or three cocktail choices. For this evening, I’d definitely opt for an extra dirty martini, a whisky sour or a nice rosé wine if it’s all happening outside!

• Italian feast: A classic that’s sure to be a hit! Pasta, pizza, or both! To start the evening, I like the concept of antipasti: a plate of Italian-style appetizers where you can arrange marinated vegetables, croutons, bruschetta, cold cuts… Let yourself go! As for cocktails, I’d offer Bellinis and Aperol Spritz.

• Garden party: The perfect theme for warm summer evenings! For the decor, I’d opt for flowers, a colorful tablecloth and candles. For the food, I’d suggest a fresh, mostly cold menu, accompanied by grilled meats!

• Monochrome menu: We choose one color and build our menu around it. This kind of idea is always fun, and allows us to really push our creativity. Green, red and yellow are usually the colors that inspire me the most!

• Spanish flavors: tapas mode! Suggest several small dishes inspired by the colors and abundant flavors of this Mediterranean country. I suggest you prepare my famous patatas bravas recipe! And for the drink: Sangria! It’ll be a fiesta, I promise!

• Greece on your plate: Everyone loves Greek food! Once again, you could go “tray” mode for the aperitif: olives, pitas, hummus, tzatziki, etc. For the main course, if you’ve got a lot of time, you could go “tray” mode. For the main course, if you have access to a barbecue, I recommend souvlaki!

3. Prepare as many elements as possible in advance: When I’m entertaining, I want to avoid at all costs having to spend the evening in the kitchen, far from my guests! That’s why I like to organize and prepare certain elements of my menu in advance, to maximize my time with my loved ones. For example, I try to cut my vegetables and fruit beforehand, or make my dressing or sauce in advance.

4. Always have non-alcoholic options: I like Seventh Heaven and Romeo’s Gin non-alcoholic ready-to-drinks (without gin ;))