Posted on Thursday, June 5, 2025
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by AMAC, D.J. Wilson
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Expert chefs are not afraid to offer helpful tips that relate to entertaining and cooking for success. Enjoy tidbits of advice from these world-renowned culinary experts and apply them to your next affair!
How to be the host with the most
Have you ever thrown a dinner party where you ran behind schedule, felt flustered, or had the fire alarm go off while preparing food for guests? If so, you might benefit from a little sage advice. (Yes, food pun intended!) There’s simply no better place to go for instruction than to expert chefs. Let’s examine the advice of celebrity chefs – their wisdom gained via years of hard work and hands-on experiences that led them to triumph in the kitchen.
Chef number one:
Ina Garten (Emmy Award-winning chef, American best-selling author and television presenter) Her suggestions: stay organized and cook in advance.
Ina Garten, famously known as “The Barefoot Contessa,” hosted a Food Network cooking show of that same name. Ina is known for many wonderful things – her great recipes, calm demeanor in the kitchen, and advice for flawless entertaining. Showbiz CheatSheet shares, “Entertaining guests can be nerve-wracking, but for Ina Garten, she has developed easy ways to take the stress out of having dinner guests.” Garten believes that the best way to throw a great party is for the host to be relaxed and have fun. For advice, she shares, “I’m very organized. I make a plan for absolutely everything.” She expounds, “I never have anything that has to be cooked while guest are there.”
Chef number two:
Giada De Laurentiis (Emmy Award-winning chef, restaurateur, entrepreneur, television personality and Food Network’s host of Giada at Home) Her suggestions: simplicity and use of quality ingredients.
Giada is an Italian American chef and is also a regular contributor and guest of NBC’s popular morning program entitled Today) Giada is known for her background in culinary training and for her contagious smile. As part of her cooking live segments, she offers some advice. As part of her philosophy, she advocates for simplicity and use of quality ingredients such as freshly grated parmesan cheese, pure garlic, and real sea salt. When making sauces to serve guests, adding some parmesan rinds can elevate a sauce, even on that is storebought, to a whole new level. Per Chowhound, she “…incorporates olive oil into a variety of dishes in her cookbooks, as well as features them on her cooking shows and in appearances.” For dipping sauce for bread, this smiling chef enjoys unfiltered extra virgin olive oil that has a nice, bold flavor. She lets her tastebuds be her guide to create genuinely great yet uncomplicated recipes for guests.
Chef number three:
Bobby Flay (Emmy Award-winning and James Beard Foundation Award winner, American celebrity chef, restaurateur, food writer, television personality, star of Food Network and the Cooking Channel) His suggestions: enjoy your guests and opt for serving family style.
Known for his competitive cooking skills and celebrity chef status, Flay is fit to give great hosting advice. He believes that no matter how famous you are, it’s important to spend quality time with guests. Since food plating (plating uniform individual portions for groups of guests before you sit down) is time consuming, opt for ease and convenience. Per Food Republic, this famous chef prefers to serve his food family style. “Bobby Flay’s preference makes a lot of sense. Family-style meals are not only ideal for the host of a dinner party but also offer a better experience for guests. By placing large servings of each dish on every table, everyone has the opportunity to decide for themselves what they would like to eat.” They describe this action as generous and inclusive, taking the pressure off the host and giving guests freedom to choose foods they’d like best.
Chef number four:
Jamie Oliver (Emmy & British Academy Film Award winning English celebrity chef, BBC star, host of The Naked Chef, restauranteur, and cookbook author) His suggestions: avoid stress and use time wisely to prep ahead.
This famous English chef led a ground-breaking campaign to ban unhealthy food in British schools. He champions the use of local ingredients and healthy foods, so you’ll likely see nothing artificial on his table. Per BuzzFeed, this prominent chef loves having his favorite people around for dinner. “There’s no better feeling than getting all your loved ones together for a slap-up meal and feeding them well.” He offers two rules. One, it should never be stressful. Two, you can never over prepare. He shares that planning helps you stick to rule number one. Oliver prepares as much food ahead of time as possible. He offers this example, “…have lemon wedges cut up and ready to go, soft herb leaves picked into bowls of ice-cold water for freshness, and things like condiments and seasoning all laid out for guest to use.”
Chef number five:
Guy Fieri (American restauranteur, author, and Emmy Award winning television presenter with popular shows such as Guy’s Big Bite, Guy’s Grocery Games, and Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives) His suggestions: use proper cooking and grilling techniques that can maintain flavor. Have patience while cooking to ensure all steps are properly followed.
This fun-loving chef is used to hosting many guests. Per Tasting Table, “…planning ahead and stocking your pantry and fridge with some key ingredients can make a big difference in the food coming out of the kitchen or off the grill.” Guy Fieri is a master at the grill. He offers this tip on cooking burgers. “…you shouldn’t be pressing down on the meat during the cooking process itself, even to check to see how done it is. As soon as you see a little bit of the juice float to the top of the burger, flip it. Do the same thing on the other side. Call it a day.” Not pressing down on the burger is one example of avoiding common mistakes that can dry out food. If you leave the burger alone, it will have more juice and flavor. He explains, “…let them marinate in their own juices. Your mouth will thank you for it.” He also cautions that patience is vital. “If your wings aren’t as flavorful as you think they should be, it’s likely because you didn’t have the patience to cook them long enough.”
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