HOW TO ENTERTAIN NOW
From picky bits to a posh bar cart, Laura Jackson reveals her tips for relaxed, fuss-free hosting
THE DINNER PARTY TABLE
‘I love laying a table; even if it’s just with the children, I’ll get out the placemats and [daughter] Sid puts a flower or a weird stem from the garden in something.
‘When I’m doing the table for guests, I use a white or blue tablecloth with jazzy napkins, or a jazzy tablecloth with plain napkins – I don’t like things that are too matchy.
‘I love flowers on the table but also displaying fruit or vegetables. It’s quite cool now to have a lot of the same thing on display, such as a bowl of plums or a plate of pears. Put them on a tray together and they create a centrepiece.
‘I’m also into using what I’ve got at home and repurposing it. Not got a vase? Use a cup and tie a ribbon around it. Have herbs and no flowers? Put a pot of rosemary on the table and tie a bow around it.
‘I always use candles for atmosphere and they give the feel that you’ve really thought about the table. Tying lots of ribbon around a candelabra is a really easy way to make an eye-catching feature or you can simply stick one candle in a potato – very avant-garde!
‘I serve water in coloured glasses and wine in Glassette Frenchette wine glasses. I never lay the table with more than one plate per setting – way too fiddly. But I do sometimes make a little menu using cheap and cheerful calligraphy pens and a sheet of A4. It’s really easy but a lovely touch.’
There are few things Laura Jackson likes more than hosting. She has long loved cooking for people; she was an early supper club organiser, rustling up moreish meals for foodies in her Hackney warehouse apartment almost a decade ago. During lockdown, her #makeamealofit hashtag became a philosophy that still continues to resonate. And today, barely a week goes by without her laying the enormous table in her light-filled kitchen-dining room, ready for platters laden with delicious things.
There may be talk of the dinner party being dead, but for Jackson, it is very much alive and feasting. With margaritas.
‘No matter what the budget, the way you can show people that you love and care is by cooking for them and spending time on them,’ she says. ‘Especially now, as eating out has got so expensive. The dinner party today is not about being fancy – it could be a shop-bought lasagne with homemade salad, or a pot luck, with everyone bringing a dish. It’s a way of bringing people together, sitting around the table without a screen or phone and just chatting; that,
Mint and cream dish, £30, pink and red dish, £20, pink and green napkin, £65 for 4, all Matilda Goad; tray, £655, L’Objet at Harrods; blue and white plates, £24 each, and pink bowl, £24, Burleigh; green and white stripe napkins, £29.50, blue and white napkins, £12 each, bamboo cutlery, from £27 each, and blue tumblers, £74.50 each, all Nina Campbell; white bowl, £250, Joanna Ling Ceramics, blue gingham platter, £75, Rosie Gore, flower print napkin, £18, Rebecca Udall, jute placemats, £50 for 6, Sunday And Story, pink glass, £25, Petra Palumbo, and wine glasses, £50 for 4, all Glassette; vase, £85, and candelabra, £65 each, Cox & Cox; ribbon, Hobbycraft; tablecloth, serving spoon, stainless steel ice cream bowls, all Laura’s own
While she has never been a formal host – ‘You will never find me making a jus,’ she once said – her unfussy style is now cemented by the fact she has three children under five and a full-on professional life. Glassette, the online homewares marketplace she launched in November 2021 and which now represents 400 UK designer makers (with 700 on the waiting list) is currently crowd-funding to allow for expansion into the US, plus there are podcasts to record, events to attend and regular television presenting work. ‘It is really important to me to still be able to host people so it’s about finding shortcuts, tricks to make the best of the time I have and the night that I have planned,’ she says.
Tall jug (used as vase), £280, orange jug, £175, and wine glasses, £300 for 2, all Gather Glass, blue mug, £35, Florence Mytum, striped platter, £150, KS Creative Pottery, striped napkins, £36 for 4, Atelier Raff, all Glassette; striped vase, £145, Henry Holland Studio; bowls, Laura’s own. (On mantelpiece) vase, £440 Miyelle, wavy candleholder, £65, Florence Mytum, candlesticks, £60 each, Tooka, all Glassette. Laura wears blazer, £175, and trousers, £140, both Sézane
That means keeping it simple. ‘I don’t do anything that takes too long or makes too much washing up!’ she laughs. ‘Instead, it’s about dishes that I know and are easy, but look elevated. I also buy things in – I’ve never made a meal where I’ve cooked everything from scratch. I also serve dishes where a lot of it can be done in advance.’
She never serves a starter at the table. ‘I have a kitchen island and I place some nibbles on it; I love it when people are gathered around it, chatting and eating. It’s informal but very communal and feels really nice. You could do the same thing around a coffee table. I don’t do anything fancy – I buy a baguette, slice and toast it to make crostinis by adding some crab or shopbought tapenade or chopped tomatoes, plus crudités with shop-bought houmous along with a plate of salamis and a bowl of olives.’
THE PICKY BITS COFFEE TABLE
‘The coffee table is the perfect set-up for a super-relaxed get-together. Instead of a tablecloth, I cover the table with butcher’s paper cut from a roll. People can draw on it and that makes it fun. If friends are coming for a movie night, I’ll put flowers in pretty vases or jugs, along with colourful napkins, and great glassware.
‘I really love hosting with the kids now too, so I’ll have friends and their children round. I’ll still have the paper so the kids can scribble. We’ll eat pizzas – if I’m feeling fancy, we’ll make our own or I’ll get shop-bought ones and the kids will choose their toppings.’
For mains, Jackson has go-to recipes that she knows work and that take the stress out of hosting. ‘For instance, a roast chicken I can just put in the oven and leave for two hours and halfway through the cooking just bang in some potatoes,’ she says. ‘I’ll serve that with a salad along with a harissa mayo.’
She doesn’t do single plate servings. ‘That feels too much like a restaurant,’ she says. ‘Instead, I put everything on a big plate and everyone helps themselves. I think passing around food is really lovely, and people helping themselves feels really inclusive.’
The meal always ends with an easy pudding. ‘Lemon posset is the easiest thing to make, or I’ll serve a shop-bought meringue with some fruit and ice cream or get a big bowl of ice and place tubs of ice cream in it that everyone can help themselves to,’ she says.
Bar cart, £2,000, Jonathan Adler; green ice bucket, £338, Nina Campbell; decanter, £125, and shot glasses, £85 for 4, Tom Dixon; tumblers, from £26 each, Late Afternoon, octagonal plate, £150, Sascal Studio, pink serving plate, £65, Aeyglom, all Glassette; tiger and leopard napkins, £145 for set of 4, L’Objet; cocktail glasses, Laura’s own. (On the sideboard) white vase, £450, Miyelle, striped ice bucket, £125, Tooka, both Glassette; red napkins, £145 for set of 4, L’Objet; napkin rings, £8 each, Nina Campbell; lamp and small bowl, Laura’s own. Laura wears blazer, £975, and trousers, £594, both Bella Freud
In the hours before people arrive, she will prep everything. ‘If it’s a dinner, I tell guests to arrive at 7.30pm,’ says Jackson. ‘I put the kids down at 7, then lay the table. Part of the ceremony for me is taking the time to make it look beautiful and inviting.
‘During my last pregnancy, I really lost my love for hosting,’ she continues. ‘I didn’t want to cook anything or see anyone – I basically just cooked crumpets or waffles for myself – and I wondered whether my zest for cooking and hosting a dinner party would ever come back. But it really has and I am so pleased. I love showing my love through food.’
THE COCKTAIL BAR
‘When guests arrive I always offer them a cocktail or glass of wine. We always have a bottle of something in the fridge, and there’s no expiry date on booze so you don’t have to worry about it!
‘I love a bar cart because you can dress it up. For drinks, use beautiful glassware and serveware that adds to how fabulous it looks, and there is so much gorgeous barware available now, too.
‘You can make it really easy and serve ready-to-go cocktails like espresso martinis or make your own. I always have limes in the house for making margaritas. Even if people aren’t drinking alcohol, you can make the evening feel special with a mocktail or a cordial mixed with fizzy water. I recently got a fizzy water machine from Aarke and I absolutely love it! It’s elevated my tap water.’
PHOTOGRAPHS TRENT McMINN WORDS RACHEL LOOS HAIR & MAKE-UP CATHY ENNIS AT LEFTSIDE CREATIVE. INTERIORS STYLIST PAULA MAY EVANS. FASHION STYLIST JULIA HARVEY