All successful hosts need to understand the vocabulary of entertaining. Understanding and using the correct industry verbiage will make your hosting job easier and more clearly defined. Using the entertaining vocabulary is especially important as you start to employ outside resources, to whom you may need to communicate your party needs or desires.
F&B: the industry term which refers to all food and beverage needs for an event. A successful host will incorporate the F&B planning into the party theme, the dietary or religious needs of the guests, and his/her own preferences and skills.
Prep Area: the location where the ongoing F&B preparation will occur. Can be the kitchen, laundry room, or any location that's accessible to the host. A public place for the prep area enables guests to pitch in and/or converse with the cook during the mid-party prep work.
Service Area: location where the ongoing clean up will occur. Dirty dishes, serving pieces, and trash will collect here. Ideally it should be situated with access to an exterior trash receptacle, to handle mid-party overflow.
Flow: the manner that the guests move from one location to another and/or from one activity to another. Flow can be affected by planning (placement of furniture and F&B stations, food service times, and activity scheduling).
Back Door: ensuring that a party area has a secondary entrance/exit. This will enable your party to flow, and increase movement from room to room. This is not always possible, depending upon your floor plan, but it's highly desirable in the prep and service areas.
Stations: separating the F&B into different locations, based upon theme, functionality (i.e. having the beverages near a sink, or placing the hot food near electrical outlets), or perceived interest level.
Stand Up: the food/meal is structured around eating while standing. This type of party is appropriate with smaller, finger foods and in situations where the host wants the party to be dynamic (unstructured open house, mingling with hors d'oeuvres)
Sit Down: the food/meal is structured around dining at a table. Food may be presented on a buffet, family-style at the tables, or pre-plated by servers.
Mingle: the activity of interacting with the guests in a dynamic manner -- moving from one guest to another -- in order to talk with all attendees. Can be accomplished during a cocktail hour or in stand-up situations.
Double Sided Buffet: a table or counter where food is offered from both sides. This provides a means to serve food more quickly to a large number of guests.
Buffet Levels: object which create varying heights on the buffet. Using this technique enables more food to be placed on the buffet, creates visual/thematic interest, and can highlight specific items on the buffet.
Tablescape: decorations on the table and/or buffet. Can be thematic, functional, or both.
Party Closet: a supply of entertaining goods. Should include linens, fabrics, theme pieces (silk flowers, marbles, etc), tablescape items, buffet levels, ribbons. Anything is appropriate. Future articles will discuss this further.
© Text by Janice Benoit, [March, 2006]. Reproduction without permission prohibited.
