Entertaining is a general term which covers all types of activity of inviting people into your home or hosting large events at a restaurant or event facility.

You are entertaining when you ask a neighbour in for coffee, as well as when you invite a large number of people for a business lunch or dinner.

The common denominator is the time and effort spent in creating a connection with others, regardless of the setting.

When you host people, you’re reaching out to them and thinking outside, not inside the square.

I’m not going to tell you what dishes to serve or the steps to cooking it.  That’s entirely up to you.  There are gazillions of recipes books and lifestyle programs in both social and the traditional media, which cater very well to the subject.

However, what I am going to give you are all the reasons why you should want to have people over and why you should make an effort, and why entertaining should be a high priority on your list of activities.

There are some traditional tried and tested ways of doing things.  These rules are not pretentious, they have simply evolved from experience through the years and represent the most efficient way to do something.

Most importantly, what I am going to highlight is what makes a good host and guest, which today is a far cry from all the antiquated formalities of yesteryear’s entertaining.

I am not going to tell you what wines to purchase, but rather how to serve them. Nor will I advise you as to what flowers to use as a centrepiece because there is a myriad of decorative options to choose from.

My role is to give you a few ideas that will help to stimulate your own imagination.

Similarly, I won’t agonise over how many courses you should serve because that’s entirely your choice.  Although I generally suggest very few, maybe two or three and to direct your energy towards making what is easy and simple, taste fabulous and be easy to serve.

I won’t sympathise with you over your fear of breaking someone’s wine glass or spilling red wine on their carpet.  Instead, I’ll tell you how to deal with it and how to minimise the impact of what you may consider to be a total disaster.

It’s all up to you.  No one turns you into a perfect host or the sought-after guest.  You do.

Just remember, that in order to break the rules of entertaining with style and flair, you have to know what they are in the first place!