Tag: France

Tips For Decorating A Bridal Shower Party

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Decorating a bridal shower can be simple and fun. Here are some tips to follow:

1. Follow a theme
If youre concerned with your party seeming put together and having continuity from start to finish, it is a good idea to have a bridal shower theme. Themes can be as simple as choosing a few colors you like and threading them throughout the party, or as elaborate as showcasing a specific designer. Most themes are fun and full of potential.

Some popular themes follow:
*Honeymoon: decorate with posters, photos, and items showcasing the location of the bridal couples honeymoon
*Lingerie: host an adult pajama party and invite a salesperson to do a lingerie demonstration for your bridal shower. Decorate in boudoir silks and reds or in a fifties pajama party theme
*Stock the Pantry: each guest is instructed to bring a gift that can be used to stock the pantry or kitchen of the new couple. Decorate with potted herbs, herbal prints, and flowers.
*Kiss the Cook: for a woman with culinary leanings, have a chef do a demonstration at the bridal shower. For a specific niche of cooking, decorate with the country of origin in mind (eg. France, Italy). For a general cooking theme, decorate with kitchen utensils and retro food prints.

2. Use food as decoration
Potted and fresh herbs make good decorations. Appetizers and desserts can be arranged in tiers. Petit-fours and tea sandwiches or cookies make especially pretty tiered sculptures. Certain foods, like cheese fondue or chocolate fountains, are decorative enough to become centerpieces on their own. Using the food to fill out the decorations keeps both costs and cleanup down and makes a unique look.

3. Create tablescapes
Decorating at a party where food will be served need not be as simple as throwing a tablecloth over a table, setting out place settings, and serving lunch. Take time to contrast and combine colors, textures, and patterns to build a layered, finished look. Use a bold tablecloth in one of the theme colors. Layer with placemats of two more contrasting colors. Integrate antique, thrift-store, or found place settings, vases, and silverware for a unique look. For an example of what this looks like, watch Semi-Homemade Cooking with Sandra Lee on The Food Network. She creates a special tablescape for each show to go along with the dishes she has made.

5. Use the entire room
Dont forget to use lighting, music, and room elements to aid the decoration of the party. Changing the lighting by using table lamps, fairy lights, or candles can create an incredible difference in mood and ambiance. You can also use or depart from the season youre in to add to the decoration of the party. Allow the scene outside of the window to become a decorative touch. Bring the season inside with found nature objects and flowers.

What you need most when decorating for a bridal shower is creativity and an open mind. No matter your budget, you can make a bridal shower look great. Use what you have, play up the best parts, and tie it together with color or a theme.

Culinary Schools Acknowledge World And Regional Cuisines

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Traditional culinary schools have evolved considerably since the 1950’s and 60’s. At that time, gourmet cooking was still based primarily on centuries of tradition firmly rooted in the European cooking tradition. Although there were culinary schools in the United States at that time, they were few and far between because many still felt that the world’s great chefs hailed primarily from Europe and France in particular. Times have changed considerably and the world of gourmet cooking has benefited greatly from the shift.

If you still remember Julia Child’s television series that introduced good cooking to the general public, you may also remember the cooking style she demonstrated which was traditional, satisfying and heavy foods. There were rich sauces and traditional French cuisine that was wonderful, however there was little variety in terms of regional dishes. French, Italian and Spanish dishes were often demonstrated, but Asian and American ethnic cuisines weren’t taught.

It isn’t surprising, like most chefs at that time, Julia Child was traditionally trained in the French tradition. The relatively small number of culinary schools in the United States at mid-century were all based on a traditional French pattern. Over the years, however, the demand for creative dishes and ethnic cuisines grew and culinary institutes began to respond. The finest schools continue to cover the basic and advanced techniques of European cooking, but now also give students in-depth understanding of regional cooking techniques, seasonings and styles.

In the last three decades, ethnic and regional food specialties have gained huge popularity. Where these foods were once found primarily in ethnic neighborhoods, they have now gone mainstream and been elevated to fine cuisine due to their increased popularity and the interest of great chefs around the globe. Culinary schools now teach students everything from unusual cooking methods to sausage making and everything in between.

In an increasingly small world where so many people travel to different cultures and try new foods, it isn’t surprising that the interest in regional and world cuisine has taken off. When travelers return home, they hope to find the delicious foods they’ve learned to love at home as well, and chefs are responding to this trend.

Today’s culinary schools cover a wide variety of food traditions, including French, Spanish, Italian, Asian, Polynesian, Creole and Cajun, as well as many sub-categories of each of these international cuisines. “Fusion” foods are also increasingly popular. Fusion is the combination of two distinct types of cuisine in order to create unique new dishes. Fusion restaurants are now some of the most popular in the country because of their skillful blending of many international traditions that produce flavorful new dishes to tempt diners.

If you enjoy experimenting in the kitchen and trying new ways to prepare traditional foods, culinary school may be the perfect career choice for you. Be sure to ask each school you are considering what kinds of cuisines will be taught. The best culinary schools have evolved and continue to do so in order to tempt the public’s increasingly discriminating and worldly palate.