Dining In

A dinner eaten in a positive and peaceful environment ensures good night's sleep and good health. A fine dining experience is not about good food alone. Make it a wholesome affair with the right decor. Just pay attention to few details and see how you can transform your dinner to seem like a king's meal. Here are few tips .

Whether you have a separate dining room or a just a corner partitioned to accommodate the dinner table, one thing is clear. Even at home, whether you have guests or are with your close family, you would expect a pleasant and fine dining experience. A dinner eaten in a positive and peaceful environment ensures good night's sleep and good health. Someone said it rightly: "A man seldom thinks with more earnestness of anything, than he does of his dinner."

When we think of lunch or dinner we just think of "good food." But good food alone does not make for a fine dining experience. There are other considerations. For instance, exquisite crockery adds elegance to the dinner table and also complements the food. You don't have to be rolling in money to make your supper a superlative experience. Just pay attention to few details and see how you can transform your dinner to seem like a king's meal. Here are few tips towards that end.

First of all, the dining area should be warm, relaxing and comfortable. The walls of this corner can be adorned with pictures of food, which will work as good appetizers!

At the dinner table

Make sure that the dining chairs are not too low or not too high. Also, they should enable a comfortable posture while eating.

Table dressing plays a very important part in making the dinner a moveable feast. Coordinate the table mats, runners, napkin holders and coasters well. Lay the table simply, but neatly. Try not to forget a single thing.

Decorate the table with Floating Flower Bowl (a crystal bowl with flowers and candles floating in water) or a vase of fresh flowers. This could be placed at the center of the table.

Fresh fruit - shiny red apples, glossy grapes and tangerines - in a crystal bowl or in a cane basket will enhance the table aesthetics.

Don't let water pitchers or water bottles (anything tall, for that matter) block the view of people sitting across each other.

Let soft instrumental music play in the background. This will help in creating a relaxed atmosphere to enjoy your meal in.

Poor lights can make your food look very unappealing. At the same time, lights should not be too bright. Install a dimmer to control the lights. To make the setting more romantic, say on a special occasion, you can opt for candle-light.

Good conversation and laughter as an accompaniment will make for a pleasant dinner. If you want to stretch it a little further, indulge in poetry reading or recitation just before you start your meal.

When you have a few guests, if possible, segregate the children; give them a small separate table in your dining area so that the adults can enjoy their experience in unhindered sophistication.

Food Presentation

Use the right crockery - side plates, forks, spoons, soup bowls, wine glasses and so on. Do not forget anything.

Do not keep the food in open bowls; cover it with a cling film, if the bowls do not have lids.

Keep braziers to keep the food hot; alternatively, put food in a casserole to keep it hot longer. Avoid reheating, if it can be helped, as it destroys the nutritional value.

Add some mint leaves or rose petals in the finger bowl; it will add a refreshing fragrance to your hands even as it cleanses it.

Food is a sensual experience. Colour and smell (aroma) can whet your appetite. Food presentation goes a long way in maximizing this sensual pleasure. Therefore, garnish your food to make it look appealing. Even if you are by yourself and do not have guests for dinner, do up the dining area and pamper yourself with good food. Make your daily dinner routine an interesting affair.

One cannot think well, love well, and sleep well, if one has not dined well. So enjoy your meal, in style.