Simply entertaining - Simonsberg shows the way

Enjoy the good life and savor the moment. Filled with the laughter of family and friends enjoying a meal together, the home is our touchstone where every day experiences can turn into a celebration. And remember: life's too short to only entertain on the weekends, high days and holidays.

Delicious by design – dressing the table

Every day moments, from laying the table with a pretty cloth to picking a single rose offer an escape from the daily grind. Crisp damask and candle light. Peonies and antique roses. Everything old and feminine is more popular than ever. Simple and wholesome home cooking calls for old linen over the table (even with the creases showing). If it belonged to your grandmother - hold on to it, you're at the height of fashion.

Top ten table tips:

• 1. Don’t buy roses on the day, buy them a few days before and allow to open. 
• 2. Use white candles, lots of them. Burn the candles beforehand and let them drip.
• 3. A beautiful wine glass turns every day wine into vino extraordinaire, while bulky Italian tumblers are ideal for water or desserts.
• 4. Short cuts to the Oriental look: tie plain chopsticks with a satin ribbon; line take-away Chinese boxes with baking paper for individual bowls; wrap banana leaves around tumblers and fill with raw rice as candleholders. 
• 5. Ideal for the ’minimum effort maximum results’ entertainer, go for assemble-it-cuisine. Start with a selection of Simonsberg cheese, grab a few deli-delights such as baked bread and walnut oil.  Pile the fresh ingredients into an assortment of bowls and let your guests assemble their own salads.
• 6. The eclectic look (more mix and less match) is very trendy. Look out for beautiful pieces in unexpected places, like flea-markets or auctions. Old hotel crockery, once used in grand hotels and trains are great finds. The beautifully faded emblems on the creamy porcelain are perfectly pared with damask.
• 7. Make a point to find out the history of the tableware pieces you collect. It makes for great conversation at the table.
• 8. A stylish idea to make the ‘shabby chic'- look work, is to go for pretty: dress the table with layers of pale blues and pink organza cloth for a feminine backdrop; pile on a pretty assortment of mismatched tableware in pastel hues of 1950's greens and pale yellows. Use farm style enamel spoons in pale colours as serving utensils.
• 9. If you feel really creative, place piles of cookbooks along the center of the table; put pencils in earthenware jugs and small note pads at each place setting. Then the guests can write down the recipe for the classic cheesecake you spent hours making.
• 10. Get creative with name cards: e.g. instead of name cards, lay out guests’ names with Scrabble pieces.