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Choosing your menu is the first important step to a good party. More often than not in planning what you serve, seasonality is the key. But menu planning is also about choosing dishes that will both complement each other and be enjoyable to eat together. So avoid a repetition of ingredients from course to course, as well as ensuring you have different colours and textures of food throughout. Ensure, too, that each of the elements when added up are not too heavy.

As before, be sure to get any dietary restrictions from your guests well in advance of your planning. Don’t feel you need to plan three big fancy dishes-one show stopper will be enough to create a memorable meal if you are time-starved but still want to impress. Your other courses (should you choose to serve them) can then be less complicated. You also don’t need to serve fancy dishes just because you’re having guests-simple food beautifully presented in your warm loving home can have just as much of an impact, if not more so.

At the end of each chapter I have grouped together my favourite recipe combinations or advice for preparation to make well-balanced menus in order to help simplify your planning.