In the wake of the successful Come Dine With Me television show, thousands of Brits are hosting their own dinner parties, complete with three course meals and fantastic guests.

But what would you cook for your dinner party? Choosing the right main course can be a bit of a nightmare, especially if we are not particularly confident in our culinary skills. When it comes to red meat for the main course, we will all favour the traditional dishes like lasagne or spaghetti bolognaise, fearing that something like a steak or a roast will be too costly or complicated. Yet there a lot of different cuts and types of meats out there which can make a delicious dinner party menu, from lamb chops to strips of beef for a tasty stroganoff.

It’s not just about the food though; a successful host not only serves a delicious meal but spends equal time planning entertainment, table plans, decor and drinks. If you really want to go all out, you might even want a theme to match your menu.

Fortunately, help is on hand from ‘hostess with the mostest’, TV presenter and interior designer Linda Barker. Having herself appeared on the popular show to come joint first, it was not only her cracking menu that delighted her guests but the extra touches that set her apart from the rest. In this live webTV show, she’ll answer your questions on how to coordinate your food with your theme, make your guests feel special and how to get the ambiance just right. She’ll also highlight some common dinner party faux-pas and offer her fail-safe tips for success.

So whether you’re cooking Steak Diane and want a demure candle-lit dinner party or are serving up a feisty Mexican theme with fajitas and burritos, Linda’s tips will ensure it all runs smoothly.

Also on the show is Keith Fisher to help pick the perfect meat to wow your guests as much as any decorative place settings. So log on to this live webTV show or submit your questions before the chat.

Linda Barker and Keith Fisher joins us live online to discuss hosting dinner parties.

For more information visit www.meatmatters.com

H: Katy Pullinger, host
A: Linda Barker
B: Keith Fisher,

H: Hello I’m Katy Pullinger and welcome to the Food and Drink show. Now we all know that staying in is the new going out, what with the tough economic times and with the punishing winter that we’ve had, shows such as Come Dine With Me have inspired us to get cooking for family and friends, and to entertain like never before. So how do you get the perfect evening dinner party, and how do you avoid making a faux pas? Well I’m joined by winner of celebrity Come Dine with me Linda Barker and master butcher Keith Fisher. Guys welcome to my dinner party

A: Oh thank you

B: Thank you

H: Now we are live today so if you do have any questions for us please do submit them now and we’ll try and get through them as soon as possible. Right let’s get stuck in – dinner party ideas – where do we start? Shall we kick off with the menu? Would that be a good place?

A: That’s a very good place to start

B: Yes absolutely

A: And Keith you should remind us of some good cuts of meat because I think that’s where –

B: I think the opportunities nowadays, we’ve got lots of good butchers, lots of good outlets for meat. Go and talk to your butcher, as him what’s available. Different times of year, but at the moment what we’re doing is to look at some of the more traditional cuts and the traditional ways of cooking them

H: Which are?

B: Things like brisket of beef

H: Yes

B: Shoulder of lamb, belly of pork. They’re the three that you know lot of opportunity with them

H: And people shouldn’t be scared to go for, you know a nice big cut of meat, I mean – it’s not that challenging is it?

B: I think the opportunities – again the opportunity really is to go for a really big cut of meat because they can leave that gently cooking away for a couple of hours while they’re getting on, and everything else is prepared like the table, the flowers and the wine and everything else

H: Well while we’re there, let’s talk about – where should we start with the flowers, because of course you know around Christmas time you’ve got lots of things crackers and things to keep people entertained, but what can you get people talking about on the table the rest of the year?

A: Well I think if you’re entertaining at home you should be really relaxed, and I think the menu should be relaxed and you should feel comfortable with what you’re cooking, and once that’s sorted out and you’ve done all your pre-planning and you’ve thought about your menu, and all that’s sorted out, it’s really about setting the scene and most of us, you know we’re very proud of our homes and we want to maybe show off a little bit, so kind of make sure your general housework is done. You’d be surprised how many – how many guys are perhaps entertaining and they forget to pick up their socks and shoes let’s say

H: Yes

A: So kind of – I would say make sure your house is really nice and tidy and then think about where people are going to sit, yes definitely, but then also you might want them to have drinks, and if it’s fine weather you’ll be outside or if it’s in the lounge you know make sure that’s all nice and tidy. But I think to make something special of the dining table, makes – I don’t know, it shows to your friends that you’ve made an effort, and that it’s special and it’s an occasion. You know I’ve done some odd little flower arrangements, sometimes – you know you get those little baby cauliflowers?

H: Oh yes

A: I’ve actually stuck those in flower arrangements

H: Brilliant, yes

A: You know just to kind of get people talking and you know this is just fun, you know it’s a sense of fun. Yes it might be – you know a dinner party – but you should be able to relax with your friends and enjoy it really, rather than getting hot under the collar and steamed up about things, and it becomes, you know a frightful mess. If you’re stressed your dinner party guests will be stressed and it’s just going nowhere

H: Exactly, exactly. And what about if you’re on a budget? What’s the best way to go say with a table arrangement?

A: Well you know here at the table we’ve got some twigs, you know they’re seasonal twigs, albeit wrapped with maybe I think 5 lilies, so – in a suitable container, so pick things from the garden or beg, borrow and steal it from a neighbour’s garden, or whatever, that’s seasonal. Twist in some twigs like that with a few fresh flowers and then you know, you’ve got something quite attractive to look at

H: Exactly

A: Or you know just seasonal things, you know daffodils are out at the moment and they’re pretty inexpensive, but be imaginative, you know you see posh restaurants with – I don’t know maybe amaryllis or gerberas all tied up with string in a tall pot, and they can look really striking

H: And inexpensive

A: So get – and inexpensive

H: Especially if you stick seasonally then they tend to be –

A: Definitely. Definitely

H: Same goes with meats as well

B: And to add to that I mean there’s always the excitement of when you get something unusual, get your guests to guess what they’re eating. What sort of cut of meat it is –

H: Can you tell what it is yet?

B: And things – we’ve done things in the recipe book – traditionally you’ll get a brisket of beef and you’ll get a rolled joint, and we’re suggesting you buy it and you lay it flat and cook it that way so you get long, slender slices

H: Ooh it’s making me hungry! Now apart from decor, what about the atmosphere about lighting, music, what kind of music do you think is a good choice?

A: Well we were chatting earlier and someone mentioned on the radio that they brought in – they got all their guests to bring in an I-pod

H: Oh yes

A: And they all had 10 minutes each at the I-pod, which is a really – again a nice ice breaker and it makes people – you know, it puts people in a good mood, it makes them chat and already you know that kind of whole atmosphere is being created, so I think that’s a really brilliant idea

H: I’ve never heard of that before, that is a good suggestion

A: Yes it’s great

H: Or send an email beforehand and get everybody to send their favourite songs or their favourite album

A: Yes

H: And try and mix them all in that way as well

A: That’s true. Music kind of really is important when you’ve got people in your house you know, and I think don’t take yourself too seriously or at every stage of that evening really, and – you know I bought some Barry White the other day, and that’s destined to get people chatting and grooving, you know I mean be ridiculous and it’s an immediate kind of ice-breaker and it can – it’s just fun

H: And once everyone’s had a glass of wine or two, you know all the music snobs are the ones that are singing along to the Barry White with the loudest voice aren’t they?

A: Indeed yes, yes

H: And lighting, should it be candlelit or shouldn’t it be candlelit? You know obviously if you want a romantic setting it’s going to depend on – or if you’re having steak or – gosh there’s so many things to think about

A: Well I think you know candlelight is great, and it’s great also at covering up a multitude of sins, so we’ve got a perfect white tablecloth here but not everybody has. You know it’s perfect to dim the lights, put the candle out and no one will notice a few wine stains on your table linen. You know it’s – it’s whatever you’ve got really isn’t it. Mood is really important and lighting is the way of creating mood, but you know I’ve been to restaurants and it’s like full on fluorescent light and it can kind of kill a meal and kill an atmosphere, so be sensible, you know if you’ve got a dimmer switch use it. Candlelight is great, make sure they’re not scented candles because sometimes that can interrupt – you know if you’ve got a big floral candle or an orange scented candle or something, you know it can interrupt your kind of flavours of the food as well, so just ordinary white dinner candles are great

H: Funnily enough we’ve just had a question actually from Matt Eaton, he said “are scented candles a good idea or can they affect the taste of your meal?”

A: Oh ok

H: This is what you’re saying yes

A: Yes it’s true, I mean they can be quite overwhelming and you don’t want to put people off, so just keep them to the plain old basic ones really. And little tealights you know, tealights are cheap and cheerful and you can pop them into just simple votives or little wine glasses, like little tumblers or shot glasses, and they can look really pretty when there’s lots of them scattered across the table.

H: Perfect

B: And the other thing I was going to add, you know just to make things a little bit exciting if it’s not too dark with a dimly lit candle is the – we quite often do a very big joint, but bring it to the table and carve it for the guests, so they can see what they’re getting

H: It really does bring everyone together

B: Brings some theatre to the table

H: I went to a wedding where we had lamb and somebody on every table had to carve their joint of lamb, and it was such a nice way of breaking the ice for everybody. Obviously you’re not going to be doing a wedding every week but you know to bring everybody together it is a nice way

A: I think that sharing of food is really important, and that’s why I think you know the people are learning to really love entertaining at home much more. Meat Matters have done a research survey and that suggests that more people want to entertain at home more than ever, and 4 out of 10 would prefer to entertain at home rather than go out to a restaurant, so much more people are doing it and getting involved with it, and I think you know if we can – if we can learn to kind of not be too stressed out about hosting our own dinner parties then that’s the way forward really, so it’s fun and you would be encouraged to do it again and again

H: Of course. I mean funnily enough what we were talking about, the carving, one of our questions that we had in earlier was from Tom Whitman, and he says he’s hosted a couple of dinner parties but have “found myself sweating and covered in food by the end of it, as well as missing out on the banter at the table”. So of course if you are bringing the carving and the preparation into the dining experience then you’re not missing out

B: No and that’s where these recipes that we’re talking about today actually lend themselves exactly to that because they are fairly long, slow cooking methods and you can be enjoying a glass of wine with your guests while they’re cooking

H: And what types of cuts are good for that kind of cooking?

B: Well brisket of beef, the shoulder of lamb, belly of pork – and – I mean there are loads of other cuts as well, I think that’s where it’s important to go and talk to your butcher. He may well say well try this or try that, if you’ve got something else that –

H: And that is one of the really lovely things about going into your local butcher nowadays is that they really do know their stuff. I know they always have but you forget, I mean you go to the supermarket and it’s just pre-packed, sometimes you just want that expert opinion don’t you?

B: And they can give you advice on cooking it as well as what to take

H: Yes which is really, really nice, and it makes the whole experience for the host as well I think makes it a bit more special. But I mean with celebrity chefs on telly, it does get – it does get you more excited about food nowadays that type of thing doesn’t it?

A: Yes I think it does and I think there are lots of cooking programs on TV and lots of people dipping into the – not necessarily to cook those dishes themselves, I mean I don’t know, Gordon Ramsey cooking with 50 ingredients is not going to make for a pleasant kind of –

H: No it will make your head spin

A: Yes. You’re going to be in the kitchen all day, all night and the day before. But it’s about you know, entertainment and we get a lot from those shows and – but it’s not necessarily the food we will cook for ourselves, and it’s like – me at home, I’ve got loads of recipe books, I just look at them and read through them and maybe one out of every hundred recipes probably I’m going to attempt to cook

H: Yes

A: But I think you know entertaining at home shouldn’t be- you shouldn’t really worry about it too much and I think those easier recipes are the way forward really

H: Keep it fairly simple

A: Keep it simple but really good tasting food is the key. You really still want to “wow” your guests

H: Oh absolutely

A: You want them to go oh my goodness that was just the most incredible lamb I’ve ever had

H: And you want them to leave and tell everyone how great you are

A: Oh yes, she was such a great cook you know we had this fabulous meal, and that can be down to good ingredients, few simple kind of marinades and you know some clever ways with vegetables, and hey presto you’re a whiz in the kitchen

H: Exactly. Well we do actually have a question surrounding the celebrity chef thing. Shirley Golding says “I wanted to make my dinner – take my dinner parties to the next level. Heston style. I don’t really have the budget for pigeons flying out of giant meat pies, so what can I do to blow people away?” So if you do want to find that one simple thing to take it to the next level what can you do?

B: Well I think we’ve done that with the cuts that we’ve chosen and the recipes that we’ve chosen because we’ve taken a really old-fashioned, traditional cut like brisket and we’ve introduced a jerk seasoning, so give it a hint of the Caribbean

H: Ok

B: We’ve taken the breast of lamb and we’ve given that Chinese flavouring

A: Yes it’s true

B: And we’ve taken some of the belly strips of pork and given them a sweet and sour flavouring

H: Right, so mixing it up a bit

B: So adding that hint of modern flavours with traditional cuts

H: I love the idea of the – bringing new ideas

B: Flavour profiles

H: To old style which is what’s happening so much more nowadays I think, people are – it’s – part of that make do and mend mentality that all kind of bringing back a 1950s feel about everything

A: It’s true and it’s about being economical with money and –

H: And not being wasteful yes

A: Slightly thrift - not be wasteful, using every bit of the meat that we’ve cooked with, so it’s about maybe if you’ve got a joint on a Sunday it’s about you know using it in cottage pie the next day and you know strip frying it on another day, or whatever it might be, it is about people just taking care about what they’re eating and how they’re preparing and cooking food

H: And of course they can get these recipes on the meatmatters.com website can’t they?

B: Absolutely

H: And I like the sound of this jerk seasoning

B: Oh you’ll love it, you try it

H: That’s going on the barbecue this summer

B: Absolutely

H: My goodness, ooh yes. So what about colour themes, that’s another option to think about?

A: Yes I think there’s a massive amount of colour in interior decoration at the moment, and I think that because people are staying home more our homes are less about being investment properties now, we’re staying put, we’re not moving and people are learning to love their home a bit more, which means they’re decorating a bit more, they’re getting away from the white and the magnolia paint and maybe they’re putting up wallpaper

H: A feature wall!

A: A feature wall, indeed, so it’s not – and you know if people have got a dining room it’s a lovely place to be able to use some bright coloured wallpaper or paint a bright wall, and like we’ve got here some plates, it’s pretty inexpensive these days to get good china, good cutlery and coloured glassware, and it’s just those little touches that kind of – I don’t know it’s about, again it’s about pride and people coming to your home and being proud of cooking what you’re cooking and the pride goes into the food as well as the presentation, and it needn’t cost loads of money these days at all

H: And it can be fun while you’re doing it as well, making all your adornments and things like that

A: Yes of course, and you will always have those, you know you’ll always have your set of red plates and you know you may only bring them out once in a while but it’s nice to kind of have something special

H: Definitely. Let’s try and get through some more questions then and we have one from Suffolk lad he calls himself. “Entertainment-wise I’m unsure what to do post-dinner. As much as I like coffee I typically top the glass of wine and continue the chat in the lounge, but sometimes it feels like things are fizzling out. How can I entertain my guests and make them leave the house on a high?” What tips have we got to keep the party going?

A: I love party games, I think they’re great at the end of the meal and again everybody’s relaxed, you know hopefully they’ve had a nice meal and it’s kind of nice to leave the table and just kind of continue the night. You know if people feel awkward then they’re more likely to get up and go home. Now as a host you might want them to go, but I like people to hang around a bit

H: Yes

A: And you know maybe -

H: That’s when the good chats come out as well

A: Exactly, so introduce a few little games you now we play that one where you stick a post-it on your forehead with a celebrity’s name on it and you have to guess who you are and all of that. You know silly stuff. I think it’s kind of nice to prolong that evening and make that experience last a bit longer

H: Definitely. Or of course make the actual dining experience, the meal last longer by eating – I guess do more courses? If you wanted

B: Do one or two starters or nibbles couldn’t you? Make up something like mini meatball kebabs or mini Yorkshire puddings or something like that with some small pieces of the jerk brisket perhaps popped in them

H: Definitely. Sounds good

B: Some little strips of pork be very nice

H: Yes, keep them going

B: Keep them coming you know

H: It’s quite an Italian theme actually to keep the courses coming isn’t it, just to keep, and there’s no reason why you can’t bring your own recipes in and just keep people eating! Let’s see if we’ve got one more question. “I have a dinner party this weekend with a few people coming that don’t know each other. How can I make sure the conversation flows smoothly?” Well that’s a similar vein in what we’re talking about, but when there’s that pause in conversation, do you need a list of topics to come up with? What do you think?

A: Well that’s your – the hostess of a good party will kind of keep that going and that conversation going. Again just pick up tips from your friends, and somebody I was talking to earlier said you know before everybody sat down to their meal, he’d managed to get hold of baby photographs of everybody that was at the dining table, and they passed them round so they’d all have a little giggle about – oh that’s so and so or that’s you, and that’s you when you were doing that – whatever. So little things like that are always good. The party games of course are always great. But just, you know that’s the art of a good hostess really. It can be hard work, can be hard work so have a few tricks up your sleeve

H: Yes make a few little pointers to remind who has what in common as well

A: Yes and to look out for your guests, you know if someone is uncomfortable or they’re not chatting, really you should steer them or involve them in the conversation. Never forget that whole six degrees of separation - there’s always something that binds everybody

H: Exactly and try and avoid those conversations that always end in a row, like politics! You know it’s always going to end up in a row! Now Keith can you just give me a few more of your recipe tips before we have to finish? That would be great

B: I mean you know, as well as some of the roasts that we talked about, think about one pot meals, you know some of the cheaper cuts, or less expensive cuts can be bought for that with seasonal vegetables, put into the oven to cook for a little while. And while you’re doing that also think about buying extra quantities and you can maybe freeze that for the next time you have a party and so on

H: Good tip. Good tip. And the great thing about all the different cuts you can get is that you do have budgets for everybody

B: Absolutely

H: If you’ve got a lot to spend then wonderful, you can buy yourself a whole pig if you want to

B: Yes yes

H: You can get the cheaper cuts which is wonderful. Well thank you so much for joining us today.

B: Thank you

H: Great tips, I hope our viewers will be noting them down and using them for their future dinner parties, and if you need more ideas on what you can get cooking with for the perfect dinner party visit www.meatmatters.com. We’ll see you next time, thanks for joining us

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