Here comes Cook-zilla. New Yorkers are caught up in a food frenzy, reports The Times.
The article says guests are evaluating each other's dinner parties, passing mean comments about the eats as they pass the gravy. And hosts stress over menus and fear what their friends will say about the food.
"Dinner parties have been fraught with performance anxiety for as long as people have given them," said last week's article. "But for some hosts in the age of the armchair Boulud, even a laid-back dinner with friends can be a challenge to their sense of self-worth."
Pratie Place sums the story this way: "In a society where people have too much money, the unending quest to ruin simple things continues." Pretty sad, right?
Where do you think all this stress is coming from? People used to blame Martha Stewart for pushing people to be the perfect host, but she's relaxed her standards the past couple of years.
We say: Lighten up, people. Enjoy the summer, enjoy your friends, and have fun cooking for them. Grilled foods and some easy summer drinks are a great antidote to all this drama. Please remember the old saw: Guests have more fun when they see you are having fun too. Anything less would be uncivilized.
I always like to entertain and cook for people. I cook for my own pleasure, not to get approval from the guests. If they don't like my wonderful cooking (which of course is wonderful to me and my husband) tough luck... You know. There is more to life and entertaining than to please all.
view Anusha73's profile
The Times article really made me cringe.
view arin's profile
My main sweat while hosting is whether my house is clean- I'm a slob, and it's an effort to get things tidy.
On the other hand I'm pretty confident about my food, even if I make a mistake, I'm okay with it. Gives me something to laugh about.
view Tacoma's profile
I hate that kind of trend article -- there's a grain of truth in it, but the overall effect is inevitably off-putting. Remember the one about being an alpha cook?
Anyway, I thought hosting a dinner party in NYC made you a superstar, whether you got the food *right* or not!
None of those polling options really fit me so I went with "nice"
I cook for me and my 1, and manage to cook for our friends a lot too. I used to stress over the cleaning, and getting the food done in a way that impressed ME . . . but then I stepped back and figured out how to do it with a lot more balance. Delegate, do one less dish, whatever.
The food is good AND I get to enjoy the party.
view guido's profile
I've got a fairly high bar to live up to: I'm known in my circle of friends for being the best cook, and when I entertain, I love to surprise people with things they wouldn't think of putting together or won't have seen elsewhere.
I definitely sweat the details- glassware (because I have a largeish collection), drinks, presentation, flow, and most importantly, food. It's kind of pleasurable to put this much effort and concentration into a party- that takes it up a notch- from just ending up in my living room with a bowl of grapes and a cocktail- to being an actual event.
view nadarine's profile
I just hosted a family reunion, feeding 40 some people from Thursday dinner to Sunday lunch. Organization is the key: hot stuff has to be hot and cold stuff has to be cold. Cook what you do best and keep it simple to cook but beautiful to look.
view Francesca's profile
The people described in that article don't exist, and if they do, I don't want to know them. I cook every day, as do many of my friends, even here in New York. For all of us, it's about eating and enjoyment, not expensive olive oil and other worthless pursuits.
view Leland's profile
Cheers, Leland - I completely agree. We cook alot, and often have friends and family over for dinner with little or no notice. Even if we are having people over for a planned event, we don't like to be busy cooking and not be able to hang out. And I thank what or whomever it is appropriate to thank that I don't have friends so snarky that they'd criticize our hospitality. These Times articles do all you New Yorkers a disservice ;).
view LauraII's profile
Anyone who snarks about my cooking gets taken to a restaurant from there on out.
I'm totally open to the idea that my cooking style does not meet everyone's taste and/or dietary needs (especially the dietary need for homemade tortillas), but I'm not open to enduring rudeness about it.
view wende in phoenix's profile
I am glad to see most people answering the survey, in my opinion, have the right attitude. Enjoy your food, enjoy your friends, and as we say in France, contrary to what journalists tell us, BON APPETIT!
view hrhprincessfiona's profile
I freak out when I host any kind of party at our home and it drives my husband crazy. We both love to entertain, but the hours leading up to the party can get a little hectic. We're going to try again on July 4, but it's going to be a BYO Everything party - we're just supplying drinks, dessert and marshmallows for roasting, so hopefully I won't turn into a cook-zilla as usual...
view mangosteen's profile