Ah yes! The age-old question, ‘what do I do with all this food?’

This goes out to all hosts out there – how often, after hosting a brunch, cocktail or dinner party, are you left with way more food than you know what to do with? Sure enough, this seems to be a reoccurring problem, but why? Namely because no one wants to be that host; the host that doesn’t feed their guests, the host whose home most people leave hungry and after which head straight to their closest drive through.

And in an effort not to be that host, most of us tend to make way too much food, and are left with copious amounts of leftovers that end up getting tossed.  I don’t know about the rest of you, but I personally am tired of it.  As someone who loves to host dinner parties herself, I too have had my share of wasted food, but have since picked up on a few little tweaks that have made a world of difference. So, if food waste is something that you struggle with, hopefully these tips will help:

• Know your audience; be sure to only make things you know your guests will enjoy. For example, if you’re having a gathering and are aware that that particular group of friends are not big eaters, then skip the heavy stuff and opt for lighter meal options, such as refreshing salads, grilled proteins and roasted vegetables.
• Doggy bags; add takeout containers to your shopping list when prepping for your next gathering. Even if you try, more often than not, you will be left with more leftovers than you would like. So to lessen this load, ask your friends to take some of it home.  If you follow step 1, then the chances of them taking you up on this will be high.
• Be firm; unless you’re hosting a potluck, always answer the question ‘can I bring anything?’ with a ‘no thank you, just your lovely self’. Though really a nice gesture, I have found that taking friends up on their offer to ‘bring anything’ typically meant that I was simply stuck with even more leftovers.
• Seal and freeze; set aside anything you know you can consume over the next few days. Anything in abundance however, if safe to do so, can be transferred to a sealable bag, or airtight container and kept in the freezer for up to 3 months, then thawed and eaten at a later stage – this is also useful with meal planning.
• Less is more; the best advice I ever got! However much food you think you need, reduce it by at least a third. Once you have your guest list and menu confirmed, ensure that each dish caters to a lesser number than there are people. For example, if you are hosting a dinner for 10 people and have settled on 3 appetisers, 2 mains and a dessert, make sure the portions of each one caters to 8 people, and not 10. Trust me on this, I promise you won’t fall short!
• Lastly, and similarly, go easy on the desserts; you do not need to as much as you think you do. Make your life easier, and opt for some fruit and no more than 1 dessert.

Try this next time you host and let us know if it helped.  Please share any tips you may have and leave your comments below!

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