The Unstated Guide to | Dining In

 

This past year has made dining out a rarity for most of us. With lockdowns and social distancing measures we've had no option but to dine in, and for some this is no different from our lives pre-pandemic, but for others it's been a bore or a chore.

 

We've put together a guide – from recipes to ambience tips – that will make dining in a more enjoyable affair. 

 

 

Ambience

 

An important part of enjoying dining in is creating the right ambience. Your favourite restaurants probably pay great attention to ambience, with considered music playing lightly in the background, lots of good natural light in the day and cosy lighting in the evening, 

We recommend finding or creating a playlist that you will enjoy listening to as background noise (find our playlists that will work perfectly here), and if you're dining alone, this could be a podcast (find our selection on 'What We're Listening to | Podcast'). 

 

 

Cuisine

 

Obviously, an integral part of enjoying dining in is down to enjoying the food, and that's a pretty easy thing to do with the right recipes. Ideally these recipes should be pretty easy to follow, involve simple, accessible ingredients and not require the skills of a chef to cook – as one of the joys of eating out that many of us might miss is not having to prepare a meal. Another aspect is aesthetically pleasing meals, this may sound shallow, but we tend to want to eat food that look and smell good. 

Here's a list of some of our favourite recipe books and food blogs that will help you achieve meals with all of these qualities:

 

Simple by Yotam Ottolengi

Cook Beautiful by Athena Calderone

Salt, Fat, Acid, Heat by Satin Nosrat

Bitter Honey by Letita Clark

 

NYT Cooking 

Tastemade

Epicurious 

Jamie Oliver

Eyeswoon

 

 

TABLE SETTING

 

Whether you want a formal table setting or something more nonchalant is your choice completely, but we recommend at least sitting at a table to eat. This makes the ritual of dining seem like more of an event and emulates the experience of dining out. 

 

We recommend adding small touches like lighting a candle or tealights and using matching tableware. If you're able to throw a small dinner party, you could also dress your table with cotton or linen table clothing and flowers.