How to host an online dinner party at home
8 May, 2020
What are the best platforms to use for virtual dinner parties?
Social distancing doesn’t have to mean no socialising. Thanks to technology, video conferencing can now used for almost every interpersonal interaction. We meet via Zoom for work, Houseparty for Friday night debriefs with colleagues, and Google Hangout with our friends. We Skype, we Facetime, we use Facebook Messenger; basically we’re doing everything we can to stay social and stay connected.
So, if you want to host a dinner party, virtual is the way forward during isolation so you can continue to eat, drink and be merry with your mates. The best platform for you is the one that all of your dinner guests know how to use. Pick something simple so you can all see and hear each other and the dinner will flow effortlessly.
How many guests can join in, you ask? Zoom can handle up to 100 guests but the free version of the platform lasts for only 40 minutes. Skype hosts 50 people, Facetime can include 32 and Google Hangouts has a limit of 10.
How to get people engaged?
Just like work meetings, the more people involved, the less effective the exercise becomes. Try to limit your virtual group to a manageable number of people. Five or six would be a good group to start with. More than that ends up becoming a talkfest where no one can work out who is saying what.
Explore the platforms. As the crisis continues, they are being continually upgraded. If you love a bit of trivia, Houseparty has a quiz function which can add a bit of fun. You can always play charades and guessing games too – think of it as a chance to bring Victorian parlour games into the twenty-first century! Or set a theme (you can even match the food and drinks) and encourage everyone to dress up to match.
Have a cooking competition with your friends.
Choose a recipe that all your friends will enjoy, then all of you can order the same ingredients to cook together (but apart) in your own homes using Zoom, Skype or whichever platform you prefer. Share your cooking tips and techniques as you each create your own feast. For a laugh you can pretend you’re on an episode of Nailed It where self-confessed hopeless home cooks
try to recreate famous recipes. Compare your dishes to the recipe and see who nailed it and who failed it.
If you’re 100% sure that your friends will not join in the cooking/kitchen fun, and you want to be the host extraordinaire, how about becoming a masterchef yourself? Cook the feast then package and deliver to your friends at home (as long as they live in your area). This way you can all eat the same meal when you connect on screen.
Where to order food and drinks in Chatswood
Of course, you don’t have to cook either! You can tap into the wealth of delivery options coming out of Chatswood too. HospoMarket has both pantry ingredients for the cook-it- yourself types and ready-meals for the heat-and-eat types. Order and have your shopping delivered or, if you’re desperate for an outing, you can choose to ‘click and collect’. Menulog, Deliveroo and DoorDash can also connect you to your local favourites, or of course, you can phone restaurants direct to place your takeaway order!
