Q. I have moved from London to Wiltshire, where I
am fortunate enough to have accommodation suitable for entertaining large numbers of people. My problem is that, although the cellar contains plentiful amounts of reasonable wine bought in bulk from France, I do not really have the financial wherewithal to feed so many mouths in the manner to which my friends — who eat out in Chelsea four nights a week — are accustomed. It seems rather juvenile to ask them to 'contribute', although I have no doubt whatsoever that they would be only too happy to do so. It just has not occurred to my foodie friends — most of whom are junior bankers — that I am not as well off as they are. What do you suggest I do, Mary?
Name withheld, Wiltshire A. Why not take a tip from another girl in your position who suggests that her weekend guests partake in a cooking contest? When issuing invitations she says, 'Each couple has got to cook one meal — and we can all vote for whose was best.' The question of who pays for the ingredients never comes up. Guests, especially competitive foodie guests, are delighted to shop for only one meal, particularly when they realise that, by contrast, they will not be shopping, cooking or paying for any of the others during the weekend. They turn up on the Friday night, Waitrose bags bulging, and bustle happily around their host's kitchen as though it were their own.
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