What We Bring to the Table

The real story behind how I learned to entertain.

I’ve started to suspect that curiosity might be the real secret in entertaining—not the good plates, not the playlist that toggles between Ella Fitzgerald and something vaguely French, not even the roast chicken everyone swears they’ll never forget. Curiosity is quieter than all that. It’s the part of you that wonders why one guest gravitates toward the chair near the plant, or why dessert—served early, even recklessly early—can make an entire room exhale.

I didn’t learn this from books or from people who say “tablescapes” with a straight face. I learned it the old-fashioned way: by watching women who had no idea they were being instructive.