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Episode 6079: Pool Party
Underwater Table
A table to remember

There is any number of ways you can go when hosting a backyard dinner party. It can be as simple or as elaborate as you like. The thing to remember is to have fun! It's the perfect opportunity to take your guests 20,000 Leagues under the Sea, to your favourite beach or to a famous Miami Beach hotel. Let your imagination run wild!

Start out with a really nice foundation, such as a white undercloth, then place a piece of chiffon edged in ribbon over it. Accent the corners of the table with some starfish, wrapping each of them up in thin, blue ribbon. Then, gather up the table cover at each corner, and tie it together into a perfect bow. Remember that it’s the tiny details that your guests will notice and they’ll love you for going to all the trouble.

Oversized napkins can be paired with chiffon overlays, blue ribbons, and orchids, like the table cover. Treat them with buttonholes, so that your guests can attach them to their shirts, in case the seafood extravaganza gets messy.

Now that your table is shimmering, shiny and wavy, you can create a virtual underwater floor of the ocean by creating smaller versions of the floral floating centrepieces you will be using in the pool. Simply pour a few circles of sand on top of the table, and place an orchid with a collar of greens inside. Enhance the look of your underwater sand bar by scattering around some delicate shells, and pearls.

Time to show off your china service, and it’s a good idea to keep with the theme and use something that conjures up images of the sea. We chose “Trésor de Mer” plates, with coral and scallop shell details on them. Place entree, salad, bread and butter, and dessert plates, all in the same motif. Although this set is really exquisite, don’t get worried if you don’t have something like it; whatever you have at home can be made to work.

In choosing glassware, go for some large, heavyweight wine and water goblets. You know how much we love details at “Savoir Faire”, and your choice of flatware will be no exception. Antique flatware with mother-of-pearl handles could be very appropriate, when you consider how well it matches with the look of the insides of seashells.

First impressions are huge at a poolside dinner party. Fill scallop shells with kosher salt, a pearl, starfish, and a piece of vellum with each guest’s name on it. Place on top of each entrée plate. Finally, into two hurricane lanterns, add some sand, a pillar candle, and a sprinkling of shells and pearls. Place down on the table, and as the sun sets on poolside central, you and your guests will surely enjoy this underwater fantasy.