Chef and cookbook author Natasha Pickowicz takes us behind the scenes of her backyard dinner party.Chef and cookbook author Natasha Pickowicz takes us behind the scenes of her backyard dinner party.
Whether it’s a long, lazy dinner by the flicker of citronella candlelight or a post-work apéro on the terrace, summer entertaining is in full swing, and we’ve enlisted the help of the most stylish hosts we know to serve up their party tricks. Pour yourself a Campari soda and settle in—it’s Aperitivo Hour.
When you go for dinner at Natasha Pickowicz’s house, you will be surprised. There’s no strict start time, no theme, no pre-determined menu; the guest list is a mystery, sometimes even to the host. “I like the kind of loose, easy gatherings where people come and go, bring extra guests with them, eat on the ground, eat standing up… my friends know they’re always welcome to my home for a meal, and they never know what they’re going to get,” she says. “Sometimes, it’s just wine, cheese, and bread.”
The Hosting Outfit
“My clothes get covered in charcoal dust and mosquito spray and spilled wine—years of working in kitchens have inured me to needing my clothes pristine. When I host in my garden, I’m almost always barefoot and running around—I just want to be comfortable and not wear anything too precious. I like the oversized button-downs from Sézane and vintage jogging shorts in a matching color. Basically, nothing that I’d be too devastated if I got it dirty or torn. Accessories are simple: an old J.Crew hair clip and a few layered necklaces. (Opal is my birthstone; this was a present I bought myself after my first cookbook was published!)”
Tabletop Heroes
“I don’t like anything to look too matchy-matchy, and I break too many plates and glasses anyway to keep a perfect set of anything. I love basic pieces from Fishs Eddy and Heller mixed in with more eccentric prints, like ceramics from travels and plates from Carolina Irving. They feel sturdy for outdoor entertaining, and their mellow shades of blues, greens, and peach frame vibrant summer food, like corn on the cob or big tomato salads, well.
I use my napkins to keep it cohesive by pulling coordinating colors, like blue and deep pink. I like the idea of everyone having a slightly different place setting than the person sitting next to them; I never want any gathering to feel too formal. Usually everyone needs paper towels for spilled wine and sticky fingers by the end of the night, anyway.”
What’s on the Menu
“Sometimes I like to do elaborately-themed dinners based on experiences or art I’ve encountered—like a Provencal feast inspired by Richard Olney recipes, or a full Chinese hot pot spread. More often than not, though, I’m just going to the greenmarket and buying whatever looks great.
We grilled a giant butterflied leg of lamb, layered with thin slices of lemon and herbs like oregano from the garden. I gravitate toward handheld, customizable food that people can snack on and pick at all night—friends built little lettuce wraps, layering slices of grilled lamb with kimchi, rice, and perilla leaf. Then, I built in vegetable sides, including a sungold tomato and potato salad, a green bean and zucchini salad, and roasted carrots with flowering coriander. There’s always a gigantic, fluffy green salad on my table, no matter what I’m serving.
For dessert, I usually finish with something fresh or fruity. Even the most basic dessert can feel outrageous if you play with scale and proportion; I have giant cake pans that I use for giant slab pies. For this, I made a summer berry tart with strawberry and yuzu jam.”
Drinks Station
“I use these everyday tumblers for my catering and off-site work events, and they’re great for parties at home too—I have 50! They’re perfect for any drink, from cocktails to wine to water. Most of the time, I like to stick to bottles of good wine (and friends show up with plenty, too). I love the dramatic, theatrical punch of a magnum, which is equal to two normal-sized bottles of wine. It automatically makes any gathering feel like a party. Usually I’ll garnish a sparkling wine with a little fresh fruit, like a teeny-tiny mara des bois strawberry or a tiny branch of currants; it makes any glass of wine more special.”
All in the Details
“When it comes to decor on the table, I pull directly from my garden—I’ll pull up a winding pea vine and drape it across the table, use wide fig leaves as placemats, or harvest oversized squash as a centerpiece. The more odd and unusual looking, the better!
I want my tablescapes to jumpstart conversation; to be tactile things people can touch and sniff and taste, like a giant, fuzzy bouquet of chamomile, so the scent can drift over my guests all night long. I sourced big bunches of it from the Union Square greenmarket, and my friend Yossy brought over a bouquet of hydrangeas she had picked that morning in New Jersey. To add to the larger arrangements, I made small bud vases of blooms right from my garden: calendula, zinnias, cosmos, nasturtium, and dahlias. I add fresh herbs, like lemon verbena and parsley to arrangements. It makes the whole table fragrant.”
Dinner Party Dos & Don’ts
“Putting out your cigarette butts in my garden—not cool! Or leaving my backdoor open, so my cat Martini can escape—that’s stressful! And in general, don’t come over if you’re in a bad mood or tired or just not up for it. I’d rather you stay home and rest. But in general, there’s very little you could do at my place to irk me.”
“I love making themed playlists—it’s nice to have five to seven hours of music locked in for those late nights—but I prefer sticking to analog media in the garden, which has a much nicer ambiance. I have a small tape player with a crackly speaker that sounds amazing outside. I like to bring stacks of cassette tapes outside and play those; everything from old Janet Jackson to Kate Bush to Mississippi Records mixtapes, which are incredible, cheap, and always exquisitely put together.”
“I usually just text or call the first people that come to mind. Often I completely forget who I’ve invited, so the night of the party, if I’ve forgotten anyone, when they show up it’s a pleasant surprise! I think it’s important to have a few outgoing ‘connectors’ in a room (they are good for making more shy people feel welcome) and I include myself in that, too. There’s nothing I love more than bringing people together, and watching the friendships bloom in front of me, so I love to invite people that I think have something in common or will naturally get along. Plus, it’s SO gratifying when I’m right.”
“I like to delegate little tasks and errands that suck up my day: odds and ends like grabbing ice from the bodega, a case of sparkling water, bags of chips or snacks, a pint of ice cream for the fruit tart I have in the oven. And I love involving my boyfriend and friends and family in everything, like washing lettuce for a salad or hulling strawberries for a crumble. I ask kids to set the table—they like selecting from my mismatched napkin collection—or to pick a handful of flowers from the garden for a pretty centerpiece. My best friend Alison always brings me a can of Diet Coke when she arrives. It’s for the next morning, if I have a wine headache.
Sometimes, my dishes don’t go how I planned—maybe I didn’t make enough food, or someone with dietary restrictions arrives, or a new recipe I was excited about just doesn’t come out right—but I’ve realized that nobody is a tougher critic about my food than I am. My friends are just happy to gather; no one is scrutinizing the sear on the scallops or the cook on the pasta. As long as there’s enough wine, everyone is happy (and, this being NYC, it couldn’t be easier to order a few late-night pizzas to satisfy everyone).”
