From the boardroom to the dining room
By Rhymer Rigby
In the 1960s, the words "the boss is
coming over'' would send the woman of the house (as she then almost certainly was) into a domestic whirlwind. The place would be
scrubbed from top to bottom, children would be instructed to behave as they never normally did and the cordon bleu cookery books would be dusted off. All in the name of presenting an idealised domestic set-up to advance Dad's career.
However, today this kind of entertaining is as fashionable as serving a
prawn cocktail starter. "I think it's the rise of the two-earner household," says Tim Leunig, a lecturer in economic history at the London School of Economics. "The idea that your wife, who works as hard as you do all day, will cook chicken Kiev for someone she barely knows and then pretend to be interested in plastic packaging all evening is ridiculous. Those kind of Stepford wives just don't exist any more."
He also notes other factors such as the
proliferation of good restaurants in developed economies and higher disposable incomes.
Carole Stone, managing director of the market research agency YouGovStone, agrees that the traditional business dinner party has
declined in popularity. "Both partners usually work and people are much more focused about their leisure time," she says. "If you do have people for dinner, it's a case of start early, finish early."
Ms Stone says she still thinks dinner is a great way to
get to know people but few now have time for formal, multi-course entertaining, as evidenced by the rise of the kitchen/diner and decline of the formal dining room.
There are, of course, some areas where business entertaining at home is still the done thing. Politics is one and the foreign service is another. Malika Browne, a writer and the wife of a Damascus-based diplomat, says she and her husband entertain at home about once a month. "
It's up to us how often we do it but it can be an amazing thing to do - in certain cultures - as it shows people you're opening up your home. People love to come and look round and see your wedding photos."
Back in the UK, Alex Cheatle of concierge company TenUK doesn't just cater for other people's dinner parties but he also regularly
entertains at home himself. "I tend to invite people from different parts of the business or even mix people up - say employees and shareholders. We often have dinners of eight to 10 people. You have a glass of Prosecco, chat about business and then break bread together. It's much more relaxed."
Although Mr Cheatle occasionally gets
take-out or has caterers, he usually cooks himself. "It's far better for relationship-building than taking people to a restaurant." This is doubly true if the business contact has come from abroad. ''If a person comes over for a series of business meetings, a night in someone's house is memorable. They've had meetings with everyone else but I've made a friend."
Outsourcing the cooking can mean something as relaxed as phoning for pizzas or curry or as formal as a catered dinner. "We can provide our members with a
chef, waiter, dishwashers and, sometimes, even cleaners for the next day," says Mr Cheatle. Entrepreneurs, he adds, often love catered dinner as they like the personal touch and aren't sufficiently
inured to expense accounts to sign off four-figure restaurant bills
without flinching.
It's also popular with high-flying women who love entertaining but whose careers have precluded becoming domestic goddesses. However, it can pay not to appear
flash. Vintage champagne and caviar send out a money- wasting message. And think carefully before showing off that 52in plasma television screen if you want to persuade your boss to give you a pay rise.
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