Coming up with an idea for dinner every night can be frustrating. We try to find a meal that everyone enjoys, that can be put together quickly and that reheats well. The key to adding a new recipe to your rotation is to sample it. At a Dinner Tasting Party, guests bring one of their favorite dinners, hot and ready to taste along with enough printed recipes for everyone. Be sure to have your guests bring plenty to sample at the party as well as enough for each guest to bring a sample size home. (A sample size is a bite or two.) Guests leave the party with a stack of recipes and a bag full of samples for their own family to try.

Sound intriguing? Keep reading for party plans.

How to get started: Make your guest list. This party is perfect for neighbors, co-workers, church groups or friends. It is best to determine any allergies ahead of time. Create up a Sign Up Genuis where guests can add what they are bringing to avoid any repeats.

Directions for guests: Ask everyone to bring their go to weekday meal, hot and ready to eat. They are to bring additional, bite sized portions that are already packaged and in a cooler. Containers meant to hold dressing (3-4oz) work well. Guests will also need several copies of their recipe – one to go with the prepared dish and one for each guest. The hostess will provide a folder or binder for the guests to take the recipes home.

When the guests arrive, place a number on their cooler and on their dish in the serving area. Partygoers will spend the first part of the evening sampling the meals, mingling and catching up with friends. Picky eaters have no fear. You can read the recipes to see if the dish includes an item that is not your favorite.

After everyone has eaten to their heart’s content, the guests will vote on their favorites. You can have one prize for a best dish or come up with creative categories for everyone to get a ribbon.

Categories might include Best Meatless Dish, Best Crockpot Dish, Spiciest Dish, Best Comfort Food, etc.). Look for kitchen-related prizes like serving dishes, seasonal kitchen towels or gadgets.

Keep the party going with games:

Write a question such as, “What is your favorite place for pizza?” on the top of a piece of paper. Clip paper to a clipboard and pass around the room asking everyone to write down their answer. It might be fun to have several questions like this. Other suggestions include Best Date Night Restaurant, Favorite No-Cook Meal, Best Packed Lunch Items, Best Carryout Meal, or Best Bakery.

How well do you know your spices? Place 10 spices in numbered plastic bowls. Each guest will smell or taste each spice and write the name of the spice next to the corresponding number on their scorecard. Use everyday spices like oregano or garlic salt and mix in a few like tarragon or coriander.
Matching – This is a great game if everyone at the party knows each other. Include a questionnaire with the invitation asking questions about your guests like a favorite music group, sports team or hobby. Write answers down on separate index cards. At the party, the hostess asks the question while guests work together to try to guess which answer goes with which person. Players get a point for each correct answer.

Write down simple categories like cereal, TV show, holiday or dog breed and put them bowl. Have the guests draw out a card and name 5 of their favorite items in that category within 30 seconds.


Pam Molnar is a freelance writer, foodie and mother of three. She enjoys writing about party planning, meal planning, women’s health and making memories with family and friends.