Placemats That Do More Than Catch Crumbs!

When I was about eleven years old my parents took my younger brother and I to New York City for the weekend. We saw Cats on broadway, shopped at FAO Schwartz, visited the Empire State Building, and certainly did everything we could have ever wished to do on a visit to the Big Apple.

But when I think of all these fond memories from this trip, the one that is most vivid is a dinner we had (perhaps it was this dinner that started me on the path of food and entertaining) at a restaurant called Câfé 1,2,3' pronounced un, deux, trois' and not one, two, three'.

We were the only children in the restaurant for a dinner seating at around 9pm. We were dressed in matching grey suits with white shirts (very Rain Man before Rain Man was Rain Man) and we definitively garnered our fair share of attention from the rest of the diners as being somewhat an anomaly in North America children being dressed and treated like adults. My parents were fond of taking us along on these trips and through them we had the opportunity to experience places other children our age could only dream about.

In that restaurant you may like to think it was my French mother's influence that had us behaving like perfect gentlemen, but it wasn't (well not entirely). It was a wonderful little gimmick the restaurant offered to all its diners, and developed to encourage guests to be creative' during their dinner. Each table was elegantly set with crystal, silverware and fin china, but included a plain stark white glossy paper tablecloth under it all. In the centre of the table, among the floral bud vases and tealights stood a glass cylinder vase filled with CRAYONS!!!! While not aimed at keeping children occupied during dinner, that is exactly what the crayons and paper table cloth did, and we enjoyed a wonderful meal, all the while filling every last white spot on the table with a plethora of colour and comments.

Now what does this have to do with entertaining? Well in my opinion the restaurant offered up a fantastic little detail which made Câfé 1,2,3 different that other similar spots, and in the spirit of creativity I have created my own version for your dining table.

Part template' with spots for the plate, knife, fork, etc and part trivia and conversation-starter', the printable-paper-placemat can be

DOWNLOADED HERE !

Sections include: Describe your most embarrassing moment' Dining Etiquette Trivia' Make your best TV Show pitch in 25 words or less' or you can of course create your own. Just don't forget to send me a copy!

Combine the placemat with elegant place settings for a contrasting approach to fine-dining and fill out each section between courses. As the evening progresses, the game will become more interesting and certainly provide for some great memories.

Offer up the finished placemats as a wonderful parting gift to your guests, or hang onto them to remember the evening.

Either way, this dinner party game is sure to be a hit !

Sebastien

Sebastien Centner, The Entertainer
		About the author:
		Sebastien Centner is the Director of Eatertainment Special Events and Catering, a Toronto- based company with a rich 25 year history.
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