I’m 60 seconds into my conversation with Gina Bruno and find myself nodding in agreement, something I’ll continue to do for the next 20 minutes. The self-proclaimed “chef, mom, and host” wears a lot of hats. Private chef, event producer, event space owner, and food show host are just a few of the titles Bruno claims, but central to all of her work is a palpable love of people, and of creating a space for gathering, both of which make her a natural-born host.
Bruno cites her Italian roots and the Sunday dinners she had as a child as the sources of her hosting instinct and ethos. “I am a family style cooker when I'm hosting, and I just want to fill people up. I want to fill their glasses up; I want to fill their plates up. And the best compliment that I could ever get is having to tell someone, ‘Hey man, it's really time to go home because I am exhausted and I need to go to bed.’”
Not everyone has a natural inclination toward hosting, though, so to help them out I asked Bruno to run me through her tips for throwing a gathering, be it an intimate dinner or a rowdy holiday party.
Plan the menu around one main dish
“On a table, I will always have one kind of grand slam big, big dish, and then there's all the supporting actors on the table,” says Bruno. While she uses saved folders on Instagram and Pinterest and likes to browse the Bon Appétit app, Bruno primarily looks to the market for inspiration, describing herself as a “very, very in-season cooker.” “I have so many recipes saved, and sometimes some of those get used, but there is something that just happens when you're walking, and you see all of these fresh ingredients, and you just get to create a dish right in front of you.”
Prep as much as possible in advance
Bruno’s main tip for anxious hosts is to prep as much in advance as possible. “Sauces and dressings you can absolutely do the day before, and that alleviates so much time the day of. You could go as far as literally setting your entire table the way you want it to be set with napkins, plates, silverware,” says Bruno.
Set the mood
“Lighting is a huge thing,” says Bruno. For evening soirées, she kisses the big overhead light goodbye, opting instead for lower light from lamps and candles tucked into corners to make the space feel moody. “The mood needs to be right, and you want to feel sexy when you walk into somebody's home,” she says.
Clean as you go
Bruno worked in restaurants and went to culinary school in Paris, where she learned the importance of maintaining a clean workspace. “If something spills right then and there, you are wiping it right then and there. If you use the spoon and you're done, it's going in the dishwasher. Cleaning as you go is a big step,” she says.
Encourage conversation
When hosting a more intimate event, one of Burno’s favorite moves takes the form of an interactive game meant to encourage a bit of deep conversation. “Right before I serve dessert, I have everyone lift up their plate, and there is a little note underneath,” she says. The note has a question on it, either handwritten or printed depending on how much time Bruno has, and every question is different. “It adds a layer of, ‘Oh, our conversation maybe wouldn't have gone here… I just love getting to more juicy parts of the person, whether it's a close friend or an absolute stranger, and it keeps people on their toes,” she says.
