Hostess Ready
HOSTESS READY
Zjoosh founder, Kellie Rigney, shares some of her simple secrets to assist in the art of entertaining.
I love to entertain. Getting friends together to share some good food and wine would have to be one of our favourite family past times, and we do it often. It is, however, not lost on me that there is some work involved. There’s always that last minute dash to the shops for missing ingredients or ice, and then there’s the cleaning…
Given the slightly stressful elements involved in entertaining, I have tried to cover off some of the key hosting essentials in our ZJOOSH living range.
Hand Soaps and Hand Creams
I love to pop out fresh soaps and hand cream in the bathrooms when guests are visiting. I love the brands Glasshouse, Circa Home and Palm Beach Collection soaps, but my new favourite is our Panier De Sans range from France.
I also love to use soft, fresh towels for guest to dry their hands. I keep a cupboard full of our Turkish handtowels so I can change them throughout the night. Light and absorbent, they double as great dish towels to dry glassware later.
Home fragrance is a bit of an obsession of mine, and I always burn a soft floral-scented candle on the hall table, which is both warm and welcoming. After cooking in the kitchen I often opt for a more citrus-ey scent, particularly if I’ve been cooking with garlic or other strong spices.
Before guest arrive, Its always nice to give everything a wipe down. Not sure about you, but I don’t really want my kitchen and bathrooms to smell like a hospital! Murchison Hume (created but genius, Max Kater) has solved that problem for me with its naturally-fragranced home cleaning products. Not only do they smell good, but they really do clean better than anything I’ve used before. Add to this the fact that they also look beautiful… What more could you ask for?!
MURCHISON HUME 500ML COUNTER INTELLIGENCE FIG
For me, nothing beats well-ironed table linen. I am almost a collector. I l go through phases of using all white, or all grey, but right now I am in a blue phase. Our soft blue table linens and napkins are so gorgeous, but their washed-out look makes them feel casual as well as elegant. We are not one for ‘formal dining’ with place cards etc., preferring for our guests to be relaxed and sit where they want to enjoy each other’s company.
If time has gotten away and the linen isn’t ironed, or is the number of guests have grown (as they always seem to do), I absolutely love using our stunning range of paper napkins. I keep a drawer filled with different packs. They are such an easy and affordable way to add a burst of colour to the table, and they make the clean up cinch!
- Irene Rayment
