I invited a few girlfriends over for an Easter Brunch on Saturday. Immediately I got a text back – ‘Don’t go to too much effort for us Katie’. I texted back ‘You know I love a bit of effort!’ and it’s true. I really do! It’s so fun to make a simple brunch into a little experience. I want my friends to want to come back to our house time and time again. Knowing they’ll (hopefully) be well-fed and looked after. In fact, I really think it’s these simple things that I thrive off as a person. Setting a table and choosing a menu feed my creativity. Especially during COVID times when we aren’t able to host big occasions. It’s lovely to make the little occasions extra special.
Last year I kept the table quite grown up, and this year I knew I wanted to have a little more fun with it. I had ordered a gingham tablecloth online but sadly it didn’t arrive in time. Instead, I mixed and matched my floral print table cloth with my striped, to create a pastel theme. My usual lemon cushion covers were swapped out for a pastel toile de jouy print in pink and blue. To finish off the details I popped some yellow tulips and pink hyacinths in a couple of blue and white vases for an extra pop of colour.
I had wanted to create little bunny ear napkins this year. But when I sent Ben to the shops pretty much all the Easter chocolate had been plundered! He did manage to find me some little gold-wrapped praline eggs though. Which made a great bunny head, the napkin folded up and around it, then sealed with a bow.
Being careful to ensure everyone felt safe and was enough of a distance away from each other, I set two tables. Knowing a few friends would be with us an hour after the others made the seating plan easy. This also meant I could play with the colours a little. Placing the floral table cloth, rattan place mats, white place and white napkins with blue ribbon on one table. Pink plates with pink placemats and alternating white and pink napkins on the other. The ceramic glasses were a very kind gift from Monkey 47 and I think they are perfect for a pastel themed table. I also popped on some champagne coupes and cutlery to finish it off.
For food and drinks, I wanted to make it feel like a special Easter Brunch. I had heard that Pret were now stocking their pastries in Tesco so added a few bags of the chocolate croissants to Ben’s shop as well as a watermelon, strawberries and ingredients to make bagels.
Throughout pregnancy I’ve wanted smoked salmon and cream cheese. But it’s a well known fact that pregnant women shouldn’t have raw fish (whether or not it’s cured). Years ago, Ben and I went on a press trip with Rituals to Amsterdam and were introduced to a plant-based chef who blew our minds with the food they created. Inspired by that, I wondered if carrot could be cured like smoked salmon. Sure enough, a quick google threw up loads of options to me and the night before everyone was due over, I got to work. Recipe will be coming very soon to the blog!
I cheated with the bagels and didn’t make them myself, but when you have guests over, you don’t want to be spending all your time away from them in the kitchen. Instead, I had time to pop open a bottle of bubbles (non-alcoholic obviously. Our faves are this one and this one) and cheers to a lovely warm Easter Brunch with friends in the sunshine!
