An Amelie Inspired Dinner Party Menu
***Rachel Khoo would like to thank all the inspiring people who helped make the Khoollect studio a hive of creativity. Although the Khoollect studio’s doors have now closed, you can keep up with Rachel’s newest adventures on RachelKhoo.com and on Rachel’s Instagram and Facebook pages – and, continue to enjoy the Khoollect website’s stories and recipes, which will remain available.***
The time for food, family and friends is truly upon us but while the thought of entertaining your nearest and dearest over December’s festivities is wonderful, knowing what to serve or even how to keep your guests entertained, can make even the most experienced host draw a blank.
So this year we thought we’d go the extra mile and plan an evening for you by enlisting the talents of Alissa Timoshinka, founder of Kino Vino, a London-based supper club combining food and films (and Khoollect favourite), to get her take on a party worthy menu for your friends, with a KV twist.
You can never go wrong with a themed dinner party but when it’s tied to a cult classic film, you’re guaranteed a memorable evening and she went all out by basing the evening on one of our absolute favourites – Amelie. Here she explains how to plan, decorate and host an Amelie inspired evening as well as an entire menu inspired by food featuring in the film.
We’ll let Alissa take over…
A Dinner Party Chez Amelie…
Amelie is a visually scrumptious film, oozing French charm and quirkiness. I watched it an infinite number of times in my teens, completely enchanted by the unconventional protagonist and her romantic plights.
While Amelie is not a film about food, it features many memorable food scenes and humorous references, from little Amelie wearing the delightful raspberry fingertips, to the touching finale where Amelie imagines her love interest, Nino, buying ingredients for ‘Miss Amelie’s famous plum cake’.
With this gathering, I would like to transport you to a table in a charming bistro and add a little rustic French touch to the experience. A perfect dinner for two this menu would work equally well for a party of close friends with plenty of wine and an intoxicating sense of joie de vivre! The dishes that I create here are not straightforward classics of the French cuisine but instead are inspired by some scenes and dialogues from the film – I’ll let you guess what they are…
The Menu:
Raspberry and lime gin and tonic
Roasted cauliflower with salsa verde and herb crumbs
Mascarpone roasted chicken
Braised artichokes, fennel and new potatoes
A rosewater plum crumble
Amelie Dinner Party Tips:
Taking inspiration from the colour scheme of the film, warm dark red and wood colours would make a beautiful palette for your table. You can recreate the atmosphere of a Parisian bistro with a crisp white tablecloth or by exposing the wooden table and letting the napkins be the only fabric on the table.
To create a link between the herbs in the meal and the table setting, you can use the same or similar greens in the floral arrangements; rosemary is my herb of choice for its versatility and good-looks. However chive flowers, lemon thyme, oregano and lavender would also work well.
As well as using herbs in the floral arrangements you can create the most elegant individual herbal posies and attach a name tag as an extra special touch. These will not only help your guests find their way and feel particularly welcomed at the table, but could also make for a lovely souvenir to take home. To make the posies, and the same principle applies to the large bouquet to be placed in a vase on the table, you will need springs of rosemary, oregano, thyme and lavender or any colourful herb/bloom of your choice. Arrange them together in your hand, making sure each element is clearly visible and tie with a florist string.
To add a bit of quirk, reflecting Amelie’s character, why not dot around a few framed printouts of the paintings that feature in the film – Renoir’s ‘Luncheon of the Boating Party’ and the most adorable ‘Dog’ and ‘Goose’ paintings in Amelie’s bedroom.
You can make the dinner more interactive and playful by taking inspiration from the photo booth theme of the film, using props like the hat and the mask of Zorro, to add a little fancy dress element to the night and give an outlet to your guests’ creativity, which will certainly be flowing after a few glasses of vino.
Love Alissa’s tips? Have a suggestion for our next themed menu? Let us know in the comments below.
The time for food, family and friends is truly upon us but while the thought of entertaining your nearest and dearest over December’s festivities is wonderful, knowing what to serve or even how to keep your guests entertained, can make even the most experienced host draw a blank.
So this year we thought we’d go the extra mile and plan an evening for you by enlisting the talents of Alissa Timoshinka, founder of Kino Vino, a London-based supper club combining food and films (and Khoollect favourite), to get her take on a party worthy menu for your friends, with a KV twist.
You can never go wrong with a themed dinner party but when it’s tied to a cult classic film, you’re guaranteed a memorable evening and she went all out by basing the evening on one of our absolute favourites – Amelie. Here she explains how to plan, decorate and host an Amelie inspired evening as well as an entire menu inspired by food featuring in the film.
We’ll let Alissa take over…
A Dinner Party Chez Amelie…
Amelie is a visually scrumptious film, oozing French charm and quirkiness. I watched it an infinite number of times in my teens, completely enchanted by the unconventional protagonist and her romantic plights.
While Amelie is not a film about food, it features many memorable food scenes and humorous references, from little Amelie wearing the delightful raspberry fingertips, to the touching finale where Amelie imagines her love interest, Nino, buying ingredients for ‘Miss Amelie’s famous plum cake’.
With this gathering, I would like to transport you to a table in a charming bistro and add a little rustic French touch to the experience. A perfect dinner for two this menu would work equally well for a party of close friends with plenty of wine and an intoxicating sense of joie de vivre! The dishes that I create here are not straightforward classics of the French cuisine but instead are inspired by some scenes and dialogues from the film – I’ll let you guess what they are…
The Menu:
Raspberry and lime gin and tonic
Roasted cauliflower with salsa verde and herb crumbs
Mascarpone roasted chicken
Braised artichokes, fennel and new potatoes
A rosewater plum crumble
Amelie Dinner Party Tips:
Taking inspiration from the colour scheme of the film, warm dark red and wood colours would make a beautiful palette for your table. You can recreate the atmosphere of a Parisian bistro with a crisp white tablecloth or by exposing the wooden table and letting the napkins be the only fabric on the table.
To create a link between the herbs in the meal and the table setting, you can use the same or similar greens in the floral arrangements; rosemary is my herb of choice for its versatility and good-looks. However chive flowers, lemon thyme, oregano and lavender would also work well.
As well as using herbs in the floral arrangements you can create the most elegant individual herbal posies and attach a name tag as an extra special touch. These will not only help your guests find their way and feel particularly welcomed at the table, but could also make for a lovely souvenir to take home. To make the posies, and the same principle applies to the large bouquet to be placed in a vase on the table, you will need springs of rosemary, oregano, thyme and lavender or any colourful herb/bloom of your choice. Arrange them together in your hand, making sure each element is clearly visible and tie with a florist string.
To add a bit of quirk, reflecting Amelie’s character, why not dot around a few framed printouts of the paintings that feature in the film – Renoir’s ‘Luncheon of the Boating Party’ and the most adorable ‘Dog’ and ‘Goose’ paintings in Amelie’s bedroom.
You can make the dinner more interactive and playful by taking inspiration from the photo booth theme of the film, using props like the hat and the mask of Zorro, to add a little fancy dress element to the night and give an outlet to your guests’ creativity, which will certainly be flowing after a few glasses of vino.
Love Alissa’s tips? Have a suggestion for our next themed menu? Let us know in the comments below.
Oh my goodness, there are so many gorgeous things about this post! I love the film, I love the recipes – the styling and photos are wonderful; I adore KinoVino! Literally exploding with happiness right now! 🙂 xx (Rachel, please do a KV!! Please, please, please!!) xx
I thought the same thing when I read the piece too. Another thing to put on my bucket list. Just not enough hours in the day!
Oh thank you so much for this gorgeous post! Rachel, I am so thrilled you liked this and would love to do more next year!
John, thank you for all the love 😉 xxx