As a food professional, I must confess that there are days when I just want to sit back and have others pamper me. Fellow chef and one of my guests, caterer extraordinaire Celeste Gordon agrees with me. It is pleasant for us to be on the other side for a change - in relaxed mode. I am incredibly fussy about my food as you can imagine, and as it was my last soirée for the year, I wanted to make sure that it was extra special and the food was fabulous.

I like to envisage what my crowd will look like, the music in the background and other little things to create a certain mood. I wanted an elegant evening with European house music and World Beat sounds in the background. My theme was black and white. You can never go wrong, as most people have clothes in these shades already and do not have to go shopping for a new outfit, especially not in these times when we are scaling back.

Guests on the buffet line. (Photos: Garfield Robinson)

Guests (from left): Ali Lue, Angus and Christine Gordon and Debra Taylor enjoy signature cocktails on arrival.

Everyone brought goodies whether sparkling beverages like champagne, cava, prosecco, sparkling juice or sodas. Nicole Shirley brought mini trifles and her velvet mocha cake. So you see, people will contribute in order to facilitate a good time. Never be afraid to ask people to help out in creating an excitement-filled evening, you would be surprised, sometimes they want to do more than you ask of them, so do not be too proud to ask for help whether it is for items towards the meal, to help with cleaning up or to organise the music.

People love to play a role, and you can have a good time making the plans leading up to the event.

Anyway, I digress, let me go back to the planning stages for this special evening. I called the inimitable restaurateur, well soughtafter caterer and bon vivant, my friend Colin Hylton of Guilt Trip to help me brainstorm an end-of-year feast using local ingredients with international flavours.

Colin Hylton adds nuts to the salmon.

As chefs we pride ourselves on the freshest of the fresh and Coronation Market provided much of the delicious bounty and inspiration for the menu. Sorrel, gorgeous carrots, fresh herbs, crisp varieties of lettuce and other vegetables from fertile Jamaican soil formed the foundation. From other suppliers, meaty pork ribs, plump chicken thighs, tasty salt fish and succulent salmon also clamoured to be added to the mix.

Together, all of these wonderful ingredients formed the basis of a wonderful repast for a great evening. Colin and his lovely staff were absolutely wonderful and remained cool despite the awful power-cut hours before guests arrived, which would have made lesser mortals panic even if it slowed us down a bit.

We planned a buffet-style menu rather than a plated sit-down for a number of reasons - the costs, number of guests and due to the fact there would be people arriving from all over at various times. Therefore, we had a cocktail hour where the guests were served appetisers and the cocktail drink, you regular readers know this is my signature. It's impossible for me to have an occasion without a conversation starter, and I find a fancy drink does the trick.

Jacqui Sinclair is a Cordon Bleutrained chef/food stylist & hotelier. She has worked in the world of food photography and film in Europe. A bon vivant, she is passionate about sharing her food secrets with enthusiastic home cooks.

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