Perfect Table Settings: Hundreds of Easy and Elegant Ideas for Napkin Folds and Table Arrangements
Fumble fingers, step aside. It’s party time every day, thanks to Vivaldo’s latest offering. Caterer, author (The Entertaining Encyclopedia, 2009), and food stylist “to the stars”—the flap copy cites Hollywood functions and post-Oscar wrap parties—the author also provides anyone with the color pictures and easy-to-understand words for turning drab into delightful in terms of 100 different napkin folds, which have been divided neatly into easy, intermediate, and advanced techniques, all with excellent how-to directions. Supplied is a plethora of pragmatic information, from the one recipe that accompanies each of the 25 table settings to a list detailing best etiquette tips for the twenty-first century. What’s unusual is this: many of the folds, such as Go Fish, little bird, pinwheel, and whale’s tale, to mention a few, resemble fabric origami, every one of them pictured in a table setting. Get ready for all of the 2011 holidays. --Barbara Jacobs