A Tasting Menu for Eight, Without Panic

I keep a single piece of paper on the fridge during a tasting-menu dinner: the timeline. Each course has three lines — when to start prep, when to plate, when to clear. The whole sheet fits on a 4x6 index card. If I cannot fit it on a card, the menu is too ambitious.

The opening course (a single piece of seared scallop on a green-garlic puree) was plated ten minutes before guests arrived. The main (a slow-roasted duck breast with a quick cherry reduction) was seared, rested, and held at a low oven temperature while I sat at the table for the cheese course. Dessert — a single perfect pot de creme per guest — was unmolded from the fridge an hour before service and left to come to temperature on the counter. No last-minute panics.

Two things I would never do again. First, never try to sear duck for eight people in a ten-inch skillet — do it in two batches and keep the first batch warm in a low oven. Second, never serve five courses to a table that is longer than six feet. People cannot hear the guest across the table, the food gets cold, and the host ends up shouting the whole night. Eight is the magic number for one home cook and one kitchen.