KARA ROSENLUND
Travel photographer
What was your last memorable celebration?
It was on the timber deck at our weekender on North Stradbroke Island (Minjerribah).
The outdoor deck is a lo-fi place for a gathering, though the atmosphere of the island makes everything feel more exciting – it must be the sea air. I think a great e ortless trick to entertaining is to go high and low at the same time: serve fancy Champagne for the high, then have nostalgic sandwiches for the low. I love doing this with prawn sandwiches on naughty white bread and cold Champagne. When you entertain, what are you known for?
The invitations. I love posting things in the mail, even if it’s just a casual gathering. I like to always make people feel really special and anticipate the time spent together.
Is there something your mum always did when throwing a party? Mum would always have fantastic music blaring as you walked through the door. It would really set the tone for the party and is a lot like my mum’s personality. Lots of classics from the 1950s and ’60s.
Which cookbook are you into right now? Saturday Night Pasta by Elizabeth Hewson.
A song to start the party is… Paint it, Black
by The Rolling Stones.
What’s your table-setting strategy? If you burn the food, as least the table looked beautiful. I probably go to more e ort bringing the table to life and making sure that everyone is comfortable than I do cooking the food. I love to cook, but I love to decorate even more.
I love to sit down at a full and abundant table. Individual place settings with lots of vases brimming with nature and flickering beeswax candles in thick glass hurricane vases.
Are your parties more about conversation or dancing? Conversation – I love a good story. kararosenlund.com or @kararosenlund
(a mix is good if you can swing it) with the peel of an orange or a lemon. That’s instantly fancy.
into olive oil for an instant dip for bread (better yet, pass the bowl and grater and get your guests to do it). are always a good idea.
is a lifesaver. Just on its own with crackers or bread, tossed with boiled waxy potatoes, you name it. And it keeps forever. That goes double for good anchovies. Never mind the Ortiz; Olasagasti, Angelachu, Don Bocarte, Nardin and Yurrita are what you’ll find in my fridge. Is there a better canapé than a cracker or a nice piece of bread spread thickly with butter and topped with a good anchovy? If there is, it might be the Gilda: a stu ed olive threaded onto a skewer with a pickled green chilli and an anchovy. And if none of the above is possible, there is no shame in ordering a (good) pizza, then sitting on the floor and opening another bottle of wine. mfwf.com.au or @patnourse
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT Some of Pat Nourse’s party hacks, starting with shavings of ParmigianoReggiano in olive oil for an instant ‘fancy’ dip. Pat is surrounded by the best-quality produce so he knows his brands. Warmed olives. Sydney’s Winona bottle shop in Manly, which specialises in natural, organic and biodynamic wine. A bottle of Crawford River Cabernet Franc — always great to have on hand. Bar Americano’s Negroni. Cracker-ready Nardin anchovies.