Canapé dos and don’ts

• Don’t try to put an eight-course tasting menu onto a 2in-diameter cracker

• Don’t make anything than can’t be eaten in one mouthful

• If it’s chewy, don’t do it. Canapés need to aid conversation, not embarrass the guest

• Don’t make a tray so elaborate and heavy that the waiting staff need to pump iron for six weeks before they come to work

• Don’t create too narrow an array of canapés. Keep dazzling guests with

each tray that arrives in the room

• Do serve cheese straws. Nothing better complements a chilled glass of Krug

Do hand out little sausages, as they sate hunger—but avoid drenching them in honey

• Do create a series of canapés that mimic the courses of dinner, finishing with a sweet flourish

Do create a mix of meat, fish and veg. And cater for vegans, too

• Do serve oysters. Especially if I’m coming