Table Centerpieces – The Focus of your Dinner Table

Centerpieces, accent pieces, pictures, paintings and decorations you might have in your homes, are there to direct the focus to a particular spot, place or area when entering a particular room. They set the mood of the house whether it be modern, ethnic, antique or contemporary and a visitor will associate the “feel” of your house with your personality, hobbies and simply the person you are.

Every table should have a centerpiece, as even a simple lunch or dinner should be celebrated and enjoyed.

A perfectly set dining table without a centerpiece is just that, a perfectly set dining table. With a beautiful set centerpiece the dining table becomes the centerpiece of the dining room. The table centerpiece is very important, as it needs to be in sync with the food being served, needs to reflect your taste and personality and can be the major attraction and focus of your guests ahead of the actual dinner. The table centerpiece will also evidence the attention to detail the host has put into the occasion as well giving a feeling of festivity, to whet the appetite for the dinner that is to follow.

Every table should have a centerpiece, as even a simple lunch or dinner should be celebrated and enjoyed. An informal lunch with friends or family might call for a simple and small table centerpiece, perhaps with seasonal flowers or ornaments.  It makes everybody feel welcome at the table. A centerpiece for a grand affair or formal dinner can include anything from antic candelabras, elaborate flowers, crystal or ceramic figure to intricate water features.

There are very few rules to what your centerpiece should look like, as it is really up to the individual’s creativity and imagination, but here are a few guidelines:

1. The centerpiece needs to be aligned with the size of your table. Keep in mind that, if you’re serving dishes family style in the middle of the table, you will need some room for the bowls and platters the food is served in. It is fairly embarrassing if half way through the setting of the food the centerpiece needs to be removed in order to ensure all the food fits onto the table.
2. Candles and lights can set a great mood. However, they are also radiate heat from the flames or light bulbs and too much might just make the atmosphere too hot. Also, if you are setting candles in an air-conditioned or fan cooled room, check with the airflow as they might “blow” one way and that way will drip over the table. Candles should also be either tall or low (tea candles in a decorative glass).
3. The centerpiece needs to ensure an unobstructed view to the guests at the other side of the table. It needs to be either low enough so guest can see each other and hold a conversation or be elevated high above the table, the very least as high as above the eye level of an upright seated person.
4. Candelabras and similar items should be placed strategically as not to obstruct the view.
5. Water features and other electronically powered items carry messy cables. Those should be hidden and tucked away underneath a table runner or similar. Ensure that all plates and glasses are still standing flat and are not inclined to tip when a guest places it back on the table.

Thomas Wenger

Born in Bern, Switzerland, Thomas followed in the footsteps of his mother and entered a three-year cooking apprenticeship program and graduating it at the age of 20. Working a few short stints in a winter ski resort and a city hotel in Basel/Switzerland during the following years he took the opportunity to work in New York in 1986. What was originally planned as a one-year experience in New York lasted three years and went on to a global career, which led him to Australia and on to Hong Kong in 1990. For the past 15 years, Thomas has explored South East Asia and it’s cuisines and regional specialties. He worked in some of the most exciting cities in the world - Singapore, Hong Kong and Bangkok and his culinary style reflects the many experiences and the people he worked with. Throughout his career, Thomas liked the challenges and diversity of hotel operations. He recently joined a Hotel & Restaurant Management school in Manila, Philippines as Senior Culinary Faculty.