As much as hosting and having people over for a party or a get-together is fun, there is no denying the amount of work and labour that goes behind setting up a party. From deciding on the menu, grocery shopping, cooking, taking out and cleaning all the good china at home or hunting for the perfect plates to buy, to sorting out your drinking requirements – the list is endless and tiring. We empathise with this situation and did the heavy lifting to work on the ultimate guide to hosting.
From professional chefs, home chefs as caterers, to bartenders, restaurants, and even dedicating bartending companies, experienced women with decor and tablescaping skills you can’t help and not click thousands of pictures, a list of beautiful looking crockery you can buy to even DIY meal boxes to engage your guests in an immersive food experience, our ultimate guide to hosting has it all. It is a one-stop-shop for hosting at home and impressing your guests.
A Le Cordon Bleu Sydney and IHM Aurangabad alumnus, Chef Vansh Khanna has always been passionate about creating memorable dining experiences whether through his catering services or his cloud kitchen, The Indian Project. He started Catering by Chef Vansh Khanna in 2022 with a goal to bring restaurant-level food and service to private events after realising people really want an experience at home. They handle everything – from curated menus, live food stations, providing crockery, cutlery, to even trained staff. Their specialty is Modern Indian and Continental dishes but cater to all cuisines. However, they focus on customisation and tailor the menu as per the client requirement, theme and vibe of the event. Catering by Chef Vansh Khanna is based in Mumbai but they cater to outstation events around Karjat, Lonavala and are open to travelling.
Single Thread is a bespoke catering company by Chef Manu Chandra and veteran hospitality professional Chetan Rampal. From regional Indian, to modern Indian, global cuisine, Mediterranean, Asian, European – Single Thread offers a variety of cuisines and customised menus across cuisines. Each detail is tailored to match the occasion and aesthetic. From table décor, food and cocktail pairings, to thematic styling, they offer a complete event solution for a memorable experience. While they are based in Bengaluru, they cater to events across. Besides metro cities like Chennai, Mumbai, and Delhi, they have also catered events in Hampi, Chikmagalur, and Mussoorie.
Foodie, entrepreneur and mum Malvika Mulchandani started Apero in 2021. Her love for food, curating menus and feeding people led to her starting Apero. She learnt everything about food and business on the job. They handle everything for events from end to end such as décor, food, service and whatever else required to cater a party. However, they deliver all of these cheeses, dips, desserts and food as well and also provide a chef-on-site service to help navigate a small party without a full-blown catering service.
Started in 2022, Homa is a family business led by Sapna M. Vats, Manmohan Vats, and their daughters, Vedika and Vatsala. Their shared passion for curating extraordinary experiences paired with decades of expertise in luxury events, catering, weaving artistry and storytelling into every detail led to Homa. They believe that the home, the heart of celebration and connection deserve an experience as elevated as the most exclusive restaurants and they wanted to bring the refinement of haute cuisine to the intimacy of personal spaces and the authenticity of home dining. Based in Delhi, Homa is known for its Modern Indian, Italian, European, and Modern Asian cuisines. They have also brought culinary icons like Gary Mehigan, Heston Blumenthal, and Nigella Lawson to India for one-of-a-kind, unforgettable meals.
Founded in 2012, Sage & Saffron is a boutique catering and fine-dining company based out of Mumbai. Launched by restaurateur Aditi Dugar as a home-run enterprise, Sage & Saffron is now a 25-member team. For a personalised experience, they design menus that go beyond the confines of cookie-cutter templates, and tap into diverse cuisines by using fresh ingredients and staying true to authentic flavours.
Charoli started in 2015 as a pop-up dining experience to revive and document the forgotten Royal cuisine of Central India. However, it was only in 2020 when founder and Chef Anuradha Joshi Medhora opened their first delivery and catering kitchen in Mumbai, Bandra. They noticed a gap in the market for well presented high quality Indian catering and thus, with Charoli, started recreating palace classics and built a narrative for gourmet Indian food beyond butter chicken. They curate concept meals for their clients that range from The Marathas, Yore, or even the Nawabiyats of undivided India. Charoli is a full service catering company and provides services in food, bar, and decor.
Mumbai-based founder and Chef Amal Farooque started Sage & Olio in 2019 completely on a whim but admits that food and hosting has always been a big part of her life. Sage & Olio is all about edible experiences, gourmet catering, sit-down dinners, brunches, pop-ups, grazing tables, and more. While they offer many cuisines, she is particularly proud of her Arab and Mediterranean cuisine. Some of their other cuisines they provide include Korean, Asian, Thai, European, Mexican, and American. They are known to make everything from scratch and work with local vendors, farmers, cheesemakers, and more and ensure that everything from their breads, oils, to sauces, and more is made from scratch.
Good Food Concept is a Mumbai-based catering company led by Chef Virendra Rawat. Currently, The Good Food Concept caters to kitchens of Bombay Gymkhana, Hinduja Hospital, Jaslok Hospital, and the banquet and kitchen in Dadar’s Parsee Colony Gymkhana. Founded in 2014, they are known for catering most cuisines and are based in Mumbai but open to other cities as well.
Pune’s Malaka Spice has garnered a reputation as a popular Southeast Asian restaurant for over 25 years. They provide catering and bartending services, ideal for hosting guests at home where they take care of everything—from providing high-quality cutlery and crockery to flawless service. From classic options to cocktails tailored to suit the specific preferences of each event, they have something for every type of party and theme. They are known for their signature cocktails crafted from fresh and seasonal ingredients such as starfruits, mulberries, and water apples grown on their very own Cherish Farms, making it a proper farm-to-cocktail experience. As of now they only cater to Pune and the immediate outskirts of the city.
Bar Solutions started in 2005 with a need to provide stable jobs to everyone who graduated from their bartending school, Cocktails and Dreams. Since then they have started doing house parties, focusing only in Mumbai. However, 19 years down the line, says CEO Pranav Thakkar, they cater to a house party of 10 to the biggest music concerts and events happening in India. Their team consists of bartenders who graduated from their school and trained by them. Their USP is that they deliver everything at the doorstep and provide everything from glassware, bartenders, waiters, limes, alcohol, mixers, and more and they charge on MRP which is also returnable later. They also have an impressive 24-hour turnaround time or even lesser when it comes to house parties.
Flaming Trio has been providing bartending services with an experience of over 20 years featuring a team of over 300 professional bartenders. They focus on delivering personalised bartending and creative cocktail experiences. Flaming Trio also offers customised bar setups and bar menus designed to cater and align with the event’s theme and style. Flaming Trio also has a bartending school called Drinq Academy. While their head office is based in Mumbai, they also cater to Hyderabad, Delhi, and UAE.
Kolkata-based Ipsita Chakraborty, a bartender, started providing bartending services around seven years ago when she realised that there weren’t good bar services available and bartenders who smiled behind the bar. It was the lack of females behind that bar that also pushed her in this direction to pave the way and create a space for them. She admits that her style and approach towards making drinks is classy and clean and focuses on cocktails that taste good, have low to no sugar, and zero-proof cocktail options. Chakraborty also adds that she makes a lot of drinks with tea, herbal and flower infusions, makes her own syrups and liqueurs, uses local seasonal produce and sources honey from local vendors. She caters to events across India and some even internationally as well. Her aim is to create an all-female bar team.
Troopr is a one-stop shop for all your event planning requirements! From gourmet catering, expert bartending services, to live entertainment, co-founder Vatsal Saghvi has come up with a solution for all of these problems witty Troopr. Their trained staff curates personalised menus for a better experience for the guests.
Casa Gusto by founder Meghna Bhimrajka offers a holistic approach to hosting. They are a premier multi-designer platform with curated collections of artisan-crafted tableware, home accessories, and décor to elevate dining spaces. As a value add to their retail platform, Casa Gusto offers tablescaping services exclusively in Mumbai, redefining the art of table setting. Their team collaborates to create personalised, visually stunning tablescapes for cosy brunches or even grand soirées.
Mumbai-based Ami Kothari started Dining Couture in 2015 out of her sheer love for hosting. Whether it is creating a menu, experimenting in the kitchen, different ways of serving the food or styling the tables, the focus has always been on making the guests feel special. Besides tablescaping, they also organise workshops to teach everything about hosting and styling tables, curating crockery, and more. They offer their services in all major metro cities such as Delhi, Kolkata, Bengaluru and even smaller towns such as Jabalpur, Karnal, Kolhapur, Belgaum, Chikamangluru, Vizag, and more.
Childhood best friends Devika Khot and Pooja Puri came together to start The Evnt Collective in 2019. It was born from a love of bringing people together and the shared belief that every space can be transformed into something magical. They also have a sister company focusing only on events but since the pandemic, The Evnt Collective has mastered the art of making even the tiniest dinner party feel like a grand affair. They specialise in event planning and decor, tablescapes and styling, gifting solutions and event coordination. Besides creativity, they also heavily focus on creating the experience as personalised as possible. While they are based in Mumbai, they cater to events based in Delhi, Goa, and more.
Mumbai-based architect and entrepreneur Taral Jadhav launched Do It Up in 2020. Do It Up (Events) is another branch of her interior design studio and was born as a means of catering to the audience’s need of celebrating intimately. Their USP lies in providing reasonable budgets, quicker turnkey solutions to interiors and customised event decor services for special occasions. Do It Up (events) has also catered to notable Bollywood celebrities and restaurants in Mumbai. They currently cater to all areas in and around Mumbai including Lonavala, Alibaug and Karjat but only take on exclusive events across India depending on the scale and budget.
Founder Archana Raniwala started Bloom Barn in January 2021 as a passion project. After pursuing a floral design course online during the pandemic, the idea for Bloom Barn was simple – having floral arrangements with a fruity twist. This meant adding seasonal, hyperlocal edible elements to their designs. Think fruits, herbs, fruits or veggies. Besides tablescape, they also offer their services in bouquets, celebration and gift hampers, wedding favours, and brand collaborations. What sets them apart is definitely their edible arrangements with florals. While they predominantly cater to Mumbai, they have also worked on event decor and gifting in Goa and Bengaluru.
Plate & Peonie features a vast collection that ranges from table linens, serveware, to cutlery. Plate & Peonie is Anandita Kothari’s labour of love where each piece of crockery and cutlery is more beautiful than the other. Expect floral motifs and intricate designs in a variety of options such as bowls, dinner plates, cutlery sets, kettle, matkas, serving spoons and sets, tablecloths, napkins, coasters, mugs, bottle openers, and much more.
India Circus by Krsnaa Mehta is a journey through India with its range of exquisite home decor, dining and accessories to impress your guests. From the palaces of Rajasthan to the banana plantations of the Cauvery Delta each item at India Circus is quintessentially Indian. Their dining segment has a collection of mugs, cups, and saucers, bottles and tumblers, tableware, dinner sets, lunch boxes, bowls, platters, and more. All these collections come in delicate floral and Indian-focused patterns such as fauna, animals, and bright yet soothing colours.
Freedom Tree is a design and colour strategy studio based in Mumbai by Latika Khosla. What makes their products stand out is that they are bold and graphic in colour, making them unique in their own way. There is no doubt that design is at the forefront in everything Freedom Tree does. Their dining collection includes a variety of plates and platters, cheese trays, cake stands, serving trays, cutlery, mugs, glasses, bar accessories, and table linen such as napkins, table covers, table mats, aprons, and much more.
Westside’s home decor section has had a massive revamp and they offer a variety of options to make your house look straight out of a Pinterest board. From plates, mugs, trays, coasters, table mats, and more, the list is endless. The best part? Just like the apparel section of Westside, their home decor segment is just as affordable and yet gives a chic finish to their products.
Food Square has a number of DIY food kits in different cuisines that make any party not only fun but more engaging for the guests as well. For all the Korean fans out there, their Korean DIY kit features ingredients and instructions to create authentic dishes. The meal box contains soba noodles, toasted sesame oil, gochujang for bibimbap, aka miso, togarashi mix, kimchi ramen, and a mushroom kit. They also have a Japanese kit, an Italian pasta kit, and a DIY baking kit.
Ravioli’s Pasta Fresca provides authentic and freshly made pasta and other ingredients to elevate your Italian dish. However, if you want to make a plate of fresh pasta without the hassle of cooking and getting the recipe right, opt for Ravioli’s convenient and easy to make pasta kits. Choose a sauce from pesto, pomodoro, carbonara, funghi, arrabiata, bolognese, and more followed by your choice of freshly made pasta, making the whole experience as customisable as possible.
Rounit Gambhir founded Chefling with an aim to simplify cooking exotic dishes at home and to offer a personalised state-of-the-art gourmet experience that’s fun, delicious, and light on the pocket. Sticking to this belief, they offer a variety of DIY kits such as a sushi kit, Korean gochujang ramen kit, taco kit, lasagna kit, enchilada kit, cheung fun kit and much more. Their sushi kit includes sticky rice, nori sheet, pickled ginger, tempura flour, wasabi powder, premium soy sauce, distilled vinegar, sesame seeds, sriracha mayo, sushi mat, and chopsticks. They also have Jain variations for these boxes.
Indulge in home cooked-style meals without the hassle of cooking. Pluckk offers a variety of kits to kickstart your party at home. From assorted veggies and a pakoda mix, stuffed masala karela, aloo, and even bhindi, to a variety of soup, they have the perfect comfort meal.
