Karen Wright: What a trolley good idea for perfect hostess
I have always wanted a hostess trolley! As far back as the 1970s I have dreamed of owning one. Until recently I didn’t have a house with space to store one.
Now I have the space, so I bought a second-hand one and I absolutely adore it. It is like a piece of furniture; it is teak and in perfect condition.
I think dinner parties finally arrived in my world back in the seventies and that is when the hostess trolley made its entrance into the homes of some friends of my parents.
We didn’t get one alas as my parents divorced when I was a teenager, but I did get an invite from time to time, and I marvelled at this restaurant on wheels. I have been trying out my trolley in preparation for Christmas when it should really come into its own.
The trolley can keep food at the correct holding temperature for a couple of hours which means all the preparation and washing up of pans can be done ahead of service and the ‘hostess’ can sit down with guests and have a pre-dinner drink.
On both occasions I have made a mini carvery, basically a Sunday roast. Last night I invited my Mum to join us as she likes traditional meat and two veg meals. I had roast chicken, stuffing, mash, carrots, swede, broccoli and cauliflower cooked and in the body
of the trolley.
Then I set to making gravy, roast potatoes, roast parsnips and Yorkshire puddings. When they were ready, I put them on the hot plate at the top of the trolley, and we were ready to eat!
The meal was very good; I decided that the food had remained in optimum condition and that the whole process was easy. Now I need to try some other styles of cooking, I am confident casseroles, shepherd’s pies, curries and the like will be perfect things to
prepare ahead of time, and they are crowd pleasers – just the thing for parties or even a summer BBQ – another idea for next year.
Now that I have fulfilled the long-held dream of owning my own trolley perhaps I should be renamed Abigail, from the hit seventies play Abigail’s Party or just stick closer to home and call myself the Hostess with the Mostest!