Things You'll Need:
- Food
- Drinks
- Entertainment
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Step 1
A good date contains three elements: food and beverage, entertainment, and romance. This is old-school dating advice from Emily Post. At the beginning of a relationship, for first dates, the entertainment and the food and beverage take priority. That’s why it is important to do it right on the first dates. It doesn’t mean you will be paying for fancy dinners the rest of your life. As the relationship progresses, romance begins to take a more prevalent role, and the food and entertainment can be scaled back. This continues obviously until you are living together, eating sandwiches, and ignoring the dishes, in a state of 100% romance.
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Step 2
Cook for your date to start reducing costs early on. Keep in mind that many women and strangers will not want to go to your house alone when they don’t know you very well, so you can’t start cooking for your date until you have an established relationship of dating at least. A “night in” with a home cooked meal and entertainment in the home is often one of the steps as a relationship progresses, establishing trust, and determining how clean your bathroom is
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Step 3
Include all three elements. Food and beverage, entertainment, and romance. If you are cooking at home for the meal, don’t forget to include the entertainment. At the very least, a good movie that your guest hasn’t seen, or something you are planning to see together on TV. Some types of cooking you can do together, and this can cover some of the entertainment, but only if they are truly FUN foods: grilling outdoors, sushi, fondue. A picnic is another option for a date, which can include the fun factor. This is also appropriate for a public meeting or first date, when the person is not familiar enough to invite to your house.
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Step 4
4. What to cook? Well, if you’re trying to impress this person, you had better make it rock. Entertaining foods are a good idea, like the outdoor grilling suggestion, or a new recipe with exotic ingredients. Romantic foods are also a good idea like fresh fruit, wine (served or in a recipe), and chocolate. Also very important: what does your date want? They will have their own preferences on coffee, meat, alcohol, fat and other tastes. Ask ahead so you know. For some people a simple cup of coffee may make them feel all warm and fuzzy inside, and for another person it might have no effect. If your meal is designed for their tastes, it will be more special for them
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Step 5
Remember to cook ahead if you can. Your guest might want to be included in last minute preparations like toasting garlic bread or stirring the gravy, but they will not be impressed if they walk in the door and are ordered to start boiling water, or even if they have to sit on the sofa while you are in the kitchen doing it. This is also old-school etiquette – the host must be available to entertain the guest, and can’t be tied down in the kitchen. So unless you have a staff available, you should cook as much as possible ahead of time, and have some appetizers on hand, such as antipasto, veggie sticks, or other snacks.
Buying some of your food prepared, either from the grocery store or from take-out, can also cut down on your preparation time, and still count as cooking for a date.
Comments
jenng said
on 7/14/2009 Great article on How to Cook at Home for a Date 5*