John Bridges - A Gentleman Entertains Revised and Expanded: A Guide to Making Memorable Occasions Happen

A
GENTLEMAN
ENTERTAINS

OTHER GENTLEMANNERS BOOKS

How to Be a Gentleman
John Bridges

As a Gentleman Would Say
John Bridges and Bryan Curtis

A Gentleman Gets Dressed Up
John Bridges and Bryan Curtis

A Gentleman Walks Down the Aisle
John Bridges and Bryan Curtis

Toasts and Tributes
John Bridges and Bryan Curtis

50 Things Every Young Gentleman Should Know
Kay West with John Bridges and Bryan Curtis

50 Things Every Young Lady Should Know
Kay West with John Bridges and Bryan Curtis

How to Be a Lady
Candace Simpson-Giles

As a Lady Would Say
Sheryl Shade

How to Raise a Gentleman
Kay West

How to Raise a Lady
Kay West

A Lady at the Table
Sheryl Shade with John Bridges

A Gentleman at the Table
John Bridges and Bryan Curtis

A Gentleman Abroad
John Bridges and Bryan Curtis

A
GENTLEMAN
ENTERTAINS

REVISED AND EXPANDED

A GUIDE TO
MAKING MEMORABLE
OCCASIONS HAPPEN

JOHN BRIDGES
AND BRYAN CURTIS

2000, 2012 by John Bridges and Bryan Curtis

All rights reserved. No portion of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any meanselectronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, scanning, or otherexcept for brief quotations in critical reviews or articles, without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Published in Nashville, Tennessee, by Thomas Nelson. Thomas Nelson is a registered trademark of Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Illustrations by Alicia Adkerson, Adkerson Design

Thomas Nelson, Inc., titles may be purchased in bulk for educational, business, fund-raising, or sales promotional use. For information, please e-mail SpecialMarkets@ThomasNelson.com.

ISBN-13: 978-1-4016-0455-4 (repack)

The Library of Congress has cataloged the earlier edition as follows:

Bridges, John, 1950
A gentleman entertains / John Bridges and Bryan Curtis.
p. cm.
ISBN 10: 1-5585-3812-7
ISBN 13: 978-1-5585-3812-2
1. Entertaining. I. Curtis, Bryan. II. Title.
TX731.B73 2000
642.4dc21
00035289

Printed in the United States of America

12 13 14 15 16 WOR 6 5 4 3 2 1

For my mother, Patsy Caldwell,
for her love and her recipes.

B. C.

For Joe Rowland, who made this
book possible in ways, I hope,
only he understands.

J. B.

CONTENTS

ix

At some point in his life, every gentleman will feel the need, the pressure, or maybe even the desire to entertain. It may be a moment when he has something to celebrate (a new job, new friends, somebodys unusually important birthday), something to hope for (maybe a new romance), or something to pay back (after a few too many weekends of letting other folks pick up the tab for the cocktails). It may be a moment when he is hoping to seal a new business deal. It may even be a moment when, for no reason except his basic gentlemanliness, he has decided he just wants to be a nice guy.

When that moment arrives, however, a gentleman may discover, much to his chagrin, that his mother is nowhere to be found. He will try to remember her parties, but he may only be able to remember little sandwiches involving thinly sliced cucumbers and the sound of a whirring food processor. He will remember little bowls filled with fancy cashews. In short, it will not be exactly the kind of party he had in mind. He will look in his freezer and find nothing except a bag of ice, a box of imitation tangerine-flavored popsicles, and a couple of single-serving chicken potpies. He will glance around his living room and discover there are lint balls under the sofa. He will try not to think about the bathroom where the formerly white tile is now an odd shade of green.

x

There is no real reason, even at such a moment, for a gentleman to panic. Instead, it is a time for methodical planning, attention to a few details, and not sweating anything. This may be the moment, in fact, when he realizes that just because he is a guy, he does not necessarily have to be a klutz.

He may have to realize that he is a grown gentleman now, and that its high time he thought about planning a party. Because he is a gentleman, he can survive even the evening that bears down upon him. Better yet, he can survive it with style, by being resourceful, doing the best he can, and relying on his higher instincts.

There are signs that at least some of those instincts are worth trusting. He already has a bag of ice in the refrigerator. And, for any gentleman planning a party, that is a very good place to start.

When a gentleman entertains his friends and acquaintances, he has only two goals: to enjoy the pleasure of their company, and to make sure they enjoy his. He is not out to impress anyone.

Any time a gentleman plans to have guests in his home, he always...

... makes a quick list of things to do before his guests arrive and, if necessary, a list of the steps required to get dinner on the table. (Writing such things down is much more dependable, especially when both he and his guests are having fun.)

... makes sure his guests know where they may park, especially if he lives in a condominium or apartment complex.

... goes to the grocery store and the liquor store early in the day.

... makes sure there is plenty of ice.

... makes sure the white wine is chilled, well ahead of time, and that the red wine has been opened early, so that it has time to breathe.

... makes sure there are enough clean glasses, plastic or otherwise.

... checks the flatware and serving pieces he plans to use during the evening, and, if necessary, gives them a quick rub with a kitchen towel.

... determines what sort of music he wants to play.

... decides, more than a half hour before the guests arrive, what he will wear when he greets them.

... runs the garbage disposal, if he has one, and, at the very least, makes sure to empty the trash.

... puts out a fresh hand towel, or two.

... takes a shower and puts on deodorant, a fresh pair of underwear, and a clean T-shirt.