Hospitality

My family is really big on gatherings. Not only are we big on gatherings, we are big on food as well. It took us 3 years to gauge the proper amount of food to bring to Mak Long’s house for iftar potluck (which is normally held on the first weekend). You should have seen the amount of leftovers on the first year… even after we all took some home.

Now, my mom, coming from that family is naturally big on feeding guests as well. She loves guests, just loves them. But her condition is simple – tell her that they are coming beforehand. I know this because I got into an argument with her once when I surprised her by bringing my (then) fiancé back home for dinner. She got so mad at me because she couldn’t prepare something special for him to eat because hey, she really is a great cook.

Coming from that kind of background, it’s kind of hard for me to not worry about insufficient food or food not being delicious enough when I am expecting guests, the result of which is… I hardly invite anyone over for gatherings, though I love having guests. And having a husband who gets along well with my friends and who helps clean up after, I really don’t have much of a problem. Or at least I shouldn’t, but…

… my only predicament is food.

One – if I buy food, will it be enough?

Two – if I cook, will it (1) be enough; and (2) be tasty enough?

All this leads back to my problem which is… I end up not having any guests over… at all.  

I realise that this is contributed by the lack of confidence I have in my cooking skills. Padahal… cooking really isn’t an issue for me at all. It’s not that I can’t cook at all or that I don’t have anything in my fridge and food cabinet to serve. I do! I just have to muster the courage to cook for someone other than my spouse. Believe you me, I haven’t even cooked for my parents because I know I can never be at par with my mom (walaupun sebenarnya in some areas, I am a better cook than she is haha). The result of which is when they come over… I order. Tak guna punya anak. Ahaha.

I think I once told my mom about this “problem” of mine and she just said… “Alaa bukan ada siapa nak bagi markah, Girl.” But what about my own crazy standards about being a good host? That does count, doesn’t it? Plus, that coming from her?... YEAH RIGHT. Haha

But recently, I’ve been going to friends’ houses and I came to realise one thing – it really isn’t so much about the food most of the time, but rather the hospitality one shows, which really isn’t too much to ask from me. I may not be able to cook all the fancy foods one can think of but if I am sincere in entertaining them, it will shine through, no matter what it is that I serve.

Got to always bear that in mind, always.

Plus, a skill has to be built to be there right? Got to start materialising all those recipes in my head. Practice makes perfect.

Now, who wants to come over? ;)

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