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You don’t have to be Martha Stewart to host a successful dinner party. Sure, it helps to know your way around the kitchen—but a great dinner party isn’t just about good recipes. It’s about creating a pleasant sensory experience for your guests. And with a few science-backed strategies, you can do exactly that.

Start with the guest list

When it comes to the number of guests, the sweet spot is somewhere between five and eight, according to the 2022 Canadian Social Connection Survey. 

During conversation, we can effectively track the thoughts, emotions, and intentions of only about four people at once, including ourselves. This may explain why smaller gatherings—around four or fewer—can feel less enjoyable. Everyone is locked into a single conversation that pushes the limits of their attention.

With five to eight guests, the dynamic shifts. The group naturally breaks into smaller clusters, letting people engage in more manageable conversations. Enjoyment rises as a result.

Go much bigger, though, and the effect reverses: In groups larger than eight, emotional closeness drops, and so does overall enjoyment.

Once you’ve got the right group, the next step is making sure the food supports the mood.

When planning your menu, think about flavor profiles. “My general rule of thumb is not to serve bitter foods,” Rachel Herz, a neuroscientist and author of the book Why You Eat What You Eat, tells Popular Science. Research suggests that consuming bitter substances increases hostility—hardly the mood you’re aiming for. 

Bitter foods are also divisive. About a quarter of people are “supertasters”—genetically wired to perceive bitterness more intensely, which can make foods like endive and Brussels sprouts especially off-putting.

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A generous spread might seem like a good idea, but overabundance can backfire. Herz notes that the more courses and variety you offer, the longer guests linger at the table and the more they tend to eat. 

In fact, research shows that people eat more when they eat in groups because more food is available to each of them, on average, in such settings. This may leave guests uncomfortably full or regretful later on, says Herz. 

Serve food and drinks at the right temperature

The temperature of a dish has the power to change how it tastes. Savory dishes can seem less salty when served hot, while sweetness becomes more pronounced as foods warm up.  

Make sure that the temperature of the food and drink does not clash with your guests’ expectations, Herz adds, because this can lower their enjoyment. She gives the example of how people in America drink their beer ice-cold, while people in the UK drink theirs only slightly cool. Neither is right or wrong, but mismatched expectations can throw people off.

Put thought into tableware

Heavy cutlery enhances the enjoyment of food. In one restaurant experiment, diners using heavier, higher-quality utensils liked the same food better and were willing to pay more for it than those using lighter cutlery.

Even plate color affects how people perceive food. Different colors may be appropriate for different foods, but “the safest bet is a white plate,” Herz says. For example, the same strawberry mousse was rated sweeter and more enjoyable when served on a white plate versus a black one. 

Unless you actually want your dinner guests to eat less, Herz suggests avoiding red plates because they can act as a stop signal, making your dinner guests feel less comfortable and causing them to eat less.

Plate size matters as well. If you don’t want guests to feel overstuffed or too sleepy to do anything afterward, Herz suggests avoiding very large plates. This is because people generally fill whatever plate they have, so large plates encourage large portions.

Set the right mood

Herz suggests keeping the lights at a low-to-medium level. It should be bright enough to see the food, but not glaring. Softer lighting helps guests feel more relaxed.

Like plate color, music also affects how people perceive food. For example, Chardonnay wine tastes more delicate and sweeter when paired with classical music, while jazz enhances the enjoyment of chocolate.

Tempo matters too. A study found that people who listened to slow tempo music were more relaxed, spent more time eating, chewed more times and for longer than those who listened to fast tempo music.

But keep the volume down because loud background noise can dampen perceptions of sweetness and saltiness, making food seem less flavorful overall.

Don’t let scent sabotage the meal

Herz, who is a world-leading expert on the psychological science of smell, recommends avoiding other strong, non-food scents in the dining room. She advises against things like scented candles, air fresheners, and other home fragrances that can clash with the aroma of the food. 

If you have, say, a coconut, rose, or patchouli-type candle going while you’re serving dinner, and it doesn’t mesh with the smell of the food, that mismatch can put your guests off their food. 

Something like firewood from a fireplace can work because it’s more neutral, says Herz, as long as the smell of smoke isn’t overwhelming. The key is that any non-food scent shouldn’t be strong and shouldn’t compete with, or contradict, the food aromas.

So the next time you’re hosting, remember that what’s off the plate counts as much as what’s on it.

In Ask Us Anything, Popular Science answers your most outlandish, mind-burning questions, from the everyday things you’ve always wondered to the bizarre things you never thought to ask. Have something you’ve always wanted to know? Ask us.

 

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