Tom & I are having a disagreement on something & I need your help to settle the score. Every year we have some kind of food & drink party. For a few years it was a Margarita Sunday. Tom whipped up some tasty & strong concoctions & I cooked Mexican inspired food. This year we talked about having an Easter brunch, but too many friends were going away, so I suggested something else & he kind of pooh poohed it. I want to have a cookbook tasting party(a better name is needed).
I'm in the middle of testing all of these family recipes & what a great way to get lots of opinions on what is great or what needs improvement. I could serve a soup, appetizer, pasta, main course with a side dish & dessert. I would photograph the event & maybe even make it part of the book. We would only invite friends & true food enthusiasts. Tom thinks it's wrong to invite people over & then make them fill out some kind of questionnaire on the food that is served to them. I said that these are people who love us & know about the book already & would be helping me out a great deal & they would get to eat lots of good food. So what do you think? Is it a cheesy idea or a brilliant one? Any suggestions?
Has Tom never heard of focus groups?! :) Who better to be your focus group than friends and loved ones who are already aware of your project and would (hopefully) give you honest(yet loving...unlike real focus groups!) comments?
If I were hosting such an event, I'm afraid it would have to be called "Recipe for Disaster!" :) I have no catchy names to suggest...maybe "A Taste of (insert cookbook name)"...since it's sort of an 'appetizer' (so to speak) of what's to come with the book? I did think of the film "Big Night" when reading your post. (So much great food in that film!) :)
It sounds like fun. Especially if you make a fun short questionaire (with pencil attached) that will be handed out as each guest arrives and collected as each guest departs. It will not only help you with rating the dishes to know what needs tweaking but then you'll get some real feedback. I can see that one of the difficulties is that everyone might be inclined to say "wow everything was fabulous" even if they think that maybe one dish has a little too much salt and another might be tastier if the vegetables were roasted instead of steamed.
a couple of ideas (off the top of my head) for party names:
1. dinner in six courses - pay attention there's a test
2. feedbag and feedback
3. recipes sneak peek
4. sing for your supper
At the actual dinner, you could separate each course with a request for people to fill out on their forms the question for that particular course. And of course, encourage discussion.
I think it's a great idea! People love to eat, they also love to be asked their opinion. Be sure they understand that you need honest opinions. I think themed parties are FUN!! Have wine and good music...........invite me!!!
It's a brilliant idea! I wish I had a friend putting a cookbook together so I could be part of a test group. :) I think people would have fun discussing the food and all the flavors. Food brings out conversation, so I don't think anybody would mind providing feedback on the dishes.
I don't think I've commented before, but I found you through Collective Souls. Love your blog!
All artwork and content of this site copyright Dawn Falcone. All
rights reserved.
Designed by
Paper Relics thanks to squid fingers for the wallpaper
Powered by Blogger -
Syndicate
11 Comments:
111168899385969951">At 1:29 PM,
Sara said...
I think that's a fabulous idea! Who better to give you honest criticism than your friends and family? Good luck!
At 6:21 AM,
Anonymous said...
Has Tom never heard of focus groups?! :) Who better to be your focus group than friends and loved ones who are already aware of your project and would (hopefully) give you honest(yet loving...unlike real focus groups!) comments?
If I were hosting such an event, I'm afraid it would have to be called "Recipe for Disaster!" :) I have no catchy names to suggest...maybe "A Taste of (insert cookbook name)"...since it's sort of an 'appetizer' (so to speak) of what's to come with the book? I did think of the film "Big Night" when reading your post. (So much great food in that film!) :)
At 9:11 AM,
Elizabeth said...
It sounds like fun. Especially if you make a fun short questionaire (with pencil attached) that will be handed out as each guest arrives and collected as each guest departs. It will not only help you with rating the dishes to know what needs tweaking but then you'll get some real feedback. I can see that one of the difficulties is that everyone might be inclined to say "wow everything was fabulous" even if they think that maybe one dish has a little too much salt and another might be tastier if the vegetables were roasted instead of steamed.
a couple of ideas (off the top of my head) for party names:
1. dinner in six courses - pay attention there's a test
2. feedbag and feedback
3. recipes sneak peek
4. sing for your supper
At the actual dinner, you could separate each course with a request for people to fill out on their forms the question for that particular course. And of course, encourage discussion.
-Elizabeth
At 9:11 AM,
Anonymous said...
I think it's a great idea! People love to eat, they also love to be asked their opinion. Be sure they understand that you need honest opinions. I think themed parties are FUN!! Have wine and good music...........invite me!!!
At 10:20 AM,
Anonymous said...
It's a brilliant idea! I wish I had a friend putting a cookbook together so I could be part of a test group. :)
I think people would have fun discussing the food and all the flavors. Food brings out conversation, so I don't think anybody would mind providing feedback on the dishes.
I don't think I've commented before, but I found you through Collective Souls. Love your blog!
At 11:46 AM,
Unknown said...
I think it's a great idea!
If I were invited I would have no problem at all giving my opinion.
(hint hint) ha ha
also, I've been to wine tasting parties where filling out the form and diagraming the taste were incredibly interesting!
hee haw!!!
At 11:54 AM,
Elizabeth said...
As I was kneading bread, I thought of another one:
...........................
Gastronomy101 - Introduction to the Dawn of the Cookbook
Course(s) duration: 1 evening
Course(s) fee: your participation
Course(s) prerequesite: your appetite
............................
-Elizabeth
At 3:51 AM,
Dawn Falcone said...
Welcome Lemon & Stephanie & Regina! Thanks for your comments.
Giao & Elizabeth, thank you for your ideas. Big Night & Gastronomy 101 are my favs.
Glycerin, yes, you & hubby will be invited.
At 6:37 AM,
Elizabeth said...
Glad you like the "gastronomy101" idea, Dawn!
-Elizabeth
At 8:48 AM,
Jessica Moreau Berry said...
I'm stayin' out of this one! hahaha!! I just wanted to say HAPPY EASTER! (now I'm curious to hear what you 2 actually did!)
At 11:22 PM,
oakleyses said...
louis vuitton outlet, oakley sunglasses, michael kors handbags, cheap jordans, prada handbags, uggs outlet, michael kors outlet, oakley sunglasses, uggs on sale, ray ban sunglasses, burberry outlet, tiffany jewelry, uggs on sale, kate spade, gucci handbags, ray ban sunglasses, prada outlet, longchamp outlet, louboutin uk, burberry factory outlet, tory burch outlet, nike air max, tiffany jewelry, christian louboutin, louboutin shoes, oakley sunglasses, cheap oakley sunglasses, chanel handbags, michael kors outlet store, louis vuitton outlet, nike outlet, ralph lauren polo, louis vuitton, christian louboutin, michael kors outlet online, longchamp outlet, uggs outlet, michael kors outlet online, nike air max, longchamp bags, replica watches, ralph lauren outlet, oakley sunglasses, ray ban sunglasses, louis vuitton outlet online, nike free, michael kors