Entertaining in Your August Home

or the August team, practice makes perfect and with several Homeowner community events under our belt, we have put together our 5 top tips for hosting in the Premium Collection homes.

The initial consideration revolves around choosing indoor or outdoor dining. Opting for indoor dining offers convenience due to its proximity to the kitchen. On the other hand, outdoor dining effortlessly brings the ambience, with natural light and a sensory experience to complement your culinary creativity. At each August home, there is the perfect outdoor space to host and we cannot recommend them enough.

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“The only thing more memorable than the spectacular view was the warmth and hospitality of our hosts!”

- Signature Homeowners, Hosted by Premium Homeowners in the South of France

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August Award: Premium Collection 01 | South of France For Outdoor Dining

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The next consideration is whether you intend to remain in one location throughout the event. We find that incorporating movement is a great way to break up the event, not to mention it’s an excellent opportunity to showcase your August home. Why not begin with drinks on the outdoor sofas overlooking the entire garden in the South of France? From there, move to the beautifully laid dining table tucked away under a canopy. This way, you can start the evening with a relaxed drinks reception, encouraging light conversation while sipping on the cocktail of the hour, before inviting your guests to wander through the garden before dining. 

August Award: Earl Grey Bees Knees For the Perfect Arrival Cocktail‍

The key to create an intimate setting is choosing to dine in an enclosed space, whether it is on a cosy terrace or secluded in the corner of the garden. This will give your guests a sense that this event will be a leisurely and unhurried experience. The Premium home in Tuscany provides the perfect haven.

August Award: Premium Collection 01 | Tuscany For Dining Terrace

Perhaps the most imaginative part of entertaining at home lies in tablescaping. In line with August’s regional colour palette, we recommend selecting a base colour and matching the flowers and linens, and to take it one step further, the food, to the overall aesthetic. For Tuscany, opt for warm terracotta tones, for the Cotswolds let sage green dominate. In Mallorca we opt for sandy hues and in the South of France, a delicate powder blue.

August Award: Susie Watson For Table Linens

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Wildflowers are the new bouquet, and where better to source them than from your back garden. Escape for a morning by foraging the surrounding areas of your home for vibrant red field poppies in the South of France and Tuscany, lilac cornflowers in the Cotswolds or the blossom of almond trees in Mallorca around springtime. In place of large vases, we recommend using cleaned-out empty glass vessels. Wine, olive oil or milk bottles work a treat or, for something a bit smaller, opt for a collection of jam jars spread down the centre of the table.

August Award: Petalon Wildflowers For Flower Inspiration

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If opting to dine inside, we recommend using elegant candelabras with long candlesticks to add verticality to your tablescape. If dining outside, the natural light will provide luminosity that effortlessly aligns with the overall atmosphere. To enhance your dinner with candlelight, hurricane lanterns make it possible by protecting the flames from any wind. While outdoor lighting is thoughtfully accounted for in the August Homes, the outdoor dining location of the South of France Premium home provides an exciting opportunity. By illuminating the pool lights, you introduce an extra layer of vibrancy and ambience to your event.

August Award: Premium Collection 01 | South of France For Perfect Lighting

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Arguably the most important aspect of any enjoyable gathering, particularly for a foodie, centres around the spread of dishes offered by the host. Our primary recommendation is to seize the season! Each of the August regions boasts gastronomic delights and skilled chefs owe some of their success to access to the freshest local ingredients at that time. Whether it’s Daylesford on your doorstep or the fresh food market in Valbonne, head out in the morning and select your recipes based on what’s available. If the ingredient is not in the market, then it’s not in season and won’t bring its true flavour to the dish.

One of the unique things about the August concept is if you believe something could bring joy to others, you have the freedom to leave it behind. And we couldn’t recommend this more for local cookbooks. When exploring the weekly market in Tourrettes-sur-Loup or dining at one of the renowned restaurants in the area, be on the lookout for cookbooks that capture the essence of the region. Incorporating local cuisine into your cooking is a simple yet effective approach to leaving a lasting impression on your guests. And with new cookbooks, you are helping your fellow Homeowners impress their guests too!

Our top tip for enhancing your hosting experience is to opt for dishes that can be prepared ahead of time. Consider commencing your evening in the comfort of your South of France home with an enticing array of salad prepared earlier that afternoon. With this approach, you can relax and enjoy engaging in conversations with your guests, all while avoiding the role of a kitchen-bound host throughout the evening. 

Alternatively, if cooking isn’t your forte, why not invite a skilled chef to alleviate the pressure? At August, our dedicated Homeowner Experience Team is committed to ensuring your stay is as enjoyable as can be and this commitment extends to organising a magical meal within the comforts of your own home. Only last month, one of our Premium Homeowners experienced an evening of creative cuisine by a talented local chef who was recommended by the August team. With such positive feedback from the evening, we look forward to organising future collaborations with chefs and recreating this experience for fellow Homeowners and their guests. 

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August Award: The Art of Friday Night Dinner For the Exemplary Hosting Cookbook

This summer we recommend sipping on something seasonal. With August spanning four countries, here is the fruit in season for the final few months of summer weather…

Whether in London or the Cotswolds, choose blackberries for the base of your cocktail. A classic Bramble is the perfect combination of sweet and tangy and, created in the 1980s, is unequivocally British. It’s the perfect pairing for either of these quintessential English locations.    

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For Italy, why not turn fresh lemons which are so readily available in summer into homemade limoncello. Mix with bubbles for a refreshing limoncello spritz. Or if you are hosting breakfast in Rome, why not embrace the best season for tomatoes with a Bloody Mary.

With the summer heat of both Barcelona and Mallorca, something ice cold sounds appetising. As watermelon is in season in the summer, why not combine ice with the juicy fruit for a refreshing, frozen watermelon daiquiri.

For France, we recommend the renowned Mirabelle plum combined with jasmine to create a sweet syrup to spice up the classic Fitzgerald Cocktail.

Be sure to serve something non-alcohol too. We recommend kombucha, which can be sourced at local markets or supermarkets near your homes. Pour over strained homemade raspberry syrup with a squeeze of lime for the ultimate refreshing mocktail.

August Award: Leftover Wildflowers For an Elegant Cocktail Garnish

The final touch is entertaining your guests with the perfect soundtrack to your event. Featuring in each of the August homes, the Bluetooth Marshall speaker acts as a portable DJ to move from room to room and even liven up your evenings outside. Accommodating all music tastes can be tricky, so we recommend you opt for something neutral and avoid the charts, unless of course your dinner turns into a karaoke night. Be sure to have the music at a volume where it can be heard but doesn’t stop people from enjoying across-the-table conversation. You are now the host with the most.

August Award: Soho House Spotify Playlists

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