A rustic harvest dinner party

Late summer is such a rewarding time, every other day baskets of fruit and vegetables are coming home with me from the plot and blackberries are also appearing in the hedgerows. The harvest is bountiful and it's really satisfying to cook everything that has been grown or foraged for. It's a great time to gather together the family and prepare a plot to plate feast, to sit and talk over rich berry crumbles or toast a glass of home brew over a fresh pasta dish with French beans, tomatoes and summer squash.

The ideal kitchen for such a gathering would be a country style with a wooden bench table and enough space for everyone to sit around. Reclaimed doors and floorboards make a rustic table option, stripped back and sanded, then painted with a distressed look for a homespun feel or add a delicate floral table cloth.

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Pared with mismatched chairs or even an up-cycled church pew, a bench table becomes a centre point for the kitchen diner. Consider some stylish kitchen pendant lighting that can create a comforting and homely ambiance in the room. Overhanging the dining table, a pendant light will cast a warm glow and set the mood for an evening dinner party.

Image source: Grace and Glory

Combine with candle light, tea lights and lanterns for a subtle, gentle flicker for cosy informal suppers and chit chat. Add crisp white table ware to show off your homemade cooking and platters of bread and bowls of fruit. 

Image source: Trendenser

I've grown my own flowers this year, jugs of dahlias or vases of sunflowers added to the table for natural charm look pretty and keeps with the feeling of bringing the outdoors in. I love the idea of using vegetables and berries to decorate with too, a scattering of rich purple blackberries across the table or a bundle of runner beans tied with brown string would look fun. Beautifully rich harvest colours for an unusually table centrepiece.

Image source: The Natural Wedding Company

Summer is slowly passing over into autumn, the evening is start to draw in and I can't think of anything better than tasting the product of the year's hard work. Add jars of chutney to the table, this week I made a courgette one for the first time. A glorious way to bottle up the summer and great with cheese and crackers. 

So invite the neighbours, the family or maybe even the other allotment holders over, host a pot luck supper and savour some time to enjoy all your efforts. The first smell of wood smoke and a tint of autumn in the air, take time to relish those last drops of summertime. 

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*Collaborative post*