Pot Luck Etiquette Advice

Organizing Your Potluck Party Although the term "potluck" suggests a random assortment of dishes, it's likely to turn out better when the host does a little bit of organizing. If you don't want to risk the chance that all of your guests will bring only desserts, begin by assigning your guests a specific course to bring along. Next, ask each guest to commit to a general category of food even if they're not prepared to tell you the exact recipe. After all, as much as I love brownies, five plates of brownies wouldn't give much variety to your potluck and there would be a lot of leftovers!

1. The host generally provides one of the main dishes, plates, silverware, napkins, and glasses.

2. If you are a guest, ask the host what to bring. The host may have food categories divided among the guests such as bread, salad, appetizer, main dish, side dish, dessert, and beverage.

3. Arrive on time. Do not inconvenience the other guests by making them wait for you and your dish to arrive.

4. Bring the appropriate serving utensil for your dish. The host may not have the utensil or have enough serving utensils for everyone's dish.

5. Unless you have an unusual serving dish and utensil, it is best to tape your name to both for easy identification. Have your name attached is helpful if you forget to take your dish home.

6. The dish should be ready to serve and kept at the appropriate temperature until placed on the table. If bringing hot food, keep it hot until it is placed on the table and bring a hot plate to protect the table surface. If bringing cold food, keep it cold until ready to serve.

7. When at the buffet line, only take a small portion of each item to taste. Part of the fun of a potluck is to sample everyone's dish.

8. Help the host with clean up. If everyone helps with clean up, it will get done in a fraction of the time with little effort on everyone's part.

9. If your dish has leftovers, then take them home unless you would like to offer it to the host. Do not take someone else's leftovers.

10. Show appreciation. Let everyone know how much you enjoyed their dish and thank them.