Howto host: the student way

Georgia Balmer discusses the student-friendly ways to host a summer celebration

AFTER what has felt like years of late night library sessions in harsh fluorescent lighting, the freedom of summer is finally here and with it, BBQ season. The smell of burning burgers can be found pumping out of concrete gardens across the city, leaving much to be desired about our fellow students' ability to throw a good barbie. Hoping to avoid complaints of dry burgers and an un-Instagrammable ‘tablescape’ at your next gath ering, all whilst keeping to a student budget? Read on for some simple tips for hosting success this summer.

Clean-Up Mode: The stolen road sign and traffic cones might have seemed like an ingenious decor addition when you ‘borrowed’ them after one too many Venoms in the depths of winter, but no student garden has ever looked better because it resembles a building site. Other than the hardy smokers, few of us ever venture out to our student gardens before May and that lack of love is clearly reflected in seas of weeds. Spending ten minutes cleaning up and hiding the aforementioned urban ‘decor’ will make all the difference in creating a worthy BBQ space.

Channel Ottolenghi: Whilst few of us have the budg et or spice collection to cook Yotam Ottolenghi’s recipes, bulking up your BBQ with beautiful salads and vegetarian dishes is a budget-friendly way of making your spread look far more impressive than it actually is. Take a leaf out of Ottolenghi’s book and make vegetables the star of the show; it might be the most nutritious meal some of your guests have had in months. Think grilled auber - gines, mounds of Greek salad, and elevated griddled corn on the cob slathered in chilli butter. Even dry burgers and cheap baps from Morrisons will look Instagrammable paired with pretty salads littered with jewels of pomegranate seeds and smatterings of crumbled feta. Setting the Scene: Now that you’ve lost your main garden decor of rusty stolen road signs, replacements are needed. Brighten up the festivities with strings of fairy lights, some cheap and cheerful flowers (even Waitrose do a bunch of tulips for only £3), and take inspiration from the Old Firehouse by repurposing your old wine bottles into candlesticks.

Aim to Impress: Unfortunately, few student budgets stretch to slow cooked lamb on the grill, but that doesn’t mean that your BBQ can’t be any less of an impressive feast. Wow your barbie guests and keep them from complaining of hunger as the BBQ inevitably takes longer to heat than expected, with homemade flatbread, equal parts self-raising flour to yogurt with a teaspoon of baking powder, and tzatziki. Elevate grilled halloumi with drizzles of chilli oil and end the evening with a budget-friendly and always-impressive pudding, like a summer fruits pavlova. Most students have spent the last few months living off caffeine, dwindling motivation and cheesy chips; using the above tips, you’ll receive more praise than you really deserve and throw a BBQ to remember.