Review: Party Like A Star by Shilarna Vaze

From baby showers to sit-down dinners, Shilarna Vaze’s book shows you how to throw a party without having a nervous breakdown

208pp, ₹699; Penguin

In an era when a ‘do’ at home is often a BYOB (Bring Your Own Booze) affair with food ordered in, when recipes are shared on YouTube and Instagram, and cookery shows are available round-the-clock on streaming channels, a shelf of cook books is fast becoming an endangered heirloom. Yet, here’s Shilarna Vaze aka Chinu, writer, mum, TV host, celebrity chef and chef for the celebrities, arriving in such a culinary world with her cookery book for the connoisseur.

With Le Cordon Bleu epaulettes securely fastened on her petite shoulders, Vaze, author of Party Like A Star, has rustled up a mammoth checklist and recipes for hosting a range of parties from baby showers and weddings to intimate gatherings and sit-down dinners with perfect china and party entrees to match, and main courses to follow.

The book begins with a brief glimpse of her 10-year culinary journey. The reader gets an inside view of Shahid Kapoor and Mira Rajput’s baby shower, and of Alia Bhatt’s casual parties. Then there are endorsements from Sonam Kapoor and Zoya Akhtar. The Bollywood name-dropping works in Vaze’s favour but not as much as her choice of menu, party hacks and detailed recipes. A party doctor of sorts, who starts with a diagnosis of the party woe at hand, and then comes in with tried-and-tested hacks, Vaze’s tips and recipes are arranged in sections according to the nature of the party.

Author Shilarna Vaze

The recipes are arranged according to the type of party. From brunches and high tea to baby showers, the chef has collated a fabulous array of recipes that are easy to read and eclectic – this is true of the entrées and dips and of the circulating canapés on to the main course too. You are treated to sev puri verrines crème fraiche on coriander waffles, to coffee liqueur and dark chocolate cake, and to the experimental portmanteau dish, the gulabmisu! A few of the recipes are absolute tongue twisters. That shouldn’t deter you, though. The test of a cook book is the ease of rustling up the recipes. The cataloguing, however, is a little haphazard. A proper content categorisation at the start of the book would have helped readers find recipes quickly.

The all-important checklists are stashed at the end. These deal with everything from what should be served at the bar, and what should make it to the prep lists, to what to leave for the day of the party. From linen to lighting, from party favours to timings and outdoor kitchen recces, it is all here.

The tone of the book is warm and friendly, and the outpouring of love for hosting, cooking and sharing a warm meal with family and friends is occasionally wordy but genuine: “Most of all, I hope you find time to be with the people you love; that your home becomes a space for celebrations, deep conversations and hands-up-in-the-air dancing…” This is a compendium on throwing a party and feeling like a star that checks all boxes.

Swati Rai is a communication skills trainer and freelance writer. She lives in Hyderabad.