barrett prendergast, dinner party, cooking, entertaining, hosting, healthy

<a href="http://q.equinox.com/articles/2015/04/sugar-snap-pea-salad-recipe" target="_blank">Snap Pea Salad with Radish and Feta ></a> <a href="http://q.equinox.com/articles/2015/04/spaghetti-arugula-pesto-recipe" target="_blank">Spaghetti With Arugula Pesto ></a>

"<a href="http://www.paperplaneswine.com"target="_blank">Paper Planes Rosé</a> is a new Russian River Valley rosé. The packaging is perfection and it is all I want to drink in this LA heat. It goes perfect with the garlicky pesto and crispy snap pea salad."

"I'm all about serving food on white. It looks the best this way, and really lets the guest focus on the colors of the dish. We registered at <a href="http://www.heathceramics.com"target="_blank">Heath Ceramics</a> for our wedding, so I pretty much use these opaque white plates everyday. Then I decorate the table with some brightly colored poppies. I always feel that simple flowers are best. I love having just that little pop of color to compliment the food."

"A few girlfriends, and my husband and baby of course. I love to cook and share food with family and friends—and now that we have a baby, it’s a lot easier to have people come to us! I prefer intimate dinner parties where I can bring people together. With smaller gatherings, people make that extra effort to talk to someone they don’t know."

"I just got my husband, André Vippolis, a record player so we’ve been playing tons of records—lots of Bruce Springsteen, War on Drugs and Leonard Cohen. It's a great way for him to share his love of music with our guests. People always gather around the record player, look through the albums, and pick what to play next."

When Los Angeles-based celebs, fashion designers and lifestyle bloggers want to throw a chic dinner party, they turn to Barrett Prendergast. Chef and owner of boutique catering company <a href=http://valleybrinkroad.com target=_blank>Valleybrink Road</a>, Prendergast is beloved for her effortless style, organic <a href=/articles/2014/06/new-farm-to-table>farm-to-table</a> menus and gorgeous custom made gift boxes that can impress even the most discerning, seen-it-all giftee.To celebrate the hint of <a href=/articles/2015/04/spring-scents>spring</a> that’s (finally) in the air, we asked Prendergast to share some of her secrets to hosting a successful dinner party. Check out one of her fashionable fetes:

My dinner party: Barrett Prendergast

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