Has anyone hosted/attended a

[ChrisB]

Recipe Exchange Party? I'm seriously thinking of hosting a few. Experiences, tips, etc.?

[Carol in Cal.]

Two were cookie themed, and samples were provided!

 

One was a soup/chili cookoff, samples were provided and prizes were given, and then recipes were also available.

 

I think that it is easier if there is a theme. That way everyone knows what to expect. It's important to set quantities--number of copies, number of servings, etc.

 

Sometimes a theme can be related to health or a specific diet in some way; i.e. lowfat, low sodium, sugar free (define that), vegetarian, vegan, gluten-free, etc. Often a theme can be a specific course--salad, dessert, main dish, side dish, etc.

 

I was in a group for a while that did international food potlucks. We would pick a country or region, decide who would bring which course (rotate them), and then take turns hosting a potluck dinner from that region. This was a VERY successful group, particularly because everyone in it was from out of state and the locale we currently lived in was low in restaurant variety.

[kewb]

I've been to a couple. One a cookie exchange-samples of all those yummy cookies. The other was a Holiday recipe exchange. I preferred the Holiday recipe exchange because there was an assortment of appetizers, main dishes, and desserts. When you responded the hostess asked what you wanted to bring. If she already had too many in the category you wanted you had to choose something else. It was a lot of fun.

[ChrisB]

So in your groups was there a binder, or something of that nature, that was used to hold the recipes of the dishes the people brought? Also, were specific people invited or did a big invite go out to a group and the first to respond got spots? I have a smaller kitchen and I could only invite 6 others.