More restaurants, wine stores and even gourmet deli shops are offering tasting menus as social affairs; Typically the menu includes a pairings of wines with appetizers/tapas.

During the event you will see a chef working in unison with a sommelier (wine expert). The meal is cooked in your presence while special emphasis goes into the presentation.

I have below a menu from a neighborhood soiree I attended, the price was $30 per person or $50 per couple. As you can tell, I try to find every reason or occasion to get romantic.

I have seen prices on these affairs run from $30 to the extravagant $175 per person. Look out for those unscrupulous providers who offer four to six courses with three being just “fluff”; one example was grilled head of lettuce!

Menu:

• Fried Oysters with Ancho-Honey BBQ

• • Chanson Sparkling Pinot Noir Brut

• Portabella Ravioli with grilled asparagus and wild mushroom

• • Chandon Pinot Noir

• Veal sweetbreads with braised endive, apple wood smoked bacon and veal glace

• • Gouguenheim Malbec

• Flat iron steak with faro and carrot ketchup.

• • Newton Cabernet Sauvignon

As social and networking event these ranks fairly high, but as romantic affairs, I believe you have the ability to pull this off with some effort. Maybe the menu will not have the intricacy and fanciness of the one above, just prepare items you know how to make successfully.

Buy a good selection of wines, prepare to engage your guest(s) in deeply engrossing conversations about food and the wines.

Then set the stage to display your repertoire and kitchen skills; both creative and technical, talk it up!

This tasting menu is essentially culinary samples served plate after plate, it is both a cerebral and culinary delight.

This experience is best suited for lovers of good food and discovery of tantalizing wines. On the other hand, if you’re a novice this could be the start of a brand new skill, I am sure the more you practice the better you become.