Baptism of Fire

So I had my first party where I didn't know any of the guests. Twenty (20!) regulars from the excellent London SE1 community website were gathering in hostess Jacqui’s basement kitchen diner in Bermondsey for my first proper party. So far, so nerve-wracking. Then a couple of hours before the party, I had a call from the Managing Director of Tupperware UK to tell me that one of the world’s top Tupperware distributors was in London, and could she come to my party? I gulped. Then I thought about dragging that big black Tupperware trolley bag on and off the 21 bus. I agreed the distributor could come -- if she could pick me up and drive me to the party.

My guest Riita is a charming and charismatic woman from Finland, very senior in Tupperware. She gave me a pep-talk on the drive over to Jacqui’s. Unfortunately, the 7pm traffic was terrible, and Riita had never driven in Central London, and her sat nav thought we were going to a street with the same name in some far-flung part of London. I was wild-eyed and a bit shrill with stage fright, and before I even noticed we were flying across London Bridge in the wrong direction. We got there, but we were half an hour late. And Riita got busted for the Congestion Charge. And, as if my stress levels were not high enough, hostess Jacqui turned out to be a food writer and food stylist. But at least she didn’t tell me that until the end, which was sweet of her.

It was a rambunctious and fun party. Jacqui had prepared some ravishing food, but I got through the evening on adrenalin, water and one chocolate- coated cherry. At this rate I will definitely lose this pesky extra stone before my trip to Mauritius in July.

Jacqui had asked for a conventional cooking demo, so I adapted a lemon drizzle cake recipe for the Silicone Flower Form. The splash-guard on the big Bake 2 Basics bowl was handy, with Jacqui’s two young sons cracking eggs and taking turns with the electric mixer. The Citrus Wonder also slots into the splash guard for stabilized zesting straight into the mixture, so less washing up for me to do.


I knew from my last party that the silicone cake “tin” worked like a dream in the microwave, and I am glad to report there were also oohs of wonder when after 45 minutes in the conventional oven, the cake flopped out perfectly again. We drizzled it with a lemon juice and sugar mix which we allowed to ooze through the cake and form a crunchy topping.

Sales were buoyant, the guests were fun and interesting, and for hosting, Jacqui came out with rewards of £65 to spend on Tupperware, and three items of her choice at half-price.

I walked home, trolley bag in tow. 15 minutes.

Next is Julie’s birthday party on Thursday. Three of the guests were at my first try-out party, so for variety I will be putting aside my normal plain black bistro apron, and piloting my new camouflage patterned one (left).

Tupperware Party Animal

It's done. I have just emailed my first party order to Tupperware HQ in Leighton Buzzard. I am officially a Tupperware Man.

My dear friend Laura agreed to host my debut Tupperware party on Friday night at her home in Walthamstow. Three other guests came along, and two more sent their apologies and orders. This first party was longer and more leisurely than they will normally be -- all the guests were good friends of mine, so there was a lot of chat. They also gave me some feedback which will be really helpful for future parties: I have six lined up over the next month or so, with some very different groups of people.

I talked them through the latest products and the Tupperware story, and for the cooking demo I supervised the guests preparing a microwave Chocolate Almond Cake. Laura's normal oven has broken down, so she was keen to experiment with the microwave. We used the flexible Silicone Flower Form, which seems like it is made of rubber and which you don't grease at all. Everyone (including me) was intrigued by how it would work. I suppose I took a bit of a chance by not having a trial run with the recipe, but I used a Tupperware recommended recipe, and I also decided that if the products are as good as they appear, nothing could go wrong anyway. And of course, it all went right. You can see from these photo that despite Laura's initial concern, the cake popped out a treat, leaving barely a mark on the silicone.

Of the three guests, Julie was by her own admission the least interested in buying Tupperware. She is a ceramics and natural materials kind of a girl. But her enthusiasm for the large Silicone Spatula during the cooking demo was infectious, and after taking their turn mixing the cake batter, and seeing Julie's deft cracking of the eggs with its long, hard handle, all three guests bought one!

Laura's hostess reward was £34.50 to spend on Tupperware, and two half-price items.

And of all people, it was Julie who rang me on Saturday morning to book her own party in two weeks' time. She has been looking for a way to celebrate her birthday at home, and having had fun at my demo on Friday, she has decided to host her own Tupperware party. This calls for another cake recipe I think.