After many months of plucking up the courage to ask that gorgeous lady or handsome man out from your department at work, you finally get a yes and you are now in the early stages of the relationship. You fooled yourself into thinking that that is the scary part over and done with, but now you realise that in fact the hard part has just begun - making a lasting good impression! If you are a guy, you wonder where you will take her for a nice evening out together. Whereas if you are the woman, you wonder what outfit will make you look sexy; or perhaps vice-a-versa?



Romantic dinners out are a great way of breaking the ice together, there is nothing better than making the safe step into beginning a conversation in a restaurant with some wine and delectable cuisines. However, the real challenge comes from when you offer to invite the other half over to your place for the first time and put your culinary skills to the test. One may have the cooking part down to the perfect 'T', however, from personal experience one may not know how to get their tableware set right!

If there is one thing that is off putting in a romantic meal at the girlfriend/boyfriend's place is a messy house and an uncoordinated tableware set. Putting up a spread for a romantic evening in is one of the most important aspects being romantic and impressing the other half. The best evenings incorporate the following factors; good company, good food, and candlelit table setting, and of course a clean abode!

Often one or more things can go awry if this is not prepared in advance. Yet the best thing to do is to plan your evening ahead by getting a good idea of how you will be setting the place up, such as getting everything coordinated and planned right down to what colour napkin you will be placing. In order to make the evening as fancy as possible you will need to keep the table clutter-free and neatly arranged with a clean tablecloth of a plain design.

The tableware set does not need to be expensive or laid with real silverware, however, they do have to be clean and stain free. Use white or plain coloured plates and bowls. Wide or large plates make the food seem more appealing and will help you to see what you are eating. You should always have two separate glasses per place setting, such as one wine glass and one for water (which should ideally be placed with a coaster).

For a special meal with your partner you should always put some candles on to create the right mood and avoid putting on a flowery centrepiece. Sometimes this is nice if they are fresh flowers, but make sure that this does not take up any space as the idea is to look at each other when you are eating your meal together and not have a bunch of flowers in the way of eye-contact. Putting on a chilled out soft music in the background will also help with easing you both into enjoying your evening together.

It is better to serve up the food on the plate which is on a placemat, rather than straight onto the tablecloth. Always make sure that when serving up soup you have the correct spoons available (deep-filled soup spoons) with a selection of bread. If you want to make it a little informal by having the food in separate pots, you should have the dinner plates on the place mats face down, with the napkin neatly arranged (in a swan shape if you desire) on top.

Always make sure that the tableware set is kept simple, as this makes the food seem more appealing to the eyes. If you have a rather small dining table, you will need to keep any centrepieces to a minimum, or better still avoid placing any decorative item on the table at all. These are only good for large dining tables, but never for smaller ones which have barely any room for arm space.