House Proud: Picnics

Posh up your picnic by taking inspiration from leading events expert Sophie Lillingston of London-based Lillingston Event Management (0044 207-221 5820 lillingston.co.uk), who says it’s all about creating a sense of theatre. She has served oysters on the half shell on the shores of a loch and set up a picnic table on a Tuscan hillside groaning with tomato and basil plants and an array of olive oils. Guests pick the tomatoes and basil to accompany the buffalo mozzarella. It’s all about surprise and ease, she says. At a recovery picnic brunch a Bloody Mary bar offered a cure to those who partied the night before.

Breads and pates were served with ham, carved off the bone, and omelettes made to order on a simple travel gas burner. This is food for thought if you want to impress someone special. This large-scale picnic, pictured, is a very upmarket version of the standard picnic table.