Private chefs share their 10 best tips for hosting stress-free cookouts this summer

With Memorial Day marking the unofficial start of summer, it’s time to fill sunny weekends with outdoor gatherings by the grill.

“Nothing really brings people closer together than some great food and a nice backyard vibe,” Justin Robinson, an Atlanta-based private chef and content creator with nearly 40,000 followers on Instagram, told Business Insider.

But while attending a summer cookout can be a fun way to spend a weekend, hosting one might present challenges.

From preparing sides to cleaning the dishes after everyone has eaten, being a host can be stressful. Staying present and enjoying outdoor events as a host might take some planning, but it is not impossible, Robinson said.

Here are 10 tips to relieve the stress of cooking and hosting a large group of people, straight from the professional private chefs who are often hired to organize these types of events for clients.

First, design a dynamic menu featuring some items that don’t need to be served hot.

Planning a menu ahead of your event can help minimize the stress of last-minute grocery shopping and allow you to prepare sides and appetizers ahead of time.

For a traditional appetizer-entrée-dessert rollout, Robinson likes to begin with light bites like grilled peaches alongside refreshing drinks. He follows that with a reverse-seared short rib topped with chimichurri to “cruise into featured proteins.”

“All you need is two to three meats, two sides, and a dessert — that’s as simple as it needs to be,” Robinson told BI. “The bigger you get, the more prep work you have to do.”

Nicole Dragon, a private chef and content creator in Long Beach Island, New Jersey, likes to keep her barbecue menus light.

“I don’t want my guests leaving my house feeling heavy, so I go for dishes that taste a little bit better with the sun, and they can sit out,” said Dragon, who shares her recipes and insights with her more than 20,000 followers on both Instagram and TikTok.

She also plans to make dishes that can sit at different temperature points, such as cold pasta salads or room-temperature fruit platters, rather than only serving hot food.

“When you have that variety, you’re not trying to keep every single dish hot at the same time and trying to get it to the table all together,” Dragon said. “So it’s way less stress for a host.”

The ideal menu should lean on fresh, seasonal produce for maximum flavor.

During the summer months, produce like zucchini, tomatoes, green beans, eggplant, carrots, corn, bell peppers, watermelon, and peaches are at their peak season.

For Dragon, seasonal produce is always the star of the show during summer cookouts.

“It’s kind of a foolproof tip,” she said. “If you’re using a super high-quality ingredient that’s already good on its own, it’s kind of a guarantee that your end dish is going to be great.”

She grills seasonal ingredients like asparagus, broccolini, zucchini, and summer squashes. She recommends dressing up grilled vegetables by squeezing them with fresh grilled lemons and amping up salads by adding grilled stone fruit.

“It’s simple, it’s summery, but it is so flavorful and it’s really going to impress your guests,” she said.

For Robinson, grilled bok choy and carrots can be dressed up with fresh onions, peppers, cilantro, and a squeeze of lemon or lime.

Keep the kids’ menu simple and customizable.

While grown-ups might be eager to dive into piles of fresh grilled vegetables, kids might not share the same excitement, no matter how delicious those veggies might be.

Nicole Lee, a private chef and content creator with over 40,000 followers on TikTok, where she shares her recipes, doesn’t always believe in separating the adults’ and kids’ menus, she said, but she will dial back her grown-up dishes to make them more kid-friendly.

“Sometimes, I’ll just make the kids a version of what the parents are eating, but a kids’ style version of it, so it’s just a way more simplified version,” she said.

For example, if the grown-ups are having burgers with different condiments and toppings, the kids might be served simpler cheeseburgers, Lee said.

As well as allowing kids to make their own choices, burger bars with pre-cut toppings and condiments can be prepped ahead of time, Robinson noted.

“All those things can be done the day before, stored in a Ziploc bag or a Tupperware container, and then put out on a nice bowl or plate, and boom — you have a kid-friendly option that other people can eat, so you don’t waste any food,” he said.

And when in doubt, make it small, Dragon said. Whenever she creates private-event menus for clients’ kids, Dragon swears by serving mini sliders that kids can still personalize to their liking, while sticking to a smaller portion.

“Kids love things in mini form,” she said.

Start making menu items a day or two in advance.

The experts agree: A good event starts with good planning.

Lee will usually make sauces, marinades, dips, and sides ahead of time.

“It’s really the small details that, on the day of, can take up a lot more time than you would think,” Lee said. “Any little thing can really help if I prep it in advance.”

For Dragon, preparations can start up to two days before the event, depending on how many guests she’s expecting.

“My golden rule is: try to prepare 80% in advance so you’re not stuck in the kitchen,” she told BI.

When she hosts private events, she prepares as much in advance as possible and reserves the day of for live cooking and grilling.

She usually chops and washes vegetables and garnishes, and stores them in labeled deli containers until the day of the event. She’ll take out and label all the serving platters she plans to use.

She also swears by preparing desserts ahead of time so she doesn’t have to go back to the kitchen after the entrée.

“The best way to set yourself up for success is by making sure that you’re on top of all the prep and getting as much done ahead of time,” she said.

Prepare yourself and your space the day before.

Making sure you don’t leave chores or decorating until the day of your event can also be a key in minimizing last-minute stress.

“Don’t try to clean the day of — you’re gonna drive yourself insane,” Robinson said.

He even plans and lays out his ironed outfit in anticipation.

“Do as much as you can the day before so the day of, you’re just lighting the grill, putting meats or firing up the oven to cook off your side dishes,” Robinson said.

Be strategic with what you choose to cook day of — and how you cook it

To stay organized with your cooking while your guests arrive, think about time blocking the things you need to cook, Lee suggests.

“Having an idea of what you want to make when and staying organized keeps you from being frazzled in the moment with the ‘What do I do?'” she said.

While most sides can be made in advance and reheated, Robinson said saving the live cooking for your main proteins, meats, and seafood will ensure they keep their best flavor.

To make sure meats don’t dry out while cooking — whether you go for a low and slow or hot and fast approach — he recommends spritzing as you go.

His key? Hydrating meats with a half-and-half mixture of soy sauce and Coca-Cola.

“I just gave the biggest secret of my barbecue game,” he told BI. “It builds a beautiful caramelization on your meat.”

If you have time, he also suggests marinating or smoking your meats overnight.

Serve pre-made appetizers and cocktails early on to ease pressure on cooking the main dishes.

Whether it’s a cheese board, dips, a cold salad, or a chicken wing platter, putting appetizers out for guests to snack on can help avoid the pressures of live cooking.

“That way you don’t feel like you need to be present 100% of the time while you’re doing things,” Lee said.

Serving pre-made batch cocktails or mocktails as guests arrive can also help you ease into the meal without rushing the cooking time.

Hold off on serving the hot food immediately.

While you might be inclined to put out your whole spread as soon as your first guest arrives, Robinson suggests waiting until at least a third of your guests arrive to prevent food from getting cold too quickly.

Keeping your oven running at a low temperature can work like a heat lamp in a restaurant, helping you extend the serving time of dishes when people are running late.

“People never show up on time,” Robinson said. “Food can’t stay hot for 30 to 45 minutes out on a countertop, so you can pop those things in your oven just to hold it warm until it’s time for people to come.”

Once they show up, putting out hot, fresh food can make even your latest guest feel like they arrived at just the right time, Robinson said.

Don’t let the weight of cleaning up stress you out.

While no host wants to pressure guests into cleaning, even small gestures can help lighten your load at the end of the day.

“Just ask your guests, ‘If you see something empty, just toss it in the sink for me,'” Robinson said. “If they can just do those little things throughout the day, it makes a lot of an easier backend clean.”

Dishes might be the most dreaded part of hosting an event. When it comes to tackling them, Robinson said to rely on your dishwasher if you have one and “put that bad boy on power mode and just let it knock out the dishes for you.”

Ultimately, try to have fun and enjoy the time you have with your guests.

While hosting can bring a stressful and overwhelming set of tasks, try to prioritize the time you have with the people around you.

“You don’t have to be super perfect with your food,” Dragon said. “At the end of the day, it’s really about the way that food brings people around a table, and it’s the memories that you remember.”

Staying present and enjoying an event can be difficult when juggling cooking with attending to guests, but prepping ahead of time and recruiting the tools and help at your disposal will make hosting your friends and family easier and give you more time to be with them.

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