'Top Chef' Star Gail Simmons Reveals Her No. 1 Hosting Tip for Stress-Free Parties

Culinary expert, author, mother, and Top Chef judge are just a few of the hats Gail Simmons wears, but recently she's adopted a new role: hospitality concierge. As a pro food expert and personality, Simmons has attended and hosted her fair share of events, ranging from luxury soirees to kids' birthday parties. Now, she's sharing her hosting must-dos, mistakes, and rules for hosts and guests.

In a partnership with Old Fitzgerald, a renowned bourbon brand, Simmons helped create "The Pleasure is Ours: Exceptional Guest Experiences, A Collection," a guide that highlights the best hospitality spots around the country—restaurants, hotels, speakeasies, and more.

"This partnership with Old Fitzgerald bourbon has been a lot about hospitality, and what it means," she says. "It doesn't always mean that everything has to be perfect. It means that it is genuine and warm and that you're making your guests feel comfortable."

Q: What do you think makes a great host?

The most important thing about being a host is that you spend time with your guests. That you’re not just in the kitchen or behind the bar the whole time, but that you set yourself up, as a host, to be organized. [That way] you aren’t working, so you’re actually enjoying and being part of the evening.

There have been so many times where I’ve set an ambitious goal for myself of [doing] the eating, the drinking, the cooking, the making, the shaking, and the stirring. And when the evening goes by, there are people in my home I didn’t even get to talk to. So the first thing, for me, is setting myself up to be organized—by that I mean choosing a menu that I can execute and leaves me time outside of the kitchen.

Q: What are your go-to drinks and meals for entertaining?

My ethos of hosting is the "keep it simple" method. When it comes to cocktails, unless I'm hosting an event and I'm not the one bartending, I make one signature cocktail. It often makes the evening feel more special.

Whether it's a cocktail I love, and there are several depending on the season, or if I make something up that goes with the theme of what I'm hosting, I just keep it to one [option]. That way, I know how many ingredients to get, and I don't need a full bar. I often make it alcoholic or non-alcoholic to cater to the needs of my guests. And I batch it, so I can make a larger quantity of the base and finish it very easily, so that I'm not sitting there peeling lemon rind or squeezing fresh juice when my guests are enjoying themselves.

Q: What are a few of your favorite signature cocktails?

In terms of my favorite cocktails, I love to keep it simple and seasonal. I love using fresh fruit and fresh vegetables, whatever feels bright and juicy and delicious in the moment. This summer, for me, was about the Honey Bramble Smash, which I make with the Old Fitzgerald 7-Year-Old Bottled-in-Bond bourbon. It's just a great, balanced cocktail. If people aren't used to having darker cocktails, brown spirits, this is the perfect entryway because it's blackberries, lemon juice, lemon zest, a little bit of orange blossom honey, finished with some bourbon, and topped with club soda.

I've done tons [of cocktails] depending on the mood and the occasion. It's all about being seasonal and what I'm in the mood for. In the winter, I want a cozier beverage that warms me up a little, so I go deeper into other flavors and styles. Let's say you use pomegranates, dark cherries, or other forms of citrus that are so great in the winter, like blood orange.

I also think that in the wintertime, it's the time of holidays, and everyone is celebrating. So I also love making cocktails that have a deeper, flavorful spirit that can be paired well with prosecco or champagne.

Q: Speaking of pairings, do you have any favorite food and drink pairings for hosting?

I have mixed feelings about pairings because people take them very literally. When you're at a party, you're going to be eating a range of things, and you never want to be so direct, like, "This cocktail is perfect with this exact dish." But what if I want to drink it all night long, and I want to have it with the cake, but I also want to have it with the hors d'oeuvres? I think you need to be a little flexible and not worry too much about pairings.

I do think that there's a lot of cocktail-friendly food, especially when it comes to finger foods, hors d'oeuvres, and appetizers. I love bites that play off of [cocktails]. If I'm doing something with the Honey Bramble Smash, I like things that contrast or play off of that, like drizzling honey over a cheese plate and olives, or maybe there's a spicy hors d'oeuvres of Spanish gildas, or a really great flavored popcorn.

Q: Do you prefer casual or formal settings when hosting?

I think it's occasion-based, but the word "formal" never comes to play. When I'm having people in my home, first and foremost, I want them to be comfortable, whatever that means. I want to be celebratory, so I might say, "Dress up, let's look amazing." But that can be whatever you want to wear to make yourself feel great that day.

There are certain occasions throughout the year, mostly religious holidays, where I have a seating plan and a formal meal, but there are also times where I want people to come into my house and stand around in my kitchen and stick their hands in my food and be barefoot.

Q: Do you like it when guests help you in the kitchen?

There's always a balance. When you're in my home, I invited you there to be a guest. As a host, you're many things. As a guest, you are there to be a guest. So I want them to sit down and enjoy. It makes me nervous when everyone is up and trying to help when I've had a plan for the evening, and sometimes, that plan is very time-dependent, and I just need people out of my space.

But I do love the company, because nothing's worse than being in the kitchen when everyone else is in the living room. I do like help as long as people don't mind me giving very specific assignments.

Q: What should guests do to make sure they're invited back to your home?

There are things people can do, and most of them are relatively intuitive if you haven't been raised in the wild. I think it applies to all levels in terms of the most casual parties to more formal parties, celebrations, or milestones. As a guest, you do have purpose. For me, the most important piece of being a guest is having a reciprocal relationship between host to guest. That doesn't mean that if someone invites you over, you are now obligated to invite them. It means that you want to make your host feel valued and appreciated, so they will then invite you back. That's the key.

There is a smaller duty on the guest to not just sit there and be waited on, but to engage, contribute, and participate, and most of all, make your host feel valued for the effort that they're spending.

Q: How do you set the mood for entertaining in your home?

There are a number of ways. I always want to be clear to my guests about what the occasion is—if it's just a drop-by anytime or if dinner's at 7:00 and I have hot food waiting. Setting the mood is a lot of things. Lighting is key, and it's something I think about so often, not just in my own home, but when I go out to restaurants. So is music. There's always a good playlist that isn't too loud where you can't have a conversation, but present enough that it fills the room with energy.

For me, having people in my house is just about getting together. There are all the elements, but it doesn't need to be perfect. I just want people to feel welcome.