Organising beer and food pairing dinners

A beer and food pairing dinner works when the menu and the beers are built together, not matched at the last minute. Partner with a chef or restaurant, agree on a theme — a style, a region, a season — and pair each course with a beer that either echoes or contrasts with it. Keep pours small, the number of courses reasonable, and the number of seats set by the room and the service. Introduce each pairing briefly, then let guests taste and talk. Sell seats ahead so the kitchen knows exactly how many to cook for.

A restaurant with a chef interested in beer, a brewery with a kitchen, or a caterer for a private venue can all host a pairing dinner. Choose a theme that gives the evening a story: Belgian styles, local breweries, sour beers, a winter menu with dark beers. A clear theme helps you choose beers and helps guests decide to book.

Small pours let guests taste each beer without overdoing it: across five or six courses, the total adds up. Serve water throughout, and pace courses so the evening lasts long enough to enjoy without dragging. Brief the service staff on each beer so they can answer simple questions. Remind guests to plan how they'll get home.

Welcome guests with a light beer, then introduce each pairing in a minute or two: the beer, why it was chosen, what to look for. Invite the chef to say a word about the dishes. Leave time between courses for conversation — guests may come as much for the atmosphere as for the explanations.

Only serve guests of legal drinking age and follow the rules where you work. Keep food coming with each beer, keep strong beers for later in the evening, and don't top up glasses. If someone has had enough, offer water and the non-alcoholic option.

Set the number of seats with the restaurant: tables, kitchen capacity, service staff. Price per seat, covering food, beers and your fee, and agree with the partner how revenue is shared. Dietary needs must be known before the evening: ask for them at booking.

Announce the date a few weeks ahead through the restaurant, the breweries involved and your own channels. Share the menu and the beer list: food lovers book for the dishes, beer fans for the rare bottles. Regular dinners — for example one per season — build a following of guests who come back for each new theme.

Send guests the list of beers with where to buy them, and announce the next date. Ask the restaurant which dishes worked best and which pairings surprised guests, and use it for the next menu.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page. Create a service for the pairing dinner and open a slot on the date with a capacity equal to the number of seats; each guest books one seat, and the dinner disappears from your page when it's full. In the service description, give the theme, the address, the number of courses and the price, and ask guests to write dietary needs in the optional note, which you'll read in your new-booking email and can pass to the kitchen. For a table of friends, each person books their own seat, or you book them yourself from your calendar with the number of people.

Durations and prices are examples: set your own. Guests can't move bookings online: they contact you, you reschedule or cancel from your bookings list and tell them yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract. It doesn't take payments.