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DatePlates is a project that started out of pet peeve I have with most cookbooks and online recipe platforms.

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Don’t get me wrong, I love my cookbook collection and I find a lot of inspiration online, but I find many of the recipes use ingredients that aren't available in my area or the cooking instructions are hard to understand. Even worse are instructions like "don't overcook" or "add 1 clove of garlic"; How big of a clove? Some are huge, others are small.

 

Then there are books that require a lot of expensive equipment you don’t own and never will. On top of this, almost all of these books are for making meals for 6 or 8 people. I don't know about you, but the place I lived in when i was really learning to cook, was a 1 bedroom Vancouver Condo. Dinners for 8 people were out of the question.  Even 6 was difficult with a small kitchen, so when I see a recipe that needs at least a 5 burner stove just to make an appetizer, I think, there has to be a better way.

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The better way is DatePlates, restaurant quality, and style, cooking,..... for 2

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At Dateplates the recipes and processes are designed to be easy to execute, with limited and easy to find ingredients.  These are Datenight Dinners that are designed to be stress free, meaningful, and memorable.

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The best way to keep a home dinner date stress free and successful is to stay within your skill level, and do as much ahead of time as possible. 

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Recipes that allow you to prepare almost everything ahead, like braised or slow cooked meats are perfect for date night because they pack flavour and because they are prepared ahead of time they allow you to enjoy your evening with your date sharing some wine and a good conversation.

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If you want to cook your dinner in the moment, that's great too.  If you do that, consider having a make ahead appetizer before a main course that cooks fast, like fish.  You can enjoy the appetizer in an informal way in the kitchen together, while you prepare and cook the main course.

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The other key to a successful home dinner date is to not take on too much.  Think about the effort involved in each dish.  You don't just want to impress your date, you want to enjoy yourself too.  One way to do this is to create your menu wisely.

 

If you want to do multi course meals, mix and match the effort levels.  If you do a make ahead main course like Braised Beef Short Rib, or Slow Roasted Lamb Shoulder, you have lots of time to make an appetizer with your date in the kitchen with you, and that's romantic.