'People really enjoy sitting down with nice cutlery, a linen napkin and putting the world to rights'

Even when it is just my wife and I, I like to make it nice - open a nice bottle of wine and have some good food. I always have kept a menu of every dinner party I have hosted for the past 16 or 17 years - whether for clients or just friends - so I know what I have cooked and what went down well.

For people cooking at home, I think sometimes they find a proper dinner party too time consuming and too technical, so they opt for a more relaxed version.

Or they might opt for a barbecue, where they can entertain 15 or 20 friends and that's their turn for the year, whereas if they just have a few people round for a sit down meal, they feel they have to do it all again in a month or two.

But I think people actually really enjoy sitting down with nice cutlery and a proper linen napkin. It has had its place for hundreds of years and I can't really see that ever changing.

To sit down on a comfortable chair, with wine in a decent wine glass and put the world to rights until 1am just can't be beaten.

What is interesting, though, is that people are more into food now than they have ever been and that may be part of the problem.

l Gerry Goldwyre is the winner of the BBC's Masterchef competition in 1994 and owner of the Water Tower restaurant in Eskbank - which caters only for private dinner parties.

Even when it is just my wife and I, I like to make it nice - open a nice bottle of wine and have some good food. I always have kept a menu of every dinner party I have hosted for the past 16 or 17 years - whether for clients or just friends - so I know what I have cooked and what went down well.

For people cooking at home, I think sometimes they find a proper dinner party too time consuming and too technical, so they opt for a more relaxed version.

Or they might opt for a barbecue, where they can entertain 15 or 20 friends and that's their turn for the year, whereas if they just have a few people round for a sit down meal, they feel they have to do it all again in a month or two.

But I think people actually really enjoy siting down with nice cutlery and a proper linen napkin. It has had its place for hundreds of years and I can't really see that ever changing.

To sit down on a comfortable chair, with wine in a decent wine glass and put the world to rights until 1am just can't be beaten. What is interesting, though, is that people are more into food now than they have ever been and that may be part of the problem.

• Gerry Goldwyre is the winner of the BBC's Masterchef competition in 1994 and owner of the Water Tower restaurant in Eskbank - which caters only for private dinner parties.