The most elaborate potluck I ever went to was my own wedding, to which each guest brought a dish in lieu of gifts. We feasted on truffled pea soup and caviar tea sandwiches.
At the other end of the potluck spectrum was my daughter’s second-grade graduation breakfast, a festive hodgepodge of child-made scones, store-bought red velvet doughnuts and boxes of hot coffee.
Both parties were total successes, with a perfect mix of dishes appropriate to the occasion. That’s because they had the most important potluck ingredient in common: a strong organizer.
The secret of a great potluck isn’t good cooking. It’s careful planning.
A potluck host is like a choreographer whose role is to create a dance rather than a mosh pit, distributing the burden of the cooking so no one has to work too hard and giving guests a chance to shine by allowing them to show off their very best dishes. The host is also in charge of the flow of the meal, keeping track of what everyone is bringing to make sure there’s an interesting selection without any duplicated dishes.