A Parisian Summer: An Evening of French Food, Good Company & Live Music

Josh Mendoza
1 day ago
4 min read

A summer evening in Vancouver, a long table in the garden, French-inspired dishes, and the kind of gathering that reminds us why we love building community through food.

People gathered together in a summer evening by the garden

Summer in Vancouver is such a special time of year. The days are longer, the gardens are in bloom, and there’s something about being outside that makes a simple meal feel a little more memorable.

So for this summer’s Vancouver Cookbook Club, we decided to take things outdoors once again. Inspired by the relaxed beauty of a French summer, we called the evening A Parisian Summer and gathered around one long table at The Chapel at Minoru Park, the same beautiful venue where we hosted our Cake Garden event.

Taking a Chance on the Weather

This summer has been a little unpredictable. We’ve had a strange mix of sunshine and rain, and somehow, the weekends seemed to be the rainiest part of the week.

Maybe it was a sign that we were supposed to slow down and stay home, but we really wanted to take a chance on hosting an outdoor gathering. There’s just something about eating outside that makes an event feel a little more elevated, especially when you have a beautiful garden as your backdrop.

The Weather Network had been predicting rain for the week leading up to our event, so we definitely had our fingers crossed. But thankfully, we decided to go for it.

And we’re so glad we did.

By the time our guests arrived, the clouds had opened up just enough to give us a beautiful, semi-sunny evening.

Setting the Table

For A Parisian Summer, we wanted the setup to feel effortless, elegant, and very much inspired by the French countryside.

Cynthia and I have always loved setting up long tables. There’s something about sitting beside one another, rather than across separate tables, that naturally creates a more communal atmosphere. It encourages conversation, makes it easier to meet someone new, and somehow makes everyone feel like they’re part of the same dinner party.

So we set up one long table in the garden, surrounded by white outdoor chairs with The Chapel in the background. It was, simply put, gorgeous.

Ironically, creating a tablescape that looked effortless was anything but effortless.

This was probably one of the most time-consuming tablescapes we’ve put together, taking us about two hours to arrange everything before guests arrived. We used our own plates, cutlery, and napkins to keep costs down, then added premium florals and floating candles to bring everything together.

As the sun started to go down, the candles began to glow across the table, and the whole space transformed. It felt intimate and a little magical—exactly what we had envisioned when we came up with the theme.

A long table set up with florals and tablespaces

A Taste of France

For our cookbook, we chose Melissa Clark’s Dinner in French, which felt like the perfect inspiration for a summer evening in the garden.

The dishes our guests brought were light, vibrant, and full of the kind of flavours we associate with French cooking.

Susie brought an Asparagus, Goat Cheese, and Tarragon Tart, while Anna made Deviled Eggs with Crème Fraîche and Roquefort. Each dish brought something different to the table, and together, everything made for a wonderful spread.

That’s one of our favourite parts of Vancouver Cookbook Club. We choose one cookbook, but everyone interprets it differently. By the end of the evening, what started as a collection of recipes becomes a shared meal made by a room full of people.

And, of course, the best part is getting to enjoy it all together.

An Evening Serenaded by Violin

We wanted to make the evening feel a little more special, so we invited our friends Jonathan and Adrian to join us and play violin throughout the evening.

Jonathan holds a Master of Music from the University of Ottawa and is active as an arranger and composer. Adrian completed a dual Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance and Secondary Education at UBC and currently performs as a first violinist with the Vancouver Metropolitan Orchestra.

Having live music in the garden completely changed the atmosphere.

As everyone ate, chatted, and got to know one another, Jonathan and Adrian serenaded us throughout the evening. There was something incredibly beautiful about hearing live violin drifting through the garden while everyone enjoyed a French-inspired dinner together.

It was one of those details that made the evening feel less like an event and more like a dinner party.

Little Details for Our Guests

We also wanted to create a few personal touches for everyone who joined us.

For our favours, we picked up small jars and created mini bouquets for each guest to take home. Cynthia also designed simple place cards with each guest’s handwritten name, along with a unique icebreaker question to help spark conversation around the table.

There was also a little space on each place card for a Polaroid photo.

Throughout the evening, we took photos of our guests and added them to their place cards—a small keepsake from the night and something we hope they’ll look back on later.

These little details can take a surprising amount of time to put together, but they’re some of our favourite parts of hosting. We love creating an experience that feels thoughtful without feeling overly complicated.

A Little Bit of Paris in Vancouver

For most of the evening, we kept looking up at the sky.

The clouds were still a little grey, and after seeing the weather forecast all week, we couldn’t help but wonder if the rain would eventually arrive.

But it never did.

Instead, we got a beautiful summer evening; just enough sunshine, a gentle breeze, candles glowing as the evening progressed, live violin playing in the background, and a table filled with homemade French-inspired food.

More importantly, we got to spend the evening with people who share our love for food, creativity, and community.

That’s ultimately what Vancouver Cookbook Club is about for us. Yes, we love the food. We love designing the tablescape, choosing the cookbook, creating the favours, and thinking through all the little details.

But what we love most is seeing strangers sit down at the same table and leave having made new friends.

A Parisian Summer may have been inspired by France, but for one evening, we created our own little version of it right here in Vancouver.

We couldn’t have asked for a better summer night.

Interested in joining our Vancouver Cookbook Club? Make sure to sign up for our Interest Form or discover more events through The Social House.