Tequila? Tick. Guacamole? Tick. Chihuahuas? Tick. Girl can really work a theme.
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When it comes to drinks, never ask Jessica Nguyen to pick a favourite. She loves them all, and her preferences move with the season, cuisine, location and company. Plus, “Life’s too short to stick to one thing.” The Melbourne-based cook and creative, who recently launched her Spicy Serum, has a flair for themes and is a stickler for details – from the tablescape, to the arrival drink, to the playlist, to her outfit, every touch point adds a little something something to her events. Her main inspiration? The people she’s catering for. “I plan around my guests, but not just dietary requirements, more what they’ll appreciate and be excited by,” she says.
Fresh off the back of a trip to America, where her prized souvenir was a specialty tequila (in a very pretty bottle), and her sold out dinner-come-disco collaboration with Jenna Holmes of Pasta Club, Carb-chella, Jess is feeling the seasonal change. Feeling drawn to BBQ dinners on the deck, spice and her pride and joy: her Chihuahuas, Pabla and Marlo. “I have Chihuahuas because I grew up with my Grandma’s seven. I was the only grandchild at the time, so all my friends were Chihuahuas,” she says. Tequila, spice, BBQ, Chihuahuas… we sense a theme. This is how Jess does a Mexican with not one, not two, but three tequila-based cocktails. “I do love an elaborate, well-planned event and Mexican is such a crowd pleaser. And a great way to host a big group of people. It’s always a party. I don’t know anyone who has said no to Mexican. There’s such a breadth of dishes, there’s something for everyone.”
Home essentials
- Q.What’s your earliest food memory?
“With my grandma, I lived with her from when I was three until I was five, and we’d cook our Vietnamese dishes but also things like profiteroles and crème caramel, because my grandma loved French desserts. I would do the odd stirring, but I mainly ate, watched and fed her Chihuahuas.”
- Q.What’s the best way to cook rice?
“I use the absorption method and the finger test. You fill your pot with rice, then wash it, which you have to do to remove excess starch and impurities. Then you measure the water up to the first mark on your finger. It doesn’t matter whose finger it is, the size of the pot or how much rice, it always works. That is the perfect amount of water. That’s a very Asian hack. I have a highlight on my Instagram.”
- Q.What’s your weeknight dinners vibe?
“I’m either repurposing a cook from the weekend and making it into another quick and easy meal, or I’m doing something that takes no more than half an hour. A pasta, batch-cooked soup or nice marinated protein with veggies. Currently I have so many left-over tomatoes and also gnocchi, so last night I made a spicy tomato and cheesy gnocchi and also a tomato and egg drop soup.”
- Q.Go-to drink order?
“After being in the States, I’m really into tequila, but you need to know the grades and mix accordingly. Use a Blanco or lower tier Reposado for mixing into your cocktails, while an Añejo you would drink neat or on ice. The other thing that is underrated is tequila and tonic. It’s a great one to start people on. For instance, say you’re still prepping for dinner and your guests arrive early, you can make a tonic and tequila just like a G&T. It's a great way to enjoy tequila because tonic brings out the taste of tequila. I brought back a bottle of Clase Azul Reposado Tequila from New York. It’s this beautiful tequila in a blue and white ceramic bottle. It’s very expensive, but it’s a really special tequila. It’s only a Resposado, so it hasn't aged that long, but the bottle is hand painted and really specific to that region of Mexico. It’s a really beautiful sipping tequila. I got it from a bottle shop in the Hamptons and put it in my checked luggage. It was my one big New York purchase.”
- Q.What do you always have on hand to drink at home?
“I always have a lot of different spirits, wine and mixes because of my work, but if I was starting from scratch, or building a capsule alcohol collection, you always need a wine ( a white and a red), a spirit ( either vodka or gin or tequila), nice tonic waters and a bottle of Champagne in the fridge.”
- Q.What makes a great event?
“I think the host, obviously. The music is massive as well. I know the food's a part of it, but to be honest, I feel like the vibe is so key. So if people walk in and feel that the energy is lifted, it will be a good time. When you walk into our events, the disco music's really loud, the candles are lit, and the tables are really packed and colourful and chaotic. So I think it's about literally creating a vibe. I want it to be loud. It's actually purposely loud to encourage you to be loud and let go.”
- Q.What’s your tablescaping style?
“My table is fun and joyful, colourful and a bit mismatched, not formal or traditional. I love to be different and creative in every sense. My first tip would be to invest in a nice table cloth, because that’s the one thing that can instantly change a table, even a trestle table. My second, don’t be afraid to use your fancy glassware. If they smash, it’s a sign of a good time. I don’t even have a full set of glasses, we mix and match them, and that’s how we should live!”
Notable mentions
- Q.Last event you hosted?
“Carb-chella. It was an event I did with Pasta Mama Jenna Holmes, for 100 people. Jenna and I had dinner months ago and she was like, ‘I want to do a Pasta Club with you, but let's get DJs and make it a disco as well.’ Jenna is so creative, and she was explaining the idea and I said, ‘So it would be like a Carb-chella?’ and she laughed and was like ‘That’s the name!’ We sold tickets, it was a 6-hour dinner and disco at Kensington Town Hall. I’m still unpacking from it. Jenna and I combined over 1000 pieces of our crockery, linens and tableware to pull it off. It was kind of eclectic/hectic decor. I still need to wash all the linens. It was amazing, but something so big breaks you a little.”
- Q.All-time favourite event that you’ve hosted?
“I really loved hosting my dinner at Etta in Brunswick East with 14 women in food. It was the first time most of us had met. It was the first time I met Jenna Holmes, actually. It was great because I didn’t have to cook or pour the drinks for once, I could focus on the details. I loved it. It was a really great menu and an intimate group of women who all share a passion for food and wine and eating. I got to be really creative in dressing the table. I transformed the private dining space with a tablescape that overlaid tablecloths, had foods and fruits and veg as decor. I even put the place cards into baby vegetables. We drank a G&T to start and then lots of natural wine. We did pét nat instead of prosecco which added a bit of something. The wine list at Etta is amazing.”
- Q.All-time favourite event you’ve attended?
“I’m rarely not the host, but I really loved going to South Australia this year. I went to Coffin Bay, and I got to go into the water, see the oysters, shuck them and eat them fresh on the farm from the boat. It was a bucket-list moment. A highlight of this whole year. I’ve wanted to do it for ages so to be invited was amazing. It was an experience of a lifetime. If you love oysters you should absolutely do it.”
- Q.Best restaurant you’ve eaten at recently?
“Misi in Brooklyn. They make pastas fresh everyday and it’s the best pasta I had in New York. I drank a nice spritz and a lovely nebbiolo but I was there for the pasta. I ordered three and ate them all. Locally, I recently went to Serai, it’s a modern Filipino restaurant that just got hatted. It’s run by Ross Magnaye, who is ex-Rice Paper Scissors. I went on a Wednesday night and it was incredible. Really fun Filipino flavours. Snacky and packed with so much flavour. We sat at the chef’s table and you’re literally there with Ross, chatting and watching him cook. Such a fun restaurant – that’s what I’m recommending to people in Melbourne at the moment. It’s also opposite The Hardware Club, which is another favourite.”
Let’s plan...a Mexican Fiesta
- Q.Who’s coming:
“My friends and their dogs. Specifically the ones with Chihuahuas. Our really close friends got a Chihuahua after being influenced by Marlo and Pabla, so we have little hats for the three dogs. It’s a Chihuahua meet-up, themed as a tribute to their home of origin.”
- Q.The guest brief:
“I’ll delegate, either to bring limes, ice or tequila, or ask them to bring dessert so I don’t have to think about it. Bring your Chihuahua.”
- Q.Drink on arrival:
“Spicy Mango Blender Margarita. I love a blender marg because you can make 10 in one go. Ice, frozen mango, tequila, cointreau, lime juice, blend. Easy. Then, I’ll have a bottle of Champagne chilled in the fridge, because no one says no to that and it can buy me a bit of extra time if I need it.”
- Q.The pre-dinner mingle:
“Palomas or tequila and tonic water for anyone not into grapefruit. You need an easy pour-over cocktail for the start of the evening. I’ll use the Solento Reposado Tequila, which is just the most beautiful bottle, but the Reposado gives the cocktail a bit more complexity. I’ll serve the guacamole with tortilla chips ( normal and blue corn), pico de gallo (which is a traditional Mexican salsa), and pineapple pico de gallo (served inside a pineapple).”
“A bright tablecloth and a mash-up of my favourite servingware, lots of different glasses and I’ll use some of the ingredients on the table. Limes, lemons, but also coriander and the chilli flakes so people can add more if desired. I’ll probably pop a disco ball in there too. They give off great dinner table light.”
- Q.The main event:
“There’s a bit of a fruit theme here, but I’ll make Watermelon Margaritas, served in the carved out watermelon. It’s also a set-and-forget cocktail. Make the margs in the watermelon and people can help themselves. I’ll also have some Pacificos for people. So much fun. For dinner, we’ll have more guac and salsa alongside elotes, aka grilled corn, and pork carnitas tacos.”
- Q.The decor:
“A bright tablecloth and a mash-up of my favourite servingware, lots of different glasses and I’ll use some of the ingredients on the table. Limes, lemons, but also coriander and the chilli flakes so people can add more if desired. I’ll probably pop a disco ball in there too. They give off great dinner table light.”
