The Ultimate Guide to Plan an Awesome Taco Party

Dinner, Guides and How-To, Meal Planning, Party Planning

Below are several signature recipes and a guide to throwing an amazing Taco Fiesta!

Some people have photogenic memory or some pick up accents that are not their own quite easily. I have a knack for assimilating a recipe as if I were a native (almost). Although I’ve never been to Mexico, I feel like I’ve been there through my studies and research on their cuisine (I also studied Spanish and performed a Spanish poem for my pageant).

So, no bragging, but I make pretty awesome tacos. In the same way I think I’ve figured out how to throw a pretty unforgettable and *near authentic taco party.

Mexican cuisine is super rich and beautiful. It is steeped in tradition-one being laboring with love in creating mouthwatering meals that brings family together. There’s an acute sense of sazon (seasoning) where the cook takes care and pride in ensuring a harmonious mixing of bold deep flavors and light acidic flavors.
At a Mexican party one may see a colouful and delicious spread of treasured staples such as light chicken broth for starters, Carne Asada (grilled meat) corn and flour tortillas, rice, beans, ceviche, to tamales for dessert and a refreshing tropical fruit drink.
Chef Samantha George

So you’ve decided to throw a Taco themed dinner party. Great! But before you run to the grocers let’s make a plan. By that I mean:

set your budget,
sketch the vision for your tablescape,
plan activities and entertainment,
write out your menu,
make a shopping and
food prep

SUGGESTED MENU

Carne Asada Tacos – Jerk Beef Tenderloin or Jerk Leg of Lamb
Browned Butter Chicken Tinga Tacos (Boneless stew)
Roasted Cauliflower with Mushrooms
Lemon Rice
Coconut Bean Stew – Black, kidney beans or cow peas
Elotes aka Mexican street corn
Chocolate Tart

THE TABLESCAPE

DECOR

Feel free to add a bouquet of fresh flowers in a nice sleep clear vase or unscented white candles on tall candelabras to add an even more sophisticated and warm feel to your table.
Find a nice long table for your buffet table. Choose runners like seen on my tablescape that pay homage to the Mexican heritage. Any fabric store near you should have them for next to nothing.

PLATING

Use bone white or earthenware dishes and platters to plate the salsas, vegetables, meat fillings and your tortillas.
Chose dishes of various height levels for dynamism.

THE PREP SCHEDULE

After you’ve planned your perfect taco dinner party its time to write out what and when to execute for about a week prior to D-day. Like a To-Do list! I’ve gone ahead and made a printable 7-day flow chart for you to use.

DAY 1 – PLAN

Write out your vision for the party – guest list, décor and rentals, entertainment, menu + utensils, clean-up plan, security if needed, parking logistics if needed, budget.

DAY 2 – INVITATIONS

I love using Paperless Post to design and send invitations. Click here to go and start designing.

DAY 3 – ENTERTAINMENT

Pull out your Spotify or any other online music streaming platform and make a cool, playlist that will get your guests feeling warm, energized and cozy.

The artist doesn’t have to be Mexican singers per se, a nice mix of Latin artist and bands will do.

Some of my favourites are

Manu Chao,
The Gypsy Kings,
Mari de Chambao,
Buena Vista Social Club,
Carlos Vives,
Carlos Santana…and more.

You can check out my curated playlist at the link here!

I like to have my dinner guests active throughout the entire party so I encourage ice breaker games before dinner, conversation prompter games during dinner, station bords games and then for this occasion end the night with a few rounds of Pinata hitting filled with age appropriate goodies.

DAY 4 – GO SHOPPING

Shop for disposables if needed, textiles for décor, make payment for rentals (I find it works best to pay for the rental items to be delivered and picked up after the party rather than doing it yourself. You’ll save a penny by doing it yourself but I have found the savings do not warrant the level of added stress you’ll put on yourself, especially if the items being rented are large in size and quantity)

Shop for ingredients. Using the same excel list you typed up earlier in the week. Take this list with you to get you meats, produce, drinks and groceries. Whenever possible, feel free to order your ingredients online and have them delivered for even more time and stress saving. I personally like to pick out my own fresh produce and meats myself. But hey I am a big ol chefy chef. Lol

DAY 5 – PREP STAGE 1

Prep your salsas, make guacamole, elote cheese topping and store in glass jars in your refrigerator.

Prep soup and freeze, make tortillas and store in Ziploc bags in the fridge.

Shred cheese and store.

DAY 6 – PREP STAGE 2

Chop lettuce, make drink, cook chicken, cook beans and store in airtight containers in the refrigerator.

Slice onions to caramelize store in ziploc, slice lime wedges.

DAY 7 – PARTY DAY.

TIME IT PROPERLY

Set table with textile, shower and get dressed for your dinner before you start cooking (you don’t want to be rushing to shower and doing makeup while your guests are waiting to eat!) Just make sure to wear an apron so to keep your outfit clean.

Lay out dishware, grill beef and the sweet corns and re-heat chicken and beans, place tortilla in foil paper and keep all cooked foods warm in oven until 15 minutes before service.