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Q & A Interview with Colin Cowie

What inspires you to keep coming up with such original décor and menu designs for such elaborate affairs?
My inspiration always comes from the client.  I never have a preconceived idea or vision until I identify the client's sensitivity…their favorite foods, colors, designers, vacation spots…all help me create a picture that’s layered with the client’s sense of style.

How did you actually get started in this “style” business?
I was attending a lunch in Malibu and the hostess served an undercooked fish, overdressed salad, and store-bought, marginal dessert.  In conversation she mentioned a luncheon she was having the next week for the patrons of the Museum of Contemporary Art.  I offered to help and the event was a great success.  Little did I know everyone attending had donated a million dollars to the museum.  The rest is history.

Which has been the most lavish of productions that you have put together?
The wedding of the heir apparent for the country of Qatar, the richest country in the world.  2000 women only for a lavish dinner and dance.

Which has been the most difficult of events to stage?
Everything we’ve ever done in the Bahamas.

Do you still design tableware like the line you did for Lenox?
No.

What is your favorite meal to serve at home to guests – the most practical and quick to assemble?
A delicious chicken or prawn curry.

What is your least favorite part of cooking?
I love it all, including the clean up at the end…I find it therapeutic after a delicious meal.

What wine tip can you offer to anyone not sure of which wine to serve with which food? Or doesn’t it really matter that much anymore?
Call your local wine purveyor for wine recommendations based on your menu.  Let them know what you’ll be serving and how many different wines you’d like to offer.  Let them know how much you’d like to spend and if there is a certain region you’d like to explore, i.e. South African Reds, New Zealand Whites, or Bold Tuscans.

Do you have any new books in the works we can look forward to?
My next book, Colin Cowie’s Extraordinary Weddings, is scheduled for publication in February 2007.  It’s a retrospective of 16 of the most extraordinary weddings I’ve had the pleasure of designing, and representing more than 45 million dollars of work.

What, in your opinion, is the biggest mistake people hosting dinner parties at home make?
They’re too ambitious and try to do it all themselves.  If the baker down the road makes a better tart, buy his.

Where do you find the time to do all you do, and do them all so well?
I love what I do and I’m sure in my past lives I was both a king and a slave.  I love to be served and serve others!

Colin Cowie
December 2006

As the style connoisseur everyone turns to for their wedding or special event, Colin Cowie often appears on The Oprah Winfrey Show.  Visit Colin's website at www.colincowie.com.
Photographs used with permission.

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