Michelin stars shine at the Timothy Oulton instore dinner party

Dinner tonight will be served by Erik van Loo from Parkheuvel in Rotterdam,” my host for the night says – and I nearly fall off my chair. A chef from a restaurant with two Michelin stars who will be cooking for me at at the Timothy Oulton flagship store in Amsterdam – I don’t know about you, but I’ve certainly never seen anything like it.

The Timothy Oulton flagship store on Amstelveenseweg in Amsterdam is housed in a former church.

The Lost Art of Hosting is the theme of the season at British interior and furniture designer extraordinaire Timothy Oulton. To coincide with this theme, the company recently organized a competition with a whopping wow factor. First prize? An all-expenses paid trip to the Timothy Oulton shops – excuse me, galleries – in Hong Kong, Los Angeles, Amsterdam and New York. Phew! But wait…there’s more! The added bonus is an honorary title of Global Dinner Party Critic and the all-important job of hosting four extremely luxurious dinner parties for local interior designers and reporters (and me). Long story short: Timothy Oulton pulled out all the stops to bring back The Lost Art of Hosting with a bang!

A few pictures of the bar area and the dining room table before the other guests arrived.

Before I sit down, I get to spend some time with the lucky winner. His name is Jonathan Thompson, he’s more British than Britain itself but surprisingly lives in Dallas, Texas. As a travel writer he’s used to traveling around the world, he tells me. But even Jonathan was taken aback when he heard he had won the Timothy Oulton competition and had to fly to Hong Kong the following day. Having  arrived in Amsterdam only hours before, Jonathan conquers his jetlag, catches his second wind and starts sharing all the exciting stuff he’s learned about the new Timothy Oulton collection. He walks me toward a giant mirror and reveals some titillating titbits. “Beyoncé is a big fan of Timothy Oulton. She has a mirror just like this one at home. And so does Paris Hilton by the way!” This Global Dinner Party Critic has certainly done his homework!

The lucky winner and our host for the evening, Jonathan Thompson.

Beyoncé! Paris Hilton! They both have a mirror just like this one.

The Lost Art of Hosting certainly was found back at this dinner party!

Time flies by when you’re at a table with fellow interior designers and design writers. The designers will certainly get in the customers at Timothy Oulton. And needless to say the writers will take care of the media buzz. Two birds with one stone – I think that’s pretty clever! After a nice glass of cognac the dinner party comes to an end. I leave not only with a nicely filled goodie bag (Timothy Oulton scented candles are the best) but also with a pocket full of business cards of all the new people I’ve met. Sweet!

More photos from the Timothy Oulton Amsterdam flagship store

PS: If you like this style, but think it’s a tad out of your budget…you could do worse than go to the Dutch town of Leiden for some hardcore antiquing.