Pictured above: Mr. Giorgio Armani’s dining room table awaits lunch guests.
About a month ago, Le Creuset, the beloved kitchenware brand, hosted a dinner party. Guests received an email with practically nothing except a date and time and the promise of a “secret address” to be revealed 24 hours before the event. Without knowing who was going, what would be on the menu, where it would be held, 100 people spent their Thursday night with strangers at an undisclosed location in Long Island City (this writer, included).
The Le Creuset x Secret Supper dinner took place at The Foundry, a space that felt far away from Manhattan’s chaos, thanks to its ivy-covered brick walls and green, candle-filled courtyard. Flower arrangements sat in mini Le Creuset cocottes, caviar was served on fluted stoneware platters, and Chef Fariyal Abdullahi—a James Beard Award finalist who helms the kitchen at Marcus Samuelsson’s Hav & Mar—created a five-course menu that remained completely secret until we sat down. The Instagram-worthy tablescape was striking, certainly, but even more compelling: how a room full of strangers naturally fell into conversation, lingering long after the last of the wine had been poured.
We may be in the midst of a full-scale entertaining renaissance. Whether it’s a dinner party with strangers matched by an algorithm or underground ‘supper clubs’ in people’s homes or the revival of murder mystery dinners, a desire for connection makes us more willing to embrace the unknown and trust in the magic of shared meals and candlelit conversations. TikTok users have dubbed this hunger for authentic gathering “hostingcore,” with hashtags like #hostingtips and #dinnerpartyideas featured on over 90 million posts.
Hostingcore can be putting together an intimate at-home dinner party for friends, a lavish garden soirée with a dress code, or gathering strangers for a book club and wine. It’s anything that gets people together and fosters genuine connection—and looking pretty while doing it. Tablescaping with intention, creating warmth through thoughtful details, and prioritizing authentic gathering are all examples. Hostingcore also embraces mismatched vintage glassware, handwritten place cards, taper candles, crafts for guests, and personal touches.
This resurgence represents a reimagining of how we create and inhabit social spaces in a time where loneliness has reached epidemic proportions. According to recent research, 30% of American adults feel lonely every single week, which is a health risk reportedly comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes daily. In this context, hostingcore can offer something radical.
Forbes Functions founder, Cameron Forbes, sets up a tablescape.
Cameron Forbes, founder of Forbes Functions, a boutique event planning service, and creator of the Hosting Hot Takes series on TikTok, has witnessed this transformation firsthand among her Gen Z and millennial clients. “To me, hostingcore is the intersection of beautiful aesthetics, putting effort into an event, and the intention behind it,” she tells ELLE Decor. It’s also about “curating an environment that feels beautiful, personal, but also a little bit playful, fun.”
Forbes notes that after years of pandemic isolation, followed by what she describes as “hyper-scheduled socializing” and “algorithm-fed content,” people are craving “moments of slowness and substance.”
Gen Z, in particular, is increasingly shunning traditional after-hours social events in favor of more purposeful and inclusive ways to engage that don’t feel like extensions of work or social obligations. For instance, they’re choosing tiny alcohol-free apartment gatherings over crowded bars, or creative workshops like jewelry-making and crochet classes over nightclubs. Hostingcore provides the framework for what sociologist Robert Putnam calls “social capital”—the networks of relationships that make communities function. As traditional institutions like churches, unions, and civic organizations weaken, informal gathering spaces become crucial for maintaining social cohesion. Every dinner party can become a small act of community building.
We Wore What’s holiday tablescape, by Cameron Forbes.
It feels revolutionary perhaps because it’s so simple—and accessible. Hostingcore is encouraging us to see our homes as spaces for connection rather than just personal retreats, and is democratizing entertaining for a generation that might have never learned traditional hosting skills. Just do a quick search for #hostingcore on TikTok and your feed will immediately populate with videos instructing you on etiquette.
But in the end, hostingcore isn’t necessarily about hosting at all. It’s something much simpler and infinitely more precious: spending time with people. Real time. The kind where you look up from your plate and realize three hours have passed without anyone checking their phone, where strangers become friends over shared stories and a bit too much wine, and where you remember completely why we need people in the first place.
Cameron Forbes’ Hosting Hot Takes
For Hosts
- Be prepared at least 30 minutes before arrival time so you can feel relaxed and present
- Light candles and cue your playlist to set the tone before guests arrive
- Create seating charts, even for small groups of people—it shows thought went into the evening and encourages conversation (use placecards, even handwritten ones)
- Have drinks ready when guests walk in (including non-alcoholic options)
- Remember: “Being a good host isn’t about perfection, it’s just about being present.”
For Guests
- Never show up empty-handed—even if it’s just flowers from the bodega, a candle from Target, or a handwritten card
- Text if you’re running late, not as you’re walking in
- Say thank you twice: once when leaving and again the next day
- Don’t overstay your welcome—“If the host starts blowing out candles and slipping off their shoes, you need to take the hint.”
- Respect the guest list—don’t bring uninvited plus-ones without asking
- Stay off the phone—be present with your host
Julia Cancilla is the engagement editor (and resident witch) at ELLE Decor, where she oversees the brand’s social media platforms, covers design trends and culture, and writes the monthly ELLE Decoroscope column. Julia built her background at Inked magazine, where she grew their social media audiences by two million and penned feature articles focusing on pop culture, art, and lifestyle.
