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THE ELEMENTS

The Occasion: Dinner with guest-designed table setting at Pendolino Restaurnat, Strand Arcade, 412 George St, Sydney; 02-9231 6117.

The Guests: Gail Elliott, Giovanni D’Ercole, Raechel Temily Percival and Vanessa, Cheryl and Gabrielle Manning.

The Menu: Winter warmenrs by head chef and owner Nino Zoccali.

The Drinks: Aperitif Milano-Torino.

In the heart of the concrete jungle of Sydney CBD sits a beacon of elegance. You have to enter the 118 year-old Victorian-era Strand Arcade from the transit-choked George Street or off the bustling Pitt Street mall, but once inside, the hushed ambiance and classic charm of the building envelopes you. Set behind wrought-iron balconies, level one of the Strand has become a hub for the best of Australian Fashion.

While there are many shopping hot spots around the country, “there aren’t any malls that you want to be a part of,” says Gail Elliott, whose Little Jo label is one of dozens of home-grown boutiques in residence. Elliott is one of the tenants invited to Pendolino restaurant – on the second floor of the Arcade - to design a table setting and put their unique spin on entertaining. The brief is open – all they know is what’s fast become common knowledge around here: head chef and owner Nino Zoccali’s Italian cuisine – regionally inspired with freshly made organic pasta – is honest as well as indulgent. Joining Elliott are fellow Strand occupants Giovanni D’Ercole, designer for Love & Hatred jewellery, and the three sisters from the Manning Cartell label.

“[Dining] is a ritual. It has to be magical – beautiful live things, candles and light,” says D’Ercole, who is here with partner Raechel Temily Percival. The couple regularly hosts dinner at their grand Byron Bay home set in the rain forest. The table’s constantly set and “it’s always elaborate, ornate and full of life”, D’Ercole says. Today’s setting – peppercorns cascading over antique candelabras, napkin rings replaced with hand made silk curtain ties and as installation of real butterflies – reflects both their enviable lifestyle and Love & Hatred’s new Sacred Garden collection. “This table wouldn’t look out of place in our house; a lot of what we do is along those lines,” says Percival, who is styling today. “It’s always seasonal. In summer we might do wildflowers with raffia and string. Is winter, it may be pumpkins.” Percival’s advice when styling a table is to get creative. “It doesn’t have to be traditional; use things in the home. Think about proportions, how it smells, and make it tactile so people want to touch it.”

The Byron lifestyle might be laidback, but D’Ercole insists he can’t eat at a table without a table cloth. “My parents are Italian, so that’s my thing. Often we’ll put a crochet throw on top or chunks of rosemary,” he says. “I like cloth napkins, big forks, a knife that is heavy and I always use double plates. I’ve been bought up like that.” Guests are encouraged to let their hair down, though. “Our dinner parties always end up with people drumming and dancing in the living room,” says Percival.

Incredibly, D’Ercole’s boutique has been in the Strand for 21 years and remains the only stockist of his unique line of jewellery. English-born Elliott, on the other hand, is just clocking up her first year at the iconic arcade. “It’s one of the first places I came to in Sydney, so it’s great to have a store here,” she says.

When Elliott and husband Joe Coffey have guests for dinner, it’s a relaxed affair. “It’s easy to entertain 12 or 20,” she says. “Sometimes we sit around on the deck; other times we do a tablecloth with proper seating arrangements and guest gifts.” For that task at hand she was inspired by Pendolino – “dark, sexy and warm with candlelight and black linen. I don’t lay the table by what’s served, but for atmosphere and guests,” she says.

Much like her clothes, Elliott describes her concept as “sexy but elegantly chic – it’s not super pretty, but it’s not masculine.” Her dinner party must-haves include fesh flowers and pinot noir, the couple’s preferred tipple. At home, an open plan kitchen makes such affairs very social and Elliott always involves guests in the preparation.

The designer’s one hard-and-fast is to set the table first, before cooking. “People walk in and feel they’ve been taken care of already and you’re forgiven if you run a little late,” she explains. “Laying a table is personal. You don’t want to scramble at the end and have it a way you don’t like.”

Growing up in the Manning household with five children, meals were always in the dining room, no television, elbows off the table,” says Gabrielle, whose Manning Cartell label with sisters Vanessa and Cheryl has a boutique in the Strand for a year and a half. “The table setting is like the cherry on top.” Says Cheryl, “It’s about beautifull ingredients and not letting the table setting take over.”

According to Vanessa, the approach taken for today’s setting is dramatic, one of “strong design rather than being too elaborate and frilly”. Pretty flowers and offset by dramatic leaves and gothic amaranthus spilling out of the vase. “it’s a dedicate balancing act,” says Cheryl. That includes having a good time as host. Gabrielle’s advice? “Prepare as much as you can before your guests arrive so you can have some fun!”

Matthew Paroz

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