Chefs and Bartenders Share Their Best Summer Entertaining Tips

• Eight chefs and bartenders from New Orleans and South Florida contributed tips and recipes

• Dishes range from cold gazpacho and shrimp remoulade to grilled lamb lollipops and whipped feta

• Cocktail and beverage tips cover spritz upgrades, fruit-and-herb syrups, and charcoal grilling fundamentals

• Images and recipes available via Dropbox from Brustman Carrino PR

Summer entertaining has a simple tension: the food should look effortless even when it is not. The chefs and bartenders below, working across restaurants from the French Quarter to Fort Lauderdale, each resolved that tension in a different way. What follows is a working guide, built from specific dishes and direct advice.

Chef Adolfo Garcia Jr. runs Dolfy's in New Orleans and has a counterintuitive fix for flat gazpacho: freeze some of the vegetables before blending. Dice a portion of the tomatoes, cucumber, and bell pepper and freeze them for a few hours, then blend using those frozen pieces in place of ice. The soup chills without diluting, and the flavor concentration stays intact.

Beverage Director Allison O'Keefe at Charles and Julia in New Orleans makes the case for skipping store-bought mixers entirely. For her CBD Spritz, she builds a custom fruit-and-herb syrup — strawberry basil, watermelon mint, peach thyme — and adds it in small amounts to elevate the base. The layering is the point; a small splash of a well-made syrup does more than a full pour of a commercial product.

The culinary team at Tujague's, one of New Orleans' oldest restaurants, focuses on timing over technique for cold seafood presentations. Their shrimp remoulade carries a specific directive: the dressing should never be an afterthought. Making the remoulade, vinaigrette, or aioli ahead of time allows the flavors to meld before guests arrive. The result is a more cohesive dish, not just a dressed one.

Chef Marcus Woodham at The Bower in New Orleans offers whipped feta as a model for the category of cold dips and spreads that perform well in summer heat. Made ahead and served chilled, whipped feta pairs with vegetables, grilled bread, or crackers and holds up across the length of a gathering in ways that hot applications do not.

Chef Nina Compton at Compere Lapin in New Orleans applies a Caribbean lens to summer corn: her Roasted Jerk Corn uses jerk butter, tangy mayo, and ranch breadcrumbs to balance sweetness with heat, acidity, and crunch. The principle is transferable to any application where corn risks becoming one-dimensional.

Chef Tamer Altillawi, co-owner of Sufrat Mediterranean Grill with locations in Doral, Miami Beach, and Pembroke Pines, approaches summer hosting through preparation. His 7 Layer Greek Summer Dip — hummus, tzatziki, crisp vegetables, olives, and feta — and Fresh Herb Lamb Chops marinated in lemon, garlic, rosemary, and oregano both benefit from overnight prep. "When guests arrive, all that's left to do is grill, gather, and enjoy," he says.

Executive Chef Victor Rosales at Toro Toro in Miami returns to a single point: charcoal. "This summer, focus on seasoning simply and letting quality ingredients shine," he says. His framework for the grill is structural — at least two zones, one with very high heat and one for resting proteins, finished with fresh herbs and citrus. A clean grill and proper temperature control are the prerequisites; the rest is product quality.

Co-Owner Gabriel Llaurado of Meat N' Bone, The Wagyu Bar, and Wagyu House distills premium grilling to restraint. For picanha, he recommends fat side down to render slowly, sliced thin against the grain, salt only. For burgers: toast the bun, sear on cast iron, skip the ketchup. Sausages and steak dogs require patience — medium heat so the casing crisps without splitting. "Let quality do the work," Llaurado says.

Chef Nikol Zarbalas at Hellenic in Coral Springs solves the gap between when the food is ready and when everyone is ready to eat: set one side of the grill to low and use it as a warming zone. Cooked meats in an aluminum pan, loosely covered, with a splash of broth or butter, will hold juicily for the time it takes a summer gathering to settle. Rest the meat five to ten minutes before moving it to the warming pan.

Chef Saul Ortiz at Lona Cocina Tequileria in Fort Lauderdale builds his Summer Tri-Tip Salad around a smoky ancho-mesquite rub on the steak, served over romaine and spring greens with roasted corn, red bell peppers, red onion, black beans, crumbled queso fresco, and BBQ ranch dressing. "Fire up the grill for the tri-tip and corn to add a smoky char that pairs perfectly with the fresh vegetables," he says. Pair with a margarita. He is not wrong.