Usually, the problem is the quantity. Party Shot has actually been to restaurant openings where we weren't fed . . . now that was stupendously bad planning . . . and to events where the food came so late in the evening that the steady stream of cocktails had reduced to the crowd to an ossified mess.

Party planners need to ensure that there's enough to feed the masses; party goers need to make a call on whether they think they'll get enough nibbles to stop them from passing out or whether they need to eat before hand. And this is without getting into social etiquette minefields such as: how many canapes are too many canapes without looking like a pig (we've been that soldier. But in our defence we were terribly hungry); what to do with the bread bits when you're trying to low carb; how to catch the eye of the serving staff so that they come to you first and not last, leaving you with canape detritus.

At the Imagemagazine/Universal Pictures party, it was bang on. After a 6.30 showing of the film Elizabeth: The Golden Age, revellers tripped up a red carpet into the Hugh Lane Gallery. The thing about this particular venue is that you can't cook here in order to protect both the art and the building itself so the food . . . provided by Domini Kemp's company Feast . . . had to be cold. But no chore this when it involved smoked fillet of duck served with pink peppercorn; seared, peppered loin of tuna with Maldon sea salt; Asian-style fillet of Irish beef croutes with avocado and wasabi cream and two veggie options, bruschetta with spiced feta, smoked aubergine and beetroot marmalade and Vietnamese spring rolls with sweet chilli dipping sauce.

The sugar rush came in the form of brownie bombs and white chocolate and berry tarts. Servings were compact and non-messy, plus the staff actually knew what they were serving, which isn't as common as one would hope for.

Party Shot left the venue full of bonhomie (and Moet & Chandon) and pleasantly sated . . . there were no stop-offs at Roma Grill on the way home.