Have you ever hosted a Potluck? If not, now is your chance to try!

Jamie Oliver has partnered with Sobeys to inspire Canadians of all ages to get cooking. From now until Food Revolution Day on May 16, YOU are invited to join in iggest Potluck Party.

Host a potluck party and share a photo of your #Potluckchallenge. For every photo of a potluck with the hashtag #PotluckChallenge  shared, Sobeys will donate $1 to the Cooking Toward Independence Project. The new initiative run by the Children’s Aid Foundation will improve the lives of young people leaving the child welfare system across Canada when they turn 18 by funding cooking skills workshops and creating access to healthy food.

My idea of a potluck is to keep it simple and laid-back so that your guests can bring the dish without needing any extra preparation. Otherwise the kitchen becomes chaotic!

I hosted a simple yet delicious potluck party. The menu? Pulled pork sandwiches (mine on a gluten-free ‘bun’), creamy cole slaw, sweet potato mash, red potato fries, hummus and a green salad. Perfect Sunday afternoon menu while enjoying the game on TV.

How to Have a Great Potluck:

1. Prepare a list of what you’d like to have during your potluck. Assign your guests a specific food or dish. Or asks each guest to cook from a specific category—appetizers, salads, main courses or desserts. Laura brings a side, Uncle Bob a main dish, Nana a dessert, you’ll be set. If you don’t work out who is bringing what before the potluck, you’ll end up with a bunch of sides and no main dishes. If you don’t mind telling people what to bring, ask for specific dishes!

2. Choose a theme – make it Mexican fiesta or an Italian feast.  Be specific with your requests otherwise you might get a mish mash of cuisines and recipes.

3. If you’re bringing a dish, ask your host how she’d like you to bring your dish. Some hosts would prefer you bring everything you need to serve your dish to make it easier. On the other hand, your host may prefer to keep things looking uniform and may choose to use her own serving plates.

4. Try to make something you can either keep warm or that can be served at room temperature. The last thing you need is your guest to need to take over your kitchen to prepare his/her meal.

5. Make a dish that you’ve made before. Now’s not the time to try out a new recipe. Make your tried, tested and true recipe that you know will be a hit.

6. If you’re not the best cook, politely tell your host that you’d be happy to bring drinks, a dessert from the local bakery or for larger no-fuss gatherings, paper plates, cups, utensils and napkins.

7. It’s always nice to offer guests to pack leftovers to-go so have some take-out boxes or containers handy. Or guests can pile on leftovers on their own serving tray so have extra plastic wrap or tin foil handy to cover up their plates.

Need some more tips and tricks? Sobeys has shared some “”.

Join us for Food Revolution Day on May 16 and remember to “host, share and donate” to help out the Children’s Aid Foundation and remember to share your photo with the hashtagse and #PotluckChallenge and #FRD2014!