For those eager to replicate the warmth and vibrant energy of a gathering at the Batiste-Jaouad household, the couple has introduced a new 46-piece home and lifestyle collection with Anthropologie. Blending Jaouad’s Tunisian heritage, Batiste’s rich musical background, and their shared passion for hospitality, the assortment features distinctive items designed to spark connection. Standout pieces include a stainless steel cocktail shaker that reveals recipes as it rotates, a whimsical Crosley Voyager record player, a mixed set of coupe glasses, artisan appetizer utensils, a stoneware teapot, and a custom conversation card set.
A reflection of their combined cultural roots and creative lives, the collection brings a sense of storytelling to everyday hosting. Between Jaouad’s family traditions rooted in Tunisia and Batiste’s upbringing in Louisiana, the couple comes from culinary and cultural backgrounds that treat seasoning, spice, and hospitality as high art.
Crafting the Atmosphere: Welcome Drinks and Ice-Breakers
For Jaouad, setting the tone for an evening begins long before the first course is served, starting right at the front door with a signature welcome drink. Leaning into her Tunisian heritage, she frequently prepares a citrusy, fragrant beverage infused with orange blossom water, fresh lemon, and a sprig of rosemary or mint snipped directly from the garden. Because Batiste does not drink alcohol, the couple ensures that an equally sophisticated and festive mocktail is always available. Jaouad emphasizes that a nonalcoholic drink should command just as much beauty, consideration, and craftsmanship as any traditional cocktail.
To melt away any initial stiffness among guests who might be meeting for the first time, the couple relies on thoughtful conversation starters rather than small talk about weather or professional backgrounds. One of their favorite ice-breakers shifts the focus entirely: asking guests what is on their unofficial résumé. The prompt steers the dialogue away from formal job titles and toward the hidden talents, quirky achievements, and secret badges of honor that would never appear on a professional bio. Whether someone is an exceptionally skilled parallel parker, a former pie-eating contest champion, or the unofficial amateur therapist for their entire friend group, the question immediately humanizes everyone in the room.
Music plays an equally vital role in shaping the trajectory of the evening. According to Batiste, music should be treated as another guest at the party, possessing its own distinct chemistry. A well-curated playlist must bring pleasant surprises, draw out the best qualities in the attendees, and inspire rich conversation. Batiste approaches music as a potential friend to everyone in the room, carefully reading the room’s energy and remaining protective of the emotional shifts as the night progresses through its various phases.
From the Dining Table to the Living Room Floor
When it comes to setting a dining table, Jaouad prefers a relaxed aesthetic that invites people to feel immediately at home. Rather than stiff, overly formal table settings, she is partial to linen napkins that look like they have lived a little, paired with a slightly rumpled tablecloth. There is, in her view, something wonderfully inviting about a table that does not look too precious or intimidating to eat at.
Meals at the Batiste-Jaouad home often draw heavily from their multicultural backgrounds. A favorite dish to prepare for family and friends is chicken tagine featuring preserved lemons and green olives, served alongside jeweled rice studded with pistachios, fresh herbs, and dried fruit. For dessert, they frequently serve a lemon olive oil cake, complemented by fresh mint tea prepared the traditional Tunisian way—toasted pine nuts added to the brew, and the hot liquid ceremoniously poured from a stoneware teapot into small, delicate glasses.
When they are not baking or cooking dessert themselves, Jaouad frequently sources sweet treats from Honey Moon, a bakery in Frenchtown, New Jersey, run by her friend Beth. Living in close proximity to a talented baker poses a delightful hazard for someone who can easily walk into a shop intending to buy one item and emerge with six, particularly when lemon, pistachios, or a high-quality carrot cake are involved.
Servingware within their Anthropologie collection also reflects this artisanal approach. Jaouad has long collected antique wooden trays and serving platters from around the world, pondering the meals and conversations those pieces witnessed before finding a home at her table. Her favorite piece in the new collection is a painted wooden serving platter that functions both as practical serveware and as a miniature work of art you can serve dinner on.
One of the couple’s best-kept entertaining secrets is deceptively simple: give your guests a job. Jaouad notes that people relax almost immediately when invited to participate in the preparation rather than remaining passive observers. One guest might be asked to tear fresh herbs, another to light candles, and a third to select a record to play. By sharing these small tasks, the gathering shifts from a performance hosted by the homeowners into a collaborative creation made together.
As the evening progresses, the dinner plates are eventually cleared, yet guests often linger without making a move to leave. This transition marks the second act of the party, where the host brings out tea, sweets, and perhaps another bottle of wine as everyone settles comfortably into the living room—perhaps utilizing pieces like the floral-patterned Willoughby chair from their collection. If the evening reaches its emotional peak, Batiste finds his way to the piano, dancing ensues, and any rigid notions of an early bedtime completely vanish.
When the night finally winds down, music choices span across generations and genres, from James Brown and Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories to the Jackson 5 and ABBA’s "Dancing Queen." Before departing, guests are often sent home with parting tokens of appreciation: seasonal clippings from the garden, a jar of homemade preserves, or iridescent peacock feathers shed by Dolly and Elvis, the two peacocks that roam the couple’s farm. For Jaouad and Batiste, the ultimate sign of a successful get-together is simple: when people who arrived as total strangers leave the house already making plans to see each other again, and when the evening has strayed so far off-script that no one can quite remember the original plan.
