Choose the actual serving moment
Start with the time you want people seated and food ready to share, not the time the first guest arrives. If guests usually mingle for half an hour, keep arrival and dinner as separate points in your plan.
Write the meal time in the planner first. A clear finish point makes every preparation estimate easier to assess.
List real tasks
Name actions you can recognize while busy: set the table, warm a side, assemble a salad, prepare drinks, or place serving utensils. “Get everything ready” is too broad to schedule.
Estimate each duration from your own recipe, appliance instructions, or prior experience. The tool does not know your kitchen or validate cooking directions.
Add buffer where it belongs
Give extra time to jobs with likely interruptions, such as moving dishes, finding serving pieces, or waiting for an oven slot. Add buffer to that task rather than hiding it in a vague overall margin.
A schedule with no slack can look tidy but fail after one delayed step. The planner makes those minutes visible.
Review the earliest start
The generated list may reach into the previous day. By default, each task finishes before the next begins, including preparation outside the oven. That is a prompt to reconsider task order, shorten a menu, or move appropriate preparation earlier. Check the date on every line, not only the clock time.
Print the final list and put it where the person coordinating the meal can see it. Revise it when plans change; the schedule is a working document.
Have a correction or a suggestion? Tell the studio.