ROCKWALL, TX – October 5, 2021 — Walt Disney once said, “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” And his wise words have certainly proven true for Rockwall resident Katie-Rose Watson, hostess of the popular online Disney Dinners series.
Watson has hosted 20 dinner parties themed after Disney movies for her close friends and filmed them for her blog The Rose Table. The Disney Dinners series has received hundreds of thousands of views across Facebook, YouTube, and TikTok. Their popularity stems largely from the clever décor ideas, scrumptious recipes, and the relatable way Watson shares her tips and tutorials.
“If you get Disney, you get me and you certainly get The Rose Table,” Watson said. “No one thinks of Disney as formal, and yet it has that magic. It turns normal days into magic.”
Watson’s love for both Disney and food has been lifelong. Even during her high school years Watson would invite her friends over and cook for them. Now that she has her own home in Rockwall, Watson delights in welcoming her friends to enjoy the new recipes she creates with love, and a little Disney pixie dust sprinkled on top.
“I wanted to get people excited about dinner parties and that sort of old-fashioned way of entertaining,” Watson said. “This is a cool way to get millennials excited about the ‘outdated’ notion of a dinner party, without seeming formal or stuffy.”
“I love how excited my friends get about the dinners. I love that I have found all of these people to connect with who really nerd out about this stuff like I do. The moment they walk through the door and turn to see my dining room and squeal with excitement, that is such a fun moment for me.”
Watson says her favorite Disney character is Mulan, and Beauty and the Beast is one of her all-time favorite movies. One of the things she loves most about Disney is the strong female leads, especially from the 90s.
But Watson doesn’t always choose her Disney Dinner themes based on her personal favorites. She is mainly inspired by the films that have some of the strongest theming and imagery she can use in her cooking and décor.
When she is planning a new Disney Dinner, Watson begins with the research phase: watching and re-watching the movie.
“I visualize the entire Disney Dinner episode before I create it,” Watson said. “I start buying the décor for it pretty early on, and I’ll decorate the dining room usually one week before the party.”
After visualizing the décor, her own costume, and her intro for the video, she focuses on planning the menu. She tries to keep the ambiance for each party very unique.
“I never want people to feel like if they’ve seen one Disney Dinner episode, they’ve seen them all,” Watson said. “I want them to be very, very different.”
Watson’s personal favorite Disney Dinners so far have been the Princess and the Frog, the Haunted Mansion and Pirates of the Caribbean. If she could invite five Disney characters to a dinner party, who would she choose?
“Megara from Hercules, Belle from Beauty and the Beast, Ursula from The Little Mermaid, General Li Shang from Mulan, and Jane from Tarzan.”
Watson’s foodie dreams moved beyond the realm of the digital and into print this year. Earlier this month, she announced the publication of her first cookbook: The Rose Table.
“This cookbook is a collection of my go-to recipes that I’ve been making for years and years, recipes you’ll want in your weekly rotation and recipes that you can trust to turn out perfectly for company,” says Watson.
While running a successful food and lifestyle blog, writing a cookbook, and painstakingly planning elaborate Disney dinners might seem daunting to some, to Watson it’s a dream come true.
“This is not work to me – it’s so fun and it’s how I relax. All I want to do after wrapping up a long work day is dream about all of my future Disney Dinners.”
As Walt Disney would say, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”
Story by Julie Anne Wells. Courtesy photos.
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