Bravotv.com: As a fantastic hostess yourself, what do you think of Caroline Fleming’s Scandanavian Christmas?

Marissa Hermer: I was so sorry to miss Caroline Fleming’s Scandinavian Christmas as I was ill on the evening so was nice to see it on this episode! She created such a beautiful tablescape - and I especially love the personalized biscuits for placecards. AND Goose Christmas Dinner is my favorite - actually Caroline’s sister is a dear friend of mine and every year we actually cook a Danish Goose Dinner together- it is my favorite. I’m also a huge fan of Cheetos at dinner parties - and actually have just brought back some Cheese Balls from American to serve at my next dinner. I think mixing a bit of high and low at parties is fun - and very thoughtful of Caroline to add American Cheetos to the mix for the American ladies who were attending the evening. The red dresses and black tie looked so magical - I’m a (no surprise!) huge fan of themed dinners - so to be honest, I was just devastated when my doctor told me I was too contagious to join. Where as Caroline likes to do everything herself (clearly she is good at creating a delicious feast as I also noticed everyone almost licked their plates!), I like to enjoy my dinner parties more as Caroline Stanbury said…as a guest! So I usually ask one of our Eclipse bartenders to pop around for a couple hours to make some Watermelon Martinis for my guests and ask a Bumpkin server to come help serve and wash up in the kitchen, that way I can spend the evening gossiping with my girlfriends rather than stirring over the stove. 

Bravotv.com: Tell us about Carols at The Royal Albert Hall. Were you surprised Juliet took being not invited as a slight? 

MH: Christmas Carols at the Royal Albert Hall is one of my favorite family Holiday traditions and I love sharing it with my nearest and dearest. I was surprised that Juliet took not being invited as a slight - after our Thanksgiving drama it would have been strange if I HAD invited her! I hadn’t spoken to her in a few weeks so for me to then reconcile with her while my family was in town for that event just wasn’t the right place - plus I never know if something is going to explode between us and though I never want to hurt anyone’s feelings or exclude anyone, I just didn’t want any drama on that day. 

Bravotv.com: How do you feel about your sit down with Juliet? How did it feel going from BFF to F and what did this mean to you.

MH: I’m thankful that Juliet asked me to sit down with her to clear the air -  we hadn’t spoken to each other in a few weeks so it’s always good to communicate and get perspective about how someone else is feeling. There was a lot of drama surrounding Thanksgiving and for me it was a reality check on the state of our friendship. Juliet brings a lot of fun to any situation but she also brings a lot of drama - and during the holidays my ‘FUN' cup runneth over, but as I was hosting my family in London, and working nonstop (the holidays are the busiest time of year for our restaurants, bars, and nightclubs), I couldn’t handle any more drama. I needed to take a step back and set some boundaries. Juliet was the one who actually  described the new chapter of our relationship as BFF to F, but I couldn’t have described it more perfectly. We can still have fun with each other and enjoy each other’s company as friends - but without the pressure and the expectation of a best friend - as we were clearly both disappointing each other and not able to deliver on the best friend relationship level.