Taste of Morocco in Gonubie
MOROCCO came to life at a Dinner for Dreams when guests were entertained by belly dancers, hookah pipes and a taste of dinner at a “harem”.
The dinner was held at the Gonubie home of Marcine Cooper.
Cooper, Elmay Bouwer and Christelle Wells responded to a challenge by the Daily Dispatch to host a dinner to raise funds for the Reach for a Dream Foundation, which sponsors dreams for children under the age of 18 who are diagnosed with life-threatening illnesses.
“We each invited five couples and amongst the three of us, we managed to put this dinner together,” Cooper said.
At the door, guests were offered a glass of champagne with a dash of lime and a coriander leaf.
The appetisers included olives, khofta, khobz with hummus and pickled gherkins.
The main course was succulent Moroccan lamb and chicken stews, with apricot, couscous, chickpeas and raisins.
Guests were required to dress as harem beauties or sultans.
Co-host Bouwer said they had considered a Playboy mansion theme, but had changed their minds.
Thanks to Wells, they were able to authentically plan their “Dinner at the Harem”. Wells lived in Egypt, Thailand, Bangladesh and India over a 10-year period.
“So I know that type of cooking very well. We had all the different types of ingredients and we just put them together,” she said.
Decorations comprised colourful throws, scatter cushions and low tables, and guests were entertained to a variety of Moroccan-style music.
They even got the opportunity to learn belly dancing from local instructor Lauren Brownlee and her student Claire Keet of Desert Dancers.
One guest, Gavin Manthe, said the Dinner for Dreams initiative was a great way of raising money, rather than making a simple donation. At the dinner R3000 was raised to help make children’s dreams come true. – By ASA SOKOPO
