This week P and I hosted a special dinner celebrating new friends and personal stories for 10 people.

Tools I used:

• Canva - to design the menu

• Gold paper and a print shop - to print the menus (thank you Nelly!)

• My basic Spanish skills - to co-host the event

• Sentimental objects - brought by each guest

• An incredible 3 course meal - cooked by P

• Chilcuague - to surprise and delight the mouth

Context

Over the last 6-12 months, P and I have hosted a series of playful themed dinners and events, including a murder mystery birthday party, Friendsgiving & Friendsmas meals, a dumpling cook-off, international taco night, tamale night, an Immersive Vampire Dinner, and a Oaxacan inspired dinner.

Each one has been a blast, each with different people and silly activities. We plan to continue hosting more events, it’s fun to dream up elaborate setups, games, cuisine, and decor.

This week we wanted to celebrate new friends in a new city.

Process

P recently had the opportunity to visit Quintonil, ranked #9 on the World’s 50 Best Restaurant list. She brought home the menu and I liked the simple design:

. With a help from a friend we printed my design on beautiful gold paper.

The menu, crafted entirely by P, and entirely home made and vegan:

Starter

Queso de nuez de la India con reducción de jamaica / Pecan cheese with hibiscus reduction

Galletas de linaza y semillas de girasol / Flax and sunflower seed bread

Entree

Risotto de pipián verde / Risotto with green pumpkin seed sauce

Mixiote de shiitake y setas al adobo almendrado / Shitake mushroom mixiote and mushrooms in almond adobo sauce

Sauerkraut casero / Homemade sauerkraut

Postre / Dessert

Pastel de chocolate / Chocolate cake

Sorbet de plátano y kiwi / Banana-kiwi sorbet

Next mission, finding enough table space, chairs, and dinner ware to fitting 10 people in our small apartment. Many things were borrowed.

As has happened in our other events, we forgot to take photos during it as we were very wrapped up in the moment.

We asked each guest to bring a small object with them and place it on ‘the altar’ when they arrived.

Some of the things people brought included: a stuffed animal, a pair of keys, sunglasses passed down from a grandparent, a watch, a passport, a ring, a set of connection cards, a special rock.

Between main course and dessert, we formed groups of 3, and each person had to tell a story of the object they brought and what it meant to them. Once everyone in the group had told their story, the group had to find the common thread between their objects and share with the group.

Everyone had a great time (quote: “ I felt closer to these new friends than some of my family that I’ve spent most of my life with! ”). I loved this exercise (it was P’s idea) as it was a low-stakes way to share something personal with strangers and then find common ground.

Finally, after dessert, I revealed my object(s). I’m always on the lookout for ‘mouth experiences’ - spicy, hot, tingly, wet, sticky - you name it, I’ve tried it. I like to offer these experiences at parties without going into detail about what will happen, 95% of people give it a go.

This particular evening my mouth experiences were Flintts Mouthwatering Mints followed by a spray of chilcuague. A few minutes of chaos ensued.

by hosting the whole event in Spanish. Of course, I have the vocabulary of an 8 year old, but I managed to be understood, lead the activities, and make a group who hadn’t met each other before feel comfortable

• Immersion is the best way to learn. A few times people offered to switch to English, but forcing myself is key. I’m grateful that everyone was kind and patient

Next steps

• Host a 15-20 person event with a more elaborate theme

• Spread the word and have others host similar events