Hosting a dinner party is not something for the faint-hearted.
Recurring dreams can taunt would-be hosts with visions of exploding puddings, charcoal-flavoured mains and the dog devouring it all.
But a new project did away with the stress of holding one myself, by sending chefs in to do the hard work instead.
A Taste of Freedom, the home restaurant experience, is being put on by charity Destitute Asylum Seekers Huddersfield to give diners a taste of gourmet international three-course meals.
The idea is simple – hosts choose between Persian, Thai, Pakistani, Indian, Malaysian and Turkish cuisine and DASH sends a relevant asylum seeker or refugee cook, who have all received help from the charity, to make some magic in the host’s home and even do the washing up.
Meat eaters, vegetarians, vegans or a mixture can be catered for – just make sure to spell out what guests can and cannot have.
On top, diners have a unique opportunity to share stories with the chefs and learn more about their mother culture, with the total cost currently only £10 per head.
With winter drawing in, 12 friends, family and I opted to fill my house with the warming smells of a Persian banquet.
Trying to tidy my house to make it fit for a pop-up restaurant was my only, if slightly testing, task.
Just a tip: dumping everything in a spare room and locking the door, drying off picnic tables and taking advantage of office crockery supplies, all helps.
Our chef for the evening was Hamid Moulaie, a big-hearted and jolly Iranian who has been given leave to remain and is studying English and maths at college.
He came to mine the night before, weighed down by bags of delicious looking goodies, the ingredients for his secret recipes.
He returned 24 hours later, armed with two big casseroles filled with our dessert and another side dish he’d prepared at home.
A willing Iranian friend of Hamid’s, Javad, also arrived to help him with the big task of feeding our hungry guests.
Going out to dinner in my front room was the perfect lazy alternative to braving the gales outside, but I did have to double check myself when I started thinking that slippers would be suitable to go with my party dress.
My friends arrived and took their places around my makeshift tables.
Hamid was eager to share with us his first treat of the night, giant Persian flatbreads served with a dill and coriander salad, tomato and onion salad and a soft and creamy Iranian cheese.
The best part was watching Hamid show us how to eat it the proper way, by making a massive sandwich.
I cleared the plates to make way for the main course, which turned out to be too big to even fit on the tables.
We took it in shifts to go to the kitchen and delve into four massive pots, with Hamid again showing us how to arrange each portion on our plates.
Rice is a staple in Iran, where it seems to be cooked in as many ways as there are people.
Hamid cooked us three pots, two cooked in vegan friendly vegetable ghee, which made the bottom layer turn an unmissable yellow, and subtly flavoured with aromatic spices and pomegranate seeds, the most iconic fruit of the country.
The third pan contained another multi-coloured rice, with lentils and spices mixed in.
The last was the most nourishing part of the meal, a lentil, okra and lightly spicy stew.
It was poured on top of the three rice mounds on each plate and served with a choice of normal or vegan yogurt with dill and cucumber.
Our tastebuds were kept very busy with the wonderful mingling flavours and the different crunchy, soft and creamy textures.
Where we ate in November 2015
Halfway through main course Hamid and Javad bounded back into the living room, them being too polite to accept our invitation for them to sit with us, with an unusually-filled bowl.
It was the crunchy part of the rice, which had been cooked slowly and had stuck together in pieces like a thick crisp.
They were surprisingly addictive and were a great way to use everything up.
Hamid and Javad came to join us before dessert, where some of us learned about their homeland, what they miss and their journeys to find safety.
The pudding was the masterpiece of the entire evening, it could have even had its own quirky gallery spot.
Its name – Sholeh-Zard – a rice pudding fragranced with cinnamon, saffron, buttermilk and rosewater and peppered with pistachio nuts and flour to give it a more cake-like feel.
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Us vegans had vanilla soya ice cream with pomegranates but I was left a bit envious of the golden dessert that was glinting in bowls out of the corner of my eye.
The best surprise was going back into the kitchen with the empty bowls, to realise that all the washing up had been done.
A fantastic meal and a great introduction to other cultures, it will probably be the smoothest run dinner party I will ever host that will not put me off the idea of ever hosting another.
