Britain have a TV series on Channel 4, called Come Dine With Me. This popular reality/food show has been successfully running for over a decade now, and continues to broadcast every week day. The premise sounds simple; 5 strangers equals 5 nights of dining. However, the reality leaves a lot to be desired when the votes are counted at the end of every week and the winning host is offered a grand prize of one thousand pounds for offering a successful dining experience!
My family and I have become somewhat addicted to this show; after all, it is about food! However, it is more about the interaction and people’s perceptions of what makes a good dining experience that can sometimes bring us to our knees with laughter. Yet, it also got us thinking one night, what if groups of friends spent a week doing this – would they still call themselves friends at the end of it?
Create Your Own Come Dine With Me Experience
Of course, seeing as we initially came up with the concept, there was only one thing for it; to see it through! Picking a week whereby all friends would all be able to agree to commit their time each night was the first challenge – and that was even before we had begun planning the menus! Yet, through sheer perseverance we got there, and what a fun-filled week we had!
Award Constructive Criticism Not Point Scoring
Although we followed the format as closely as possible, there was one huge difference from the TV show, well two if you don’t count the money at the end of the week! We decided at the very beginning that this wouldn’t be about point collecting. After all, considering the work that my wife and I do daily, this wouldn’t have been a fair game!
What we did implement in its place was a deal that, at the end of every night, we would talk about the food, the experience and then swap recipes and tips on how we organised it all. That way, not only were we getting a great dining experience, we also came away with further knowledge, with all of us days later recreating the meals we had tasted once back home! I’m happy to report that we all remain the best of friends!
For a gathering with a difference with some of your closest friends, why not take the Come Dine With Me Challenge yourself, and perhaps create your own unique spin on it. You never know, it just may become a regular fixture!
