Chinese Emperor Dinner Event
When the Bedford IDEAcommittee reached out to me to host Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil for the weekend, I knew it would be a fabulous opportunity to celebrate diverse cultures, while making new friends and memories. After an event filled weekend with Prince Manvendra, friends and family, I wanted to close out the weekend with a dinner event for local friends on Prince Manvendra’s last night here in Bedford.
I had to think hard on how to show our best hospitality to an overseas Prince that grew up in a palace with 100 servants. This was no small task, as I wanted to show the Prince only the best using a delicious culture exchange of food. My dear neighbor Martha texted me saying “you better not be serving India food” and I said “ok”. After careful consideration and planning, I decided to serve a 7 Course Chinese Emperors dinner, made mostly of organic vegetables and fresh seafood.
I had the help of a dear friend, Peter, who owns a James Beard nominated restaurant called O’ Mandarin in Hartsdale. He and I worked together to create an exquisite dinner menu that would share Chinese culture in a beautiful and delicious way. The scene of each of the dishes were bright and colorful, representing the color of rainbows, which was so on par with Prince Manvendra’s weekend here, showcasing his newest film “Pieces of Us”. My friends at O’Mandarin went above and beyond for this occasion and served us an authentic feast curated solely for the event.
There is nothing more wonderful than bridging cultures together and I felt excited at the thought of welcoming an Indian Prince with an Emperor dinner fit to serve 22 guests in my home. In addition, I called my friend who is in charge of the Chinese Assembly of Music in New York City. Despite them celebrating their 60th year anniversary at the Concierge Halls this past weekend for their music, they prepared 6 Tan Dynasty songs to be performed by 5 artists using 2000 year old Chinese instruments.
The guest list was filled with some of Bedford’s finest - two of our local congressman and their wives, Sean Partick Maloney and Jim Himes, Monty and Angelina Lipman, Joy and Morgan Gregory, Ed Lewis, Katrina, Andromeda, the Kaplan family and others of our esteemed guests came to celebrate and honor the Prince and it was such a joyous occasion. The most wonderful part of this busy weekend was bringing together all different people, cultures, and beliefs, all centered around l love and understanding. We met so many new friends and had a fabulous time.
A very big thank you to Gil Vaknin Photography for capturing the beautiful moments shared at this event.
