Come Dine With Me – Mexican

A couple of months ago we decided that we were going to do our own version of Come Dine With Me.

To be fair, in the beginning we weren’t quite sure how far we were going to take it.  Should we really go all out?  The answer that we came to throughout the course of stuffing our faces that night?

OF COURSE WE SHOULD!

(I’ve summed up some points to consider when deciding to do this with your friends at the bottom of this post)

So, Sammy and Donny took the first round and treated us to a Mexican themed evening (one of my favourite kinds of foods actually).  Half of us decided to dress up (because we need very little reason to dress up) and so started the tradition of having to dress up for every evening.

e were welcomed with very cool drinks (excuse the pun) – a tequila sunrise (so pretty) and margaritas.  Both delicious and a great start to what was in store for us for the rest of the night.

Then it was time to eat.  And the food?  Oh the food!  Spicy chicken, steak and lamb to go with the nachos and tortillas.  Loads of salsa, cheese and even more avo to add.  Everyone had seconds, if not thirds.  Sam really did a great job with the food and accompanying decor.

We chatted and laughed and then it was time for dessert.  Divine chocolate brownies topped with chili chocolate.  And ice cream of course.

Then came the fun part – we all went up to a room to film our recap of the evening in secret and to our score our hosts.  It was such a laugh to watch them all on the last night!

I’d always wanted to do this with a group of our close friends, but since we all have kids it’s hard to find the time.  But I’m so glad that we managed to do it with our family.  We had such fun getting together and indulging in good food, great conversation and lots of fun.  And we learnt a few things along the way too.

Here’s what you need to consider before starting your own Come Dine With Me evening with your friends and family:

1. You need to commit.  Thankfully we never had this problem, but it would really suck if the first couple put in all their hard work and money into a great evening and then no one else holds up their end.
2. Before you start you should lay some ground “rules”.  That way the hosts of the first night are given a fair chance.  Decide if you are all going to send out menus before the time, dress up, offer 3 courses or 2 and have “entertainment”.
3. Get an impartial person to film the end of the evening wrap ups and scores.  Or get everyone to film it on their phones and send it to one point.  Make sure you don’t cheat and look at the scores before it’s time.
4. Make it worthwhile.  Everyone should contribute a decided amount for the winners to go and enjoy a lovely dinner of their very own.

Come back next week and check out our South African themed Come Dine With Me evening – you might just spot Patricia Leiws haha.

Like what you’ve read here?  That’s flipping awesome – feel free to share it with your friends.  Also come hang out with me on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram where you can make sure you don’t miss out on the next couple of Come Dine With Me themes including South Africa, Asian Fusion and French.