PARTY REPORT *VINgt-onze* 22 January

Last saturday we somehow managed to squeeze a record 79 people into my humble loft... it was certainly cozy, but surprisingly comfortable! The final gender ratio was thankfully a little more even than it had threatened a couple of days before, with a respectable 34 men to 45 women, all hailing from about 20 different countries of origin. A massive number of 55 were repeat cosmo-guests and we welcomed 24 new recruits.

Considering the huge crowd the evening went very smoothly thanks to everyone's good spirits and in particular to my wonderful friends Tina, Brigitte and Philippe for lending a helping hand. The food was evidently appreciated, almost all was eventually polished off but I don't think anyone went hungry and many complimented me on the tastiness!

All in all another very good fun and successful soirée, a la prochaine!

*VENDREDI* 26 NOV 2010 PARTY REPORT

What can I say, we have met the mother of all cosmosoirées! It will, (I hope;) go down in history as the biggest EVER (at least in my house!) There must be something about *Vendredi*… 77 fervent Friday night revellers crammed into the cosy cosmo-loft with three things on their mind - eat, drink and be merry! I was still busy greeting the continual influx of guests at the door when the buffet table came under the first wave of attack. Thankfully the lovely Brigitte was on hand to help control the masses and manage the placement of the hot dishes – ham and vegetable frittatas, tuna pasta bake, jacket potatoes and my new specialty meatballs! All of this plus the usual array of salads was disappearing at an alarming rate as we still awaited the last trickle of arrivals.

Finally it was time for me to close the door and resume kitchen duty, with a slightly more relaxed second chance to greet each of my guests whilst dishing out the chicken curry. Later it proved a veritable obstacle course trying to get the dessert dishes through the crowd and onto the terrace table, but eventually the peachy panna cotta, chocolate gateau and popular new citrus pie were in place… and all gone in about 5 minutes!

To get back to the vital statistics there were 41 women and 36 men, with an almost even split between newbies and cosmo-pros. I tallied up a relatively modest range of nationalities, just 13 compared to the 20 or so we are used to, with healthy contingents from our host country and neighbouring France vying for the majority.
I do feel this time it was just a tad overcrowded and I only hope that there was enough food and drink to satisfy all, in future I will try (even harder) to stick to the 65 limit to make things more comfortable and manageable. But whilst the huge turnout added to mess factor it evidently also added to the fun factor:) Cheers to everyone for their good spirits!

Hungarian Deli-Delights @ Paprika Gourmet... EVENT REPORT

As the first of a new type of gastronomic cosmo-celebration last thursday was a very successful evening! The delicatessen was transformed into a perfect setting for our intimite gourmet get together, its tantalizing product displays forming an exotic backdrop as we savored the delicious tapas and excellent wines.
The cosy crowd of 29 discerning guests hailed from 11 different countries of origin; France, Germany, Spain, Italy, USA, Serbia, Argentina, Finland, Turkey, Brazil and Australia. And not to forget our Hungarian hosts who provided a marvelously professional, generous and friendly service all evening.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was the social aspect of the evening, given the relatively small crowd and "cultural" theme everyone was in great spirits creating a wonderfully animated party vibe which lasted until we wound up close to midnight... thanks everyone!

Inaugurating a new cosmo-concept series of multi-culti gastronomic celebrations!!!...

*Hungarian Deli-Delights @ Paprika Gourmet*
thursday 7 october 8.30-11.30 pm

We will gather at the beautiful Eixample delicatessen and catering centre Paprika Gourmet to enjoy a delicious degustation dinner of quality food specialties and wines from Hungary. You will be welcomed with a glass of Tokaji (famous dry white wine) and a written synopsis of the tasting proposal before our hosts give a brief talk introducing us to the rich gastronomic tradition of their country. There will of course be plenty of time to mix and mingle as we are treated to a succession of 11 exquisite dishes accompanied by 4 glasses of distinctive Hungarian wines.

Take a look at the mouth-watering menu!

* Smoked ham with fruits

* Pastrami with orange mustard
* Canapé of deer salami with sour cherry jam
*Selection of Hungarian cheeses
*Duck carpaccio and black plum chutney with truffles
*Canape of rabbit salami with carrot and orange chutney
*Foie with Tokaji wine gel
*Cottage cheese selection with Zellers
*Goats cheese salad
*Canapé of Hungarian traditional salami with grated cheese
*Budapest ham with hawthorn jelly

WINES
1. Royal Tokaji Furmint 2007
2. Kékfankos Merlot Rosé 2009 by Ostoros (3rd prize international rosé)
3. Ostoros Cabernet Sauvingnon 2007
4. Sauska cuvée (Hungarian premium wine) 2007

Also included - mineral water, glass of orange juice, coffee and pálinka.

The special all-inclusive cost for the evening is 25€
Additional glasses of wine can be consumed (priced from 2.5€) and a full range of gourmet products will be available for purchase.

TIME: Event starts 8.30 sharp, you may enter from 8pm.

PLACE: Paprika Gourmet, C/ Lepant 311 (M Sagrada Familia)

ENTRANCE: Please have your 25€ at hand to ensure a smooth start.

RSVP: Strictly limited to 40 places, be sure to email me ASAP!

Guestlist must be confirmed by 8pm Oct 6

kimalexandrah@gmail.com

SEPTEMBER 4 PARTY REPORT

With a relatively slow response to invitations in august it looked like being a fairly quiet affair… but the last minute post-vacation flourish of RSVPs filled the event to a near capacity crowd of 63. There were around 21 countries of origin present, the less usual ones including Afghanistan, Sri Lanka, Singapore and Peru. The feminine contingent slightly out-numbered the men with 34 to 29, and it was great to see so many new faces with a massive 34 first-timers!
The buffet spread included most of the cosmo-staples with just a couple of variations, plus a delicious salad from my friend Anna who also helped me out a lot on the night, thanks Anna!:) The main course chicken curry seemed to go down as well as ever, though my “basmati risotto” experiment was perhaps not the biggest success, in future I’ll stick to preparing it the normal way;) The meal was of course topped off by my signature desserts of fruit panna cotta and chocolate gateau, yum! The party atmosphere was as vibrant as ever until we wound up around 2am, with many people going on to continue the night in bars and clubs with new-found friends. Thanks to you all for participating in the good spirit of cosmosoirée, hope to see you again next time!

*CITY STARLIGHT* SOIRÉE, JULY 24 2010

Our special summer celebration last saturday was a hugely successful soirée enjoyed by all. A big thank you to my wonderful friend Brigitte for co-hosting this event in her penthouse apartment with its fabulous terrace!

With our estimated crowd capacity of 60 we were fully booked and couldn't squeeze in everyone who wanted to come, sorry! Numbers came in more or less perfect with 59 guests plus the two hostesses, and may we congratulate ourselves on achieving a male majority this time (not an easy task in Bcn), with a ratio of 32 to 29. As usual the crowd was a great mix of diverse nationalities, ages, visitors and residents, including 24 newbies welcomed into the cosmo-ranks.

Photographic documentation of the evening is unfortunately limited... if anyone has any decent photos please post them!

THIS EVENT IS FULLY BOOKED!!!

There are no more sure places for this saturday's event, but you can email me to go on the waitlist.