If you could invite anyone to dinner, who would it be?
Well, that question has been explored rather literally by beer brand Stella Artois, who have arranged what they are referring to as the world’s most fascinating dinner.
This second rendition of this dinner party will follow up the first, which saw American celebrities Matt Damon, Zoe Saldaña, Jeremy Allen White and Ludacris get together to celebrate the sacred ritual of enjoying dinner together. Nomzamo Mbatha was also a part of this event which took place this past Thursday evening in New York.
Now this idea is being delved into once more but this time with South African personalities gathered around the table which is the perfect moment for South African pride and heritage. This soiree is to be hosted by two of our most adored media personalities, Nomzamo Mbatha and Kat Sinivasan on October 25.
Speaking to Drum on her way to New York for the dinner which was held this past Thursday evening, actor and broadcaster Nomzamo Mbatha explains how she loves the idea of coming together with friends, “new people, meeting new people, surrounded by the idea of us sharing meal, what everybody thinks of different dishes, having a drink and having a really good time.
"But also, I love the idea of just music blasting in the background and just people connecting. I am such a connector. I love conversation. I love being surrounded by just joy.”
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The muti-talented broadcaster Kat feels, “It sounded like such a great initiative, and it really spoke to the reality that most of us face, particularly artists and performers. You're never home, you never have the time. So, this was just such a great initiative because it was bothering me. I really have to back out of a lot of plans, and I eat a lot by myself. So just bringing us back to sharing the meals and meals come with conversation and experiences and kind of fostering great relationships with people that you know or new people in your life.”
Nomzamo is excited for you to experience the dinner she co-hosted and believes the idea is an intriguing one and having this dinner in New York is something Nomzamo thinks will help show the famous local guests in a new light.
“Also, how we get to do it back home and how different it is from what kind of atmosphere South Africans create and what kind of atmosphere New Yorkers create. And who knows, we could take it anywhere else in the world. But I just love the idea of it.”
Both the personalities are pleased to be working together.
“I love Kat. Every time I see Kat on the red carpet, he's working and he's just such a conversationalist and a truth teller. He's hilarious, he's super charming, he speaks his mind, and I always enjoy having conversations with Kat.”
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“She's full of life, she's full of energy, she's intelligent, but at the same time, she's not afraid to make a fool of herself and have a whole lot of fun. And I think all our experiences together. Have been like such high energy, fun experiences,” Kat gushes.
Her favourite dinner time conversations are comprised of her passions, of which there are many.
“I'd probably just speak about all the things that I'm very passionate about. I'd speak about films, I love talking about movies, old movies, new movies, music, movies that are about to come out. I love talking about books, current books that I'm reading, and books that are like, truly entrenched in my heart. I love speaking about music. I love fighting about who's our favorite artist and why they deserve to be nominated for whatever, having those kinds of conversations.
“I hope those are the kinds of messages that I am able to convey at the dinner table. But also, I love speaking about doing good things that I'm very passionate about is social entrepreneurship, philanthropy, really being a change agent for the spaces that we occupy, the communities that we occupy. I think that we may, in one way or the other, are a product of somebody that plowed into our journeys or our communities that made our lives better.”
Kat says he has a few international figures on his ideal dinner roll call.
“There's so many because there's such great talents and such great know across the globe. But I like a good mix. Steve Harvey for me, because he's so incredible at what he does, but he's got so much knowledge, and I think it would be so great to kind of pick his brain about the things that he finds interesting in his values in life.
“Another one is RuPaul Charles. I think RuPaul Charles is one of them. The most incredible people that I've had. To experience well, had the opportunity of. Experiencing in my lifetime. He's so open minded. His way of thinking is unconventional and nonbinary to the basic stereotypes of existence.
Her list of people to invite to this dinner includes the celebrated director Martin Scorsese, local television producer Desiree Markgraaff and the mind behind the global film sensation Barbie, Greta Gerwig.
“I love Lasizwe. He’s so tender and such a precious person and he's going to bring the jokes. He's hilarious. But also, he will dress up. I'd invite all my friends and family.”
She would also invite actor Emilia Clarke of Game of Thrones Fame.
“I think she and I have the same kind of sense of humor. We geek out over the same things. Whenever I see your interviews, I'm like, oh, I get why people always want to DM me and be like, you remind me so much of Emilia Clark and I see it.”
At their respective dinners they both present their varied takes on what would be best to serve.
Adhering to the mood of the upcoming weekend, Kat says, “I think to keep it proudly south African. We love a good braai, so let's go bright meat with the seven colors. All the bells and whistles, your chakalaka, the beetroot, the variety of stump dombolo, pap. Because I'd be inviting international stars. I think I'd really want them to have an authentically South African experience.”
“I'd serve a beautiful rice dish and some trout. I make a mean fish. All my friends and family know you can do the braai, but when it comes to the fish, Nomzamo has to handle the fish and of course, all the side dishes. But I make a good fish, and I make a good salad because I know just how to put together the right dressing.”
Nomzamo is antsy about the strike in Hollywood as her exploits overseas were picking up before the picket, but she still has things happening locally, beyond hosting the world’s most fascinating dinner.
“I'm working on season two for Shaka. So very excited in terms of who we want for season two, what's our dream cast list, but also what the story is going to be and how do we top season one. And I'm very excited that I get to work with incredible collaborators such as Bomb Productions, which is Desiree and Angus.”
Kat has intentions of eventually venturing behind the scenes of productions and add to his skills in front of the lens. He also has a few new career pathways that have revealed themselves to him, “I'm working on some music. There's a whole lot of acting in the pipeline for me. I'm kind of making a transition without leaving the one behind. I'm still hosting, but I'm branching out into acting, which is something I studied and I'm passionate about.”
