Rabat – The British Ambassador’s residence in Rabat hosted on Thursday the launching of “Dining with Diplomats,” a captivating culinary book dedicated to supporting education in disadvantaged communities in rural Morocco.
Created by Vicky Enea and Lene Bækgaard, the book aims to promote cross-cultural understanding through the universal language of food while supporting an NGO called Education for All (EFA).
EFA is working to help young women in rural communities pursue education beyond primary school. The NGO works by building and managing boarding horses for girls aged between 12 to 18 near schools.
Dining with Diplomats’ co-author, Lene Bækgaard.
This initiative to support EFA comes at a critical time, as the NGO is recovering from the devastating effect of the September 8 earthquake.
“The recent earthquake has caused severe damage to EFA’s program, with four out of six houses completely ruined and the remaining two badly damaged,” the launch organizers said in a statement.
This inaugural edition of Dining with Diplomats featured a collection of favorite recipes and personal stories from ambassadors representing 23 countries accredited to Morocco, as well as contributions from The United Nations and two Moroccan chefs.
The book’s primary goal is twofold: Celebrating diverse culinary traditions and raising funds and awareness for EFA’s post-earthquake rebuilding efforts.
Speaking to Morocco World News (MWN) on the sidelines of the event, Vicky Enea, co-author and founder of Dining with Diplomats, highlighted the book’s social significance.
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The “coffee table book is more than just a collection of recipes; it’s a testament to the power of food to bridge cultures and support meaningful causes,” she said.
Lene Bækgaard shared insights into the book’s creation, saying: “This was great for me. I’m a foodie. I love food. I love to cook. I love to eat food and everything. So this was just my right. This was great for me.”
UK Ambassador to Morocco Simon Martin addressing attendees at the event
Stressing the importance of supporting Education for All, Bækgaard recalled their visit to the Atlas mountains and meeting the organization’s beneficiaries. “They do such an important job for these young women,” she said. “We think that this book is supporting a very good cause, and we are quite proud of it.”
As she highlighted the journey of creating the book and its broader impact, Vicky Enea echoed Bækgaard’s sentiments.
“The book is mostly about culinary diplomacy,” Enea pointed out. “There are some good stories, there are some funny stories, but we went all around the world with people’s cuisine, their food, their customs.”
She also emphasized the book’s role in raising awareness, saying her hope is for the book to not only help raise money, but to especially contribute to raising awareness about some of rural Morocco’s most pressing issues.
