Being married to an Egyptian, I have a fair understanding of their culture. Not great, but enough to get by when my mother in law visits. I keep learning as I go and continue to hope that I don't make any major faux pas.

What seems central to Egyptian culture (well at least to my husband anyway) is their love of food. No beans of toast for them; its all about a well-prepared spread with multiple dishes. I had first hand experience of this when we were invited to Iftar of an Egyptian family. I swear the table could have featured in BBC Good Food magazine.

I had heard of the stuffed pigeon which is so popular in Egypt but other dishes such as 'fatta' were unknown to me. A mixture of bread, rice and meat, it would be an Atkin dieter's worst nightmare. While I could only manage two spoonfuls of the dish, I happily got through grilled aubergine stuffed with meat and cheese as well as couple of stuffed vine leaves. And of course I had to help myself to the breaded chicken with tomato and mozarella as well as the grilled lamb medallions. Heaving myself from the dining room to the couch, we then moved on to desserts of 'atayef'. Protesting about having no room but with my fork already in hand, these fried pancakes are filled with nuts and dipped in sugar syrup. Not specifically from Egypt but from the Middle East region, you can imagine these being served with afternoon tea in the Ritz.

Coming from a country like the UK where family meals are becoming more and more infrequent, it was a refreshing change to be able to spend a few hours with friends and enjoy good food and good conversation which is not in a restaurant.

Next time though, I'll definitely be investing in some elasticated trousers.....