Laila
Gohar
Laila Gohar is the food designer creating unique culinary experiences using food as her artistic medium, and international culture and design as her canvas. Brought up in Egypt by a family passionate about food and the convivial spirit it inspires, her kitchen is filled with an eclectic mix of kitchenware and bowls of dried figs, lemons and limes cover the work surfaces.
Her vibrantly coloured New York apartment filled with paintings, photography and ceramics were a hint at a life spent travelling, and before long it became clear that we had found in her a person whose Sunday memories played a central role in her creative output.
It is no wonder she began her career as founder of Sunday Supper, the former catering company created through a love of spontaneous dinner parties.
Laila also confesses that she rarely has a plan, and her spontaneous attitude towards work and life has us dying to know what she will get up to next.
Describe yourself in 3 words...
Spontaneous, hungry, moody.
Can you make a list of your ideal Sunday essentials?
Greek PJ pants I stole from my husband, coffee, good bread, a playlist.
What is your ultimate indulgence at the end of a busy day?
A massage at a place I go to in Chinatown.
What are your go-to Sunday spots in New York!
I pick up some charcuterie at Di Palo, an Italian grocer by my house. And wine at an amazing natural wine shop under my building called Wine Therapy.
Maybe (if it's a good week) I'll have time to pick up oysters at the market.
What role does food play in your Sunday memories?
The biggest role. My parents would often have dinner parties. Except in Egypt the weekend is Friday and Saturday so Sunday there is like Monday here. They'd have big dinner parties in our garden. We'd also go to the weekly market on weekend mornings with my dad.
What is your favourite corner of your home?
My bed. Or my corner on the sofa.
What are 4 things that you truly love?
Coconut water
Oysters
The sun
Bread
Laila, what do you miss the most about Egypt that you don't have in New York?
My family. Fruit juice shops everywhere. The bread. How life is slower…
And what is your ideal getaway destination?
I'd like to sail on the Turkish coast this summer.
Tell us what is on your bucket list...
I've never thought about this, I'm not a big planner. I just have new ideas and things I'd like to do every day…
What is the best thing about your job?
That no two days are ever the same.
What's next?
Lots of exciting things! Expanding my business and moving into a new studio.
What would your dream brief by a client be?
That I can do whatever I want and that there is an unlimited budget.
