{"id":164959,"date":"2026-03-16T13:45:39","date_gmt":"2026-03-16T13:45:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/164959\/"},"modified":"2026-03-16T13:45:39","modified_gmt":"2026-03-16T13:45:39","slug":"laila-gohar-and-ignacio-mattos-mix-work-and-play-at-home-in-manhattan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/164959\/","title":{"rendered":"Laila Gohar and Ignacio Mattos Mix Work and Play at Home in Manhattan"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>It isn\u2019t always a big-budget affair. Last November, at Arch, an exhibition space in Athens, she cooked a pot of beans for three days straight, letting art lovers grab a bowl. Whoever the client and whatever the context, her directive is always the same: Have a bite. It will probably prompt you to strike up a conversation\u2014or at least have a giggle\u2014with someone else at the party.<\/p>\n<p>She inherited a knack for hosting from her parents. Her father, a prominent Egyptian journalist, and mother often threw dinner parties that mixed local intellectuals: reporters, writers, politicians, and expats. \u201cThe house was really the beating heart of our lives,\u201d says Gohar, who, for a time, wanted to be a diplomat. While she didn\u2019t end up going into politics, her own gatherings feel like social statecraft. You might meet an artist you\u2019ve long admired or a future creative collaborator. Even during COVID lockdown, when events ground to a halt, Gohar inspired her loyal global following to cook beans and other tried-and-true dishes. One involved boiling chickpeas and de-shelling them individually by hand. She eschews shortcuts, professing \u201cI\u2019m allergic to convenience,\u201d calling it an excuse to avoid \u201cexcitement and quality and beauty and all the things I like.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Recently, while Mattos was out of town, Gohar threw an impromptu 30-person birthday party for a friend. The timing wasn\u2019t ideal. Nevertheless, she roasted four chickens and found a spot for every guest. \u201cI like when everyone sits during dinner,\u201d she says. \u201cThere\u2019s a ceremonial aspect to it.\u201d Preconceived notions about formality blur in this household where the mantra is clear: \u201cNice things shouldn\u2019t be saved for special occasions.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img decoding=\"async\" alt=\"Image may contain Hannah Simone Face Head Person Photography Portrait Food Meal Accessories Jewelry and Necklace\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"ResponsiveImageContainer-dkeESL cQPiWi responsive-image__image\"   src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/AD0426_GOHAR_9%20copy.jpg\"\/><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It isn\u2019t always a big-budget affair. Last November, at Arch, an exhibition space in Athens, she cooked a&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":164960,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[35],"tags":[21617,1472,75,84,83,9,24,63,15424,14881],"class_list":["post-164959","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-manhattan","tag-_syndication_noshow","tag-magazine","tag-manhattan","tag-manhattan-headlines","tag-manhattan-news","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-city","tag-nyc","tag-storytypedeep-dive","tag-textbelowcenterfullbleed"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164959","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=164959"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/164959\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/164960"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=164959"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=164959"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=164959"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}