* Click here to sign up to free news and sport email alerts from Roundhay Today.

* Click here for latest news in Roundhay & Oakwood.

Capitalising on Zakiah's Malaysian roots – where, according to the 64- year-old, "everyone knows everyone else" – the pair's aim is to bring the community together and get to know other couples, following a local tradition spanning 30 years.

Safari Suppers were mainly popular in the 1980s and, although still held within rural areas and rotary clubs, the practice generally died with big perms, fluorescent tracksuits and 'Frankie Says Relax' T-shirts.

The practice of Safari Suppers bears more than a passing resemblance to Channel 4 reality show Come Dine With Me, in which five amateur chefs cook for each other over the course of the week.

However, unlike Come Dine With Me, the chefs aren't awardedmarks for their cooking at Safari Suppers, nor do they have the chance to take home £1,000 in prize money.

Even so, Geoff and Zakiah say taking part in the Safari Supper is a very rewarding experience.

In Gledhow and Roundhay, where Geoff and Zakiah live, more than 40 couples take part in the annual Safari Supper, which first took place within a small babysitting circle in 1978 and entered its 30th year on Saturday, February 2.

"I think Saturday's gathering was the biggest we've had yet," said Geoff, 74, who met his wife while working in Malaysia almost 35 years ago.

"The Safari Suppers very much bring the community together and we know everybody involved, although some much better than others.

"They're very popular because it's a good way to get people talking and to help people get to know each other. We've roped in quite a lot of new people this year and we're looking forward to seeing them because we've never met them before."

For those who don't know, the Safari Supper is when a group of people get together and "go on safari" to eat their evening meal, going to one house for the starter, one house for the main course, and another for dessert.

The couples are all sent to different houses, so they don't share a course with the same couple twice, and after leaving each house, they receive an envelope telling them where to go next.

Those who don't host are asked to be "wine bearers" and at the end, all the participants gather at one house for coffee.

"The average age of participants is fifties, sixties and seventies, although we do have a few in their early thirties," said Geoff.

"We'd like to see more young people involved so the tradition can carry on in the future.

"Four different couples attend each course, so by the end of the night, you will have met three other couples three times. That adds up to nine couples or 18 other people during the course of the evening.

"It's a relatively small percentage out of everyone who takes part but it's still a pretty good number.

"Most of the houses are walking distance apart, so people don't have to travel too far between courses.

"At the end, one couple will do the coffee and that's always a non-competititive event, because nobody wants to do it. Making coffee for 92 people is a very daunting task."

A familiar rumour about Safari Suppers is that the practice is associated with "swingers" – that is, diners gather together fortheir meal and indulge in a bit of "wife-swapping" afterwards.

But according to Geoff and Zakiah, nothing could be further from the truth.

"The most that happens is that sometimes, people get a bit drunk," Zakiah said. "You have wine with your starter,main course and dessert, so by the end, you need the coffee.

"One man served snails and offal as a starter so we stopped inviting him. But on the whole, it's extremely respectable."

The fact that Safari Suppers are alive and well and living in Roundhay is certainly a far cry from the negative press we hear about community relations, with more ASBOs being handed out by the courts than ever before.

According to a recent survey by UpMyStreet.com, 27 per cent of people in Yorkshire have had disputes with their neighbours, while five per cent have reported neighbours to the police for making too much noise.

Shockingly, 14 per cent of people don't even know their neighbours.

"Coming from Malaysia, I think Malaysians are so nosy," Zakiah said. "They know their neighbours inside out. Here, there's still four or five people in the street we don't know. If we meet them in the supermarket, we don't know who they are or where they live.

"People are a lot more wary in this country. They're not as open about things and they can be very cagey."

But Geoff and Zakiah trust their neighbours on Jackson Avenue implicitly and over the years, the pair have developed a good relationship with Roundhay residents.

Geoff, a retired mathematician, is the president of the local Rotary Club, while Zakiah plays badminton and goes to pilates sessions.

Zakiah was even a part of the babysitting circle which first held the Safari Supper back in 1978, using the close network of friends to help look after their three children, plus Geoff's two children from his first marriage.

"It's just about friendship," Geoff said. "We know everybody pretty well and some we know extremely well. Organising the Safari Supper isn't an easy task, but all the details are computerised which makes it better. We also get a lot of help from other people in organising it.

"One of the things you've got to bear in mind people's dietary requirements, what they can and can't eat – this year, one lady can't eat bananas or mackerel.

"Even so, we'd definitely recommend it. It's great fun and you get to meet so many different people.

"The Safari Supper isn't the only event that happens in this community. Just last week there was a big NSPCC quiz and almost everyone who was there will be at the Supper as well. It's a very close-knit community, which is a good thing.

"It's difficult to say whether community events are getting rarer. But we haven't heard of anyone else doing the Safari Supper, certainly not on this scale."