A Free Dinner With 100 Strangers?
One of my New Year’s resolutions is to be part of a winning pub quiz team, which is a thinly veiled way of saying I need new friends (joking guys).
But in all seriousness, meeting new people as you get older becomes increasingly difficult. After some reflection, it dawned on me that my friends are either all:
a) people I went to school/uni with
b) people I’ve worked with
c) people I’ve lived with in London
The impact of this realisation has been twofold. Firstly, it is clear that I need to take up a hobby that isn’t just ‘hot girl walks’ and secondly, I need to be more proactive in putting myself in different spaces. Last night, I took my first step towards achieving the latter by attending the monthly Community Dinner hosted by Kindred.
If you aren’t familiar with Kindred, they are a former members club turned people first community space located in Hammersmith, offering co-working facilities, cultural programmes, venue hire, bar and restaurant. At the heart of the Kindred ethos is the concept of intentional gatherings to foster a sense of community, something which is perfectly illustrated by the monthly dinner they host whereby 100 strangers are invited to get to know each other over dinner, for free.
I happened upon Kindred by accident whilst trying to navigate to the home swapping website, also named Kindred, and immediately signed up to the Community Dinner. Entry for the dinner is done via ballot. You fill in a google form with some basic information, i.e. age range, dietary requirements etc and then you are entered into the draw. This was my third round of entering the ballot after being placed on the waiting list the previous two occasions. After last night, it was made super clear why a space at the Community Dinner is so in demand.
All of my pre-dinner nerves were immediately dissipated the second I arrived and was greeted by the wonderful Kindred team: a special mention goes to Dora who was the main host for the evening. My fellow dinner guests were so friendly, and almost everyone came alone without knowing anyone else in attendance. There was a huge range in ages, occupations, cultures and backgrounds which made it a great opportunity to meet people from different walks of life that you might have not met otherwise. There was also zero stuffiness, pretension or ulterior motives- people rarely got their phones out and were more focused on getting to know the people they were sat next to. If you are curious about attire, there is no dress code that is outlined; everyone was dressed relatively casually, adding to the concomitant laid-back atmosphere.
Each month the cuisine of the Community Dinner changes and this month it was Gujarat cooked by Chef Niyati. The menu was a dream, especially for me as it was entirely vegetarian. However, this was just a happy coincidence and it is my understanding that no matter what the monthly menu theme is, your dietary requirements will be catered for. When you arrive you get a token to redeem a free alcoholic or non-alcoholic drink and you can purchase any additional drinks you want after this.
The dinner is held from 7pm - 9pm and honestly the 2-hours flew by. I had such a lovely evening and will definitely attempt to go again later in the year. I just want emphasise that the dinner really is free, there’s no strings attached. Kindred partner with Nourish Hub which is a local charity fighting food waste and so you can leave an optional donation to Nourish Hub if you like but there is no obligation to do so and you’re not pressured into it in the slightest.
It’s a big world but it can feel small sometimes, and this is a super fun way to widen those horizons!
If you want to sign up to next month’s Community Dinner, you can do so HERE.
