A table with strangers

Once a year, I like to have a fine dining experience with strangers.

The setup is simple: I book a table at a restaurant I really want to eat at, and then go looking for a few like-minded people to fill the other seats. We share a long meal, good drinks, and whatever conversation happens along the way.

This is one of the ways I keep some randomness in my life. Most of life should be deliberate, since you can’t build anything on pure chance. But a life with no randomness in it is a corridor: nothing unplanned can reach you. My rough figure is 5%. Enough for luck to find an entrance, not enough for it to move in. One table a year is a small piece of that.

This is not for everyone. You need to be comfortable talking to strangers for a couple of hours. But it has been worth it every single time. I’ve met remarkable people this way, and a few of them have become long-term friends. Sometimes it involves travel. Past tables have been at Kadeau, El Celler de Can Roca, and the Noma pop-up in Kyoto.

Intrigued?

If this sounds like your kind of evening, my inbox is always open. Tell me a bit about yourself and I’ll let you know where and when the next table is booked.

You can reach me by email.