“If you really want to make a friend, go to someone’s house and eat with him… the people who give you their food give you their heart” – Cesar Chavez

I read this quote, and I thought you all would enjoy it too. For me, it sums up the significance of food beyond a functional purpose. More so when I think of the times I’ve bonded with colleagues (from an unrelated industry) over food who have brought me in stuff they’ve cooked or grown. They’ve given me the greatest gift: their passion, sustenance and a deeper connection.

All cultures have a strong tie with food and socialising and I believe this is part of the health jigsaw. With the remodelling of the family nucleus, what is gaining traction in our ‘busy syndrome’ society are cook-togethers; social gatherings of friends and strangers who cook and then later dine together. It’s a new kind of family dinner with as-obsessed-about-food types.

I didn’t mean for this post to turn into a look into the world of cook-togethers. It took a life of it’s own when I started poking around on the net. After a search (and signing up to a meet up or two along the way) here’s a list to get you started – or at least a heads up – of the cook-togethers getting around:

• Cook here and now
• Eat With Me
• Eat With – Like Airbnb but for food sharing. In beta phase and currently only in Spain and Israel
• MeetUp.com – search database for relevant groups
• Papa Serra – Heading to Barcelona? Join Joel for a culinary adventure and cook up you wont forget!

Relevant and Interesting Articles:

• Meet and Eat: Cooking Together
• Food Sharing with Strangers, newest trend in at-home dining
• The Comfort of Cooking with Strangers

I then found this research on the importance of food on social lubrication (they use the world facilitation, but I like this word better).

Love to hear of your experiences or other cook-togethers you know of from around the world. xx