An up and coming trend this year is strangers getting together to share a meal in someone’s home or even a restaurant. It is occurring both here in the United States, as well as internationally. It provides a way to get to know someone on a level you otherwise couldn’t. Should you be abroad, it helps a great deal with allowing yourself to be immersed in a new culture and way of life. We’ve created a guide to help you find out exactly what meal sharing is, as well as some resources to help get you started.
What is Meal Sharing
Just like it sounds, meal sharing means to sit down with a group of people to share food. Be it a big or small group, it will undoubtedly be a one of a kind experience. Many Americans traveling overseas are embracing this trend to better understand the true cultures, languages, and traditions of foreign lands as well as to make new friends. Even some chefs are jumping on the bandwagon and preparing meals in their homes for an experience unlike any other.
How to Share a Meal
There are many easy to use resources to help you find a group to dine with. Several of them require that you create an account or profile, but this helps to ensure that everyone is safe and happy with their experience.
- BlendAbout: BlendAbout creates a unique restaurant experience for diners. After signing up on the website, you provide them with information regarding what type of foods you like and what some of your interests are. From there, they find a group they feel you would fit in well with, and make reservations for all of you. You can also join a group that already exists or create your own, and BlendAbout will still handle all the restaurant reservations and pairing up of 4 to 6 diners.
- Meal Sharing: This is a great resource for those looking to be a guest in someone’s home for a meal, as well as for those interested in hosting. In order to help with costs of food needed, hosts are able to set a price for their meal, which guests all chip in on. There are currently more than 450 cities around the world with hosts interested in sharing a home cooked meal. The site also provides reviews and pictures, as well as phone number verification to ensure safety and honesty.
- HomeHostedMeals: This site also features hosts from all around the world looking to open up their home to new guests and their cultures. There is a charge per person per meal, and hopeful guests get in contact with the site once they’ve found a location they’d like to visit or a host that they’re interested in. After providing a brief description, hosts can decide whether or not they’d like to reply and allow them into their homes.
- PlateCulture: This company was originally based in and around Southeast Asia, which is becoming a much more popular place for travelers to visit. Guests can search for meals hosted in 18 different countries including Malaysia, Thailand, Singapore, Brazil, Spain, and even the United States. Simply browse through the meals offered by the site’s hosts, reserve your spot, and pay. Some meals cost as little as $5 per person while others are upwards of $45.
- EatWith: EatWith allows for a little more versatility in terms of who you’re dining with. With events in more than 150 cities internationally, you can either sign up for one that has already been created, or host your own private event and invite friends and family, strangers, or a mixture of both. Meals are all prepared by trained chefs and you can work with them to create a customized menu. Meals can be held in hosts’ homes, the chef’s home, or any other suitable location.
- Feastly: Similarly to EatWith, all meals hosted by Feastly are created by cooks that have been chosen for the company. They range from home cooks to professional chefs who all have a passion for sharing their food with others. You simply browse through scheduled meals and once you find one you like, you reserve a spot and pay upfront so that no cash is involved and all you have to do when you arrive at your meal is sit back, relax, eat, and be social with a new group of people.
- Hush Supper Club: Currently located in Washington D.C., host Geeta has decided to provide guests with authentic, vegetarian Indian cuisine with this supper club. There is a suggested donation of $95 per person, and each meal also comes along with stories that help diners to better understand the background of India’s culture and cuisine. Every meal includes a cocktail, appetizers, vegetables and bread, rice and dal, and masala chai. Guests are invited to bring their own wine and beer should they so choose. She also hosts cooking classes from her home as well.
- Cookening: This resource is great for those traveling in Europe, mainly Paris and Italy, but is expanding globally. It provides opportunities for every meal imaginable from brunch, to dinners, to tea. Guests are able to find meals they’re interested in trying, and hosts can list foods they would like to make. It serves as a wonderful way to experience European culture for what it truly is.
Have you ever shared a meal with strangers in your own hometown or while abroad? Let us know how you went about organizing it and what your experience was like in the comments down below!
