Have you ever wondered how good your culinary talent really is? Would you like to share your skills beyond your immediate circle of family and friends? And wouldn’t it be great to earn a little money whilst you cook?
Or do you simply enjoy good, home made food and tire of going out to restaurants that lack the intimate atmosphere of a special dinner cooked at home? Would you like to try new dishes from different cultures, lovingly prepared by hand in the host’s own kitchen?
If you answered yes to either of these questions, then you should take a look at Surfing Dinner’s new dining concept, which enables talented cooks to meet appreciative diners and share a memorable evening together within a friendly, homely atmosphere.
The concept is really very simple. Anyone interested in cooking a special meal at their home is invited to propose a menu on the Surfing Dinner website. The meal can be at any time, so could be in the form of brunch, lunch or dinner. A simple list of ingredients should be included with your entry so that potential guests have an idea of what to expect, along with the drinks being proposed and languages spoken by the host. Don’t forget to mention how many spaces you have available at your table, how much you are planning to charge for your dinner, and what time and day you expect your guests.
Potential diners on the other hand simply have to browse the meal options on the website and register their interest for a particular meal via the booking form. At the time of writing there are 8 “dining events” on offer ranging from a Morning Sunshine breakfast at Nina’s place, through to a “Trip to Nepal – Dal Bhat” evening meal at Jl and Bernat’s home.
Also listed on the website is Surfing Dinner’s traditional “Special Event”, which takes place every few months in Lausanne. In operation since Surfing Dinner was first launched in 2013 (see our article here), these special events provide a great opportunity to meet lots of new people, and sample many different dishes at various locations throughout Lausanne.
The special event concept is very simple – to take part you find a partner with whom you will cook one course yourself and invite 2 other couples to your home. You enjoy the 2 remaining courses at other homes with different couples, who are not on your guest list. For each course, there will always be 6 people around the table, so by the end of the dinner you will have met 12 other people, keen to discover new gastronomic wonders like yourself! Around 11pm you will then have the opportunity to meet all participants again in a local pub to chat over a drink about your experiences!
The next special event listed on the Surfing Dinner website will take place in Lausanne on Wednesday, 26th November at 19h00. Click here for more details.
Asked how the new concept for dining came about, Surfing Dinner co-founder, Bernat Palou told knowitall.ch, “I came up with the new idea by discussing the economic approach of the old concept. We wanted to offer everybody the possibility to participate in culinary events, and this new approach is international and easy to scale up. Moreover, the new approach will allow us to reach more people and thus provide more chance for us to get funded by sponsoring, something we really need to allow us to develop our concept further.”
He continued, “We have decided to keep the original concept as a special event, since a lot of people still appreciate this very much, and it’s a great way for potential new cooks to try out their skills by preparing just one dish. If their meal is popular then they may be tempted to try our new concept and offer a 3 course meal at their home!”
Since the original idea for Surfing Dinner was created in Lausanne, many of the current meal options proposed on the website are in the Lausanne area. However, there is no reason why passionate cooks from further afield cannot propose their services on the website – indeed Bernat is particularly keen to expand their service within the Geneva area. So if you fancy trying out your culinary skills on new guests – and earning a bit of money whilst you do it – then take a look at the website and make your proposal now!
Surfing Dinner
www.surfingdinner.com
