The monthly community dinners held at Røst coffee shop on Stockbridge Road are essentially dinner parties with a maximum of 12 guests who book online and do not know each other beforehand.
Hosted by one of the cafe’s owners, Oliver Ballantyne, a 26-year-old chef, the event is designed to bring people together through healthy and hearty food. All this will set diners back just £10 per head.
Explaining the ethos behind his brainchild, Oliver said: “The aim of our community dinners is to create a community.”
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“The idea of people breaking bread together, reaching across the table, chatting. You know, some of you have maybe never met each other, and now you are here talking. You’ll pass each other in the street one day and you’ll recognise each other.
“In this way, if someone needs something, you might know that person, because you made a bond here. We want to get more people together. There is something quite special in sharing good food and enjoying conviviality together, and you don’t have it elsewhere.”
I was lucky enough to be invited to the first, experimental version of the dinners on December 12, where there were six of us in total, including Oliver’s co-owner, Nick Sweeten, and guest chef Olivia Barbosa-Waddington.
Oliver Ballantyne served up some delicious food (Image: Federica Adriani) Also present was 24-year-old Mona Wieland, a Swiss BA student at Winchester University, and Sebastian Haw, a Chronicle reporter.
Notwithstanding the bleak winter weather outside, the atmosphere was cosy and entering the cafe was like walking into a familiar living room.
The Indian-inspired menu, all plant-based, consisted of sweet potato, kale and chickpea curry for starters, coconut curry and pakora for the main course and caramelised plantain with turmeric ice cream for dessert.
Everything was made from scratch on site by Oliver and Olivia just before we arrived, and it was all utterly delicious. Furthermore, it was all gluten-free, except for the pakora.
The food was beautifully prepared (Image: Federica Adriani) “We want everybody to feel included and comfortable to join our community dinners,” Oliver said. “That is why everything is plant-based, and we’ll do our best to keep providing a gluten-free alternative.”
Nick added: “You could live in the busiest place and be busy as a person, but if you don’t have special bonds with anyone it will still be a lonely place. Places like our Røst are great for socialisation, especially for those who are willing to meet new people.”
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Plantain with turmeric ice cream (Image: Federica Adriani) It was a really special night. The conversation was lively and, again, the menu was tasty, healthy and well suited even to fastidious gluten-free eaters like myself.
The next communal dining experience at Røst has already been scheduled for February 6 from 7pm to 9pm. For this next instalment, the dishes will be of North African inspiration.
Tickets are available for booking on Røst’s social media channels, at the cost of £10 plus a booking fee.