It is sometimes said (although not by me) that Canberra is cliquey. I have always found capital territorians to be friendly and inclusive, but I do admit that we move in groups. Friendships are often formed on the basis of belonging to a particular Department, or through the same university or your social group, leading to fairly homogeneous friendship associations. Not everyone fits in with a ‘group’ when they move to Canberra, and especially as we hibernate through the winter months, some people find it hard to meet new friends – either for social or romantic purposes.
Table Tattle, which launches on 2 September, aims to bridge that gap by using food as a shared experience to help young professionals and students to connect. Table Tattle is kind of like a cross between My Kitchen Rules and a progressive dinner, but more organised and with a few unique fun features, designed to facilitate social, romantic or professional networking.
Table Tattle is an initiative of Dallas and Rohan Proctor, brothers who have lived, worked and attended university in Canberra. Dallas admits that it can be hard to break into Canberra’s scene if you don’t already know people. Rohan’s experience, as someone studying at a course that seems to have taken him longer than anticipated to finish (I can relate), is that friends finish or move interstate for jobs. This means that just when you have formed a tight circle you are left alone to face a long lonely winter without many friends.
Even worse is the loneliness of a Canberra winter while trying to go solo on the dating scene. Yes, if you were wondering, statistically there is, in fact, a man drought in Canberra. But help is on way in the form of Table Tatter.
It works like this:
- You form a group with three other friends. If you are looking to meet someone for romantic purposes you group with friends of the same gender. You will become either a ‘host’ or a ‘guest’.
- If you are a host you cook a three-course meal at your place. If you are a guest, you rotate between the homes of hosts and bring all the drinks for the night, travelling via Uber.
- You all meet up at the end for an after party, which apart from being fun, ensures that you can reconnect with others that you have met.
The first Table Tattle is on 2 September and hosts or guests can signup online. While there are no strict age limits (other than this being an over 18s event), the event is targeted towards young professionals and later year students aged between 21 and 35. The organisers will do their best to match similarly aged groups. LGBTIQ participants are welcome.
What: Table Tattle
When: 2 September
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/tabletattle
Price: $50 a head, which includes group matching, Uber rides and after party entry
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