For the past year and a half, a group of jet-setting friends and I have been getting together to travel around the world. We do it once a month in groups as small as 6 or as big as 20. We’ve been to far-flung destinations like Vietnam, Lebanon, Mexico, China, and India (just to name a few) and we do it all on a small budget. How do we do it? 

We travel the world via London’s restaurants 

Our first trip started in Eritrea in Maida Vale. A friend organised dinner at Mosob, a family run restaurant with amazing, authentic Eritrean food and friendly service. I brought along a few friends, my friends brought along a few of their friends, and we ended up with a big group of people, many of which didn’t know each other. It was so much fun I volunteered to organise the next one at a Mexican restaurant (Santo, my favourite in London). I brought along a new group of friends, the old group of friends also came along, and once again we had a big group of people getting to know each other over a great meal. The next dinner was in Vietnam, organised by my neighbour, then we went to Lebanon, then India, Spain, and on we go.

What makes our Around the World Dinners unique is that someone from the chosen destination picks the restaurant and orders the food, ensuring we get vetted quality and authentic cuisine. It also works because it is an opportunity for old friends to reunite as well as to make new ones. There’s one rule for the dinners (imposed by yours truly): you cannot sit next to the person you came with. It separates couples and friends, and gives everyone a chance to sit next to someone they may not know as well. In effect, it’s networking, but it is so much fun (and tasty)!

This past Saturday was our biggest Around the World Dinner yet, with a mega-Thanksgiving feast organized by Grub Club (an awesome new start-up that brings together chefs in quirky locations to cook for people who love to eat) and prepared by Fat Bear (an American chef in London collaborating with a group of experienced British Hospitality professionals).

 

The menu featured Thanksgiving day classics with a modern twist, like turkey brined with molasses and cinnamon, brown-sugar candied sweet potatoes and mini biscuits.

The dinner was delicious and the setting was awesome (a private room at the Sun & 13 Cantons, a pub in Soho). It was a fabulous way to travel to America for Thanksgiving. Thanks to Grub Club for organizing and the Fat Bear for preparing the feast!

P.S. Let me know if you would like to be added to the Around the World mailing list!