Community Connect: Hungry for connection

There’s nothing quite like food to bring people together. And in a city like Bengaluru where foodies are spoilt for choice when it comes to dining options, food lovers are discovering the joys of sharing meals with like-minded individuals and building lasting friendships.

The Dastarkhwan Club, a food community in the city, has been bringing food enthusiasts together over a series of lively meet-ups as they discover local food joints in the city. But this connection goes far deeper than just food, says co-founder of the community, Akash Devaraju.
‘It’s an eclectic mix of different interests, rooted in love for food’There are hundreds of people who are keen to know where the food is from and what cultural influence is attached to it, says Tharini Thakur, who is also a part of the community. “Our community is an amalgamation of different interests, rooted in our love for food. But it’s not just about food, it goes beyond that. Honestly, breaking bread can bring together a bunch of people,” she says. “We started off as a small group, but now we have over 60 people in our WhatsApp group and over 600 RSVPs pending in our Google forms,” adds Akash.
‘The synergy that comes from sharing a meal is unmatched’It all started when I took a friend around the city for a nice Iftaar meal. “A few others joined as well. The synergy was beautiful, and a couple of weeks later, we decided to do it again because we loved how food brought people together,” Akash tells us. As for the name, Akash says, “On one of our outings, our colleague called this a Dastarkhwan, and that became our name.”

‘It’s a learning experience, almost like sharing a taste of history’ Abhishek Gupta, who is part of a few communities in the city, shares, “The sessions I have been to were personal, unlike the ones I attended earlier, where it feels objective and impersonal. I recently got to cook with someone from Kashmir at their home, and came back with insight into their culture as well as the specific way of doing things,” he says. Meghna, another member, adds. “I love how each event is unique with a lot of effort being put into curation. Also, there’s always someone from the particular culture there to really explain everything to us,” she adds.
Enjoying food as a community is all about:Rozana: Go to a restaurant, where the owner of the place gives you an in-depth insight into the origin of the culinary history
Safarnama: Food walks, where one can join the group and travel to food streets to dig into the cuisine available
Mehfil: People from different parts of the country open their homes to let people in to experience a piece of their culture