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Tom and I love to cook. And since we’re empty nesters, we can focus on cooking foods we love and experiment with those we’ve never tried.

For years we had a dinner club of like-minded couples who loved to cook. It was such a fun time in our marriage. We called it the Passport Dinner Club where each couple was given a “passport” to document the many countries we “visited” throughout the year.

We learned we loved some foods of different cultures, and we discovered others that weren’t worth visiting again.

One of my favorite nights we were hosting. We moved all of our living room furniture out of the way and set up a folding table without opening the legs. We set it on blocks to make it only a couple of feet off the floor. Pillows were thrown around the table for seating. I hung paper lanterns from our ceiling over the table decorated from supplies bought at Party City. The country was Japan, the favorite food was Sushi, but the laughter and the conversation was what made the night. I’ll never forget us trying to eat with chopsticks–it was hilarious.

Establishing a dinner club doesn’t have to be difficult.

1. Find three or four couples with whom you want to spend more time.
2. Decide whether you’ll meet monthly or quarterly.
3. Rotate from house to house having the hosting couple choose what the theme of the dinner will be.
4. The hosting couple can either allow each couple to choose what authentic dish they’ll bring to the dinner, or they can select all the recipes and give assignments.
5. Take lots of pictures. You can even set up a private blog to remember your experience together.

Our Dinner Club lasted over 5 years, and it was wonderful while it lasted. We made memories over the dinner table that will last a lifetime. We have a saying on the wall of our Dining Room that reads,

“The fondest memories are made while gathered around the table.”

As a resource that is greatly inspiring me in regard to gathering around the table with friends, I’m reading and loving this book by Shauna Niequist titled, Bread and Wine. She says in her introduction…

What’s becoming clearer and clearer to me is that the most sacred moments, the ones in which I feel God’s presence most profoundly, when I feel the goodness of the world most arrestingly, take place at the table. The particular alchemy of celebration and food, of connecting people and serving what I’ve made with my own hands, comes together as more than the sum of their parts. I love the sounds and smells and textures of life at the table, hands passing bowls and forks clinking against plates and bread being torn and the rhythm and energy of feeding and being fed.

Have you ever had a Dinner Club? It doesn’t have to revolve around cooking, if this isn’t your style.

You could meet at a restaurant or have food brought in from pizza to Chinese take-out. The point is to make relationships while gathered together sharing a meal from house to house. Marriages thrive when friendships abound. This is fellowship. This is life and it is good!

Bon Appetit!