Sharing dinner: Interview with Sara from Villa-dining

How did you get the idea to organise Villa-dining? Have you been inspired by other sharing-dinner concepts?

It already existed two years before I worked here. I really liked the concept to bring together people from different countries; I think we need something like this in Germany.

In what is villa-dining different from other platforms like meal-sharing?

I never heard of these platforms but I know many organizations in Leipzig where people for example cook and then eat together (“Wir sind Paten Leipzig – Supporter »), or concepts bigger than villa-dining where four families cook one at a time for the others (“perfect dinner”). Food is the best thing to connect people, because we all love it. The thing I really like about villa-dining is that it is free, so everyone can take part of it. This is also why it is a quite small project (you can invite only 2 or 3 persons), because cooking for many people would be too expensive.

What do you like about the concept of sharing dinner?

I like it because it is an easy way to meet new people and make friends. You can learn a lot from people, and if you are interested in foreign countries, politics or religions, it is an opportunity to have interesting discussions. For example, if a Syrian invites a French, the Syrian will learn a lot about France, and the French about Syria. We can learn a lot from each other, especially as medias are different in every country and don’t always tell the truth.

Do you see any negative point to villa-dining?

No, I don’t! Until now, every one was thankful after participating to villa-dining. I never had to face any difficulty; neither had the colleague working before me. No one is forcing anyone to participate, so the concept works very good and I am very happy about it.

How is it to have such a positive work?

As you see, I am always smiling! This it what I love about my project: all this positive energy surrounding me. People are very nice to me, and I try to be nice to them. It is so much better than my previous job, which was negative. I work here since October, and the project is renewed every year, so I am not sure I will continue to work here (it depends on how good it goes, how many events I organize…).

Do you think that villa-dining is working good? Would you like it to be better, and if yes, how?

It is working well, but of course I want to make it better. I am always searching for new people to participate. Social medias like facebook are the best way to make advertising. We have so many groups (from the university etc); Leipzig is like a little village.

Would you like the concept to be more developed, in Leipzig as in other cities? If yes, do you have ideas about how to share the information?

I think there are already many projects in other cities that are similar to this one. It is very easy organize this concept. But of course I want it to be as big as possible, and to spread the concept, every one who knows about it should talk about it to others!