Wok + Wine

Overview

There are 59 strangers around you, 60 pounds of steaming jumbo shrimp strewn atop a banquet-like table in front of you, and 60 bottles of wine perched in various nooks around the room. There are no plates, no cutlery and no mutual acquaintances from Linkedin. It's just you, the shrimp, the wine, the strangers and serendipity.

Started in New York in 2008 by Peter Mandeno, Wok + Wine have been described by the Harvard Business Review as “a global experiment in social chemistry”. They just call themselves "the world's most effective serendipity machines", matching up open and curious human beings who share a love of connecting, drinking wine and eating copious amounts of jumbo shrimp.

Mandeno describes his concept as a platform for authentic connection. “As soon as the shrimp are out on the table, the energy in the room changes. Something about eating with your hands, sharing food with strangers, and the awkwardness of getting the head and shell off a jumbo shrimp made it possible for people to open up. To connect easily and authentically, to forget the bravado they had brought into the room, and instead just behave as themselves.”

The concept has been hosted in major cities like Amsterdam, Madrid, Los Angeles as well as Auckland a couple of years back.