Overview
For many Australian restaurants, February 14 represents the most pressurised nights of the year — when dining rooms are taken over by loved-up tables of two trying to impress. But next Valentine's Day, A Table to End Hunger will let food-loving couples skip at least one stressful part of the planning the evening, allowing them to skip the queue and score a VIP table at some of the country's most in-demand restaurants where bookings are usually snapped up days (or weeks) in advance. And they'll be donating to charity at the same time.
Returning for its second year in 2017, the initiative is the work of The Hunger Project, an Aussie non-profit on a mission to end world hunger by the year 2030. The event offers punters the chance to bid on often hard to get Valentine's Day reservations, each with a meal for two and a bottle of wine. Participating restaurants include culinary hotspots like Ester, The Apollo and Cho Cho San in Sydney, Urbane and Ecco Bistro in Brisbane and Minimishima and Toko in Melbourne. A coveted dinner reservation and the chance to help fight poverty? Now that's what we call a V-Day win.
As all proceeds generated through the A Table to End Hunger eBay bidding site go towards supporting The Hunger Project's global work, you can expect the bookings to go for a little more cash than usual — last year, someone bid $5k for one. The funds raised will help to empower people in Africa, India and Bangladesh to end their own hunger, helping to break the cycle of poverty and nudge communities towards self-reliance. Bidding for 'A Table To End Hunger' kicks off on January 23 here.