Dinner with Strangers: Where Minds Get Fed (and So Do You)
- Georgina Brown (hershe)
- Jul 16
- 3 min read
Let’s cut to the chase: the average corporate networking event is about as nourishing as a soggy vol-au-vent. You circulate awkwardly, clutching a warm white wine, and pretend to care about someone’s Q3 projections while quietly wondering if it’s too soon to leave.
Now imagine this instead: a beautifully set table, the smell of something delicious in the air, and a stranger next to you who casually drops, “When I lived in a monastery…” or “Back when I ran counter-terrorism strategy…” before passing the bread.
Welcome to Dinner with Strangers — BARDO’s signature brain-bending, bias-busting dining experience.
It’s not just dinner. It’s neuroplasticity on a plate.
So… Dinner? Really?
Yes. But not just dinner.
Because here’s what the neuroscience tells us: our brains are lazy. Not malicious. Not evil. Just efficient. We make shortcuts. We pattern-match. We stick with the familiar because it feels safe. That’s how bias is born — and how it thrives.
But here’s the good news: the brain can be rewired.
Neuroscience tip #1: New people = new pathways
Research shows that exposure to different perspectives and life experiences literally helps form new neural connections (Kolb & Gibb, 2011). It's like CrossFit for your empathy circuits.
Dinner with Strangers isn’t a social experiment. It’s a brain experiment — served medium rare, with a side of inclusion.
Inclusion Isn’t Just Policy — It’s Proximity
You can’t PowerPoint your way to inclusion. You have to feel it. To sit beside someone whose life makes you question everything you thought you knew — and realise they’re not just “the other.”
They’re a mirror, a teacher, a fellow human with a fascinating story and a killer laugh.
We curate these dinners to bring together the unexpected:
An imam and a neuroscientist
A CEO and someone currently experiencing homelessness
A Buddhist monk and a rapper who once opened for Stormzy
A Vice-Chancellor and a climate activist who just came from a protest
No gimmicks. No group therapy. Just real people, real stories, and a skilled host gently guiding the evening using neuroscience-informed techniques that help your brain switch out of defensiveness and into curiosity.
What Makes This Brain-Friendly?
Glad you asked.
Activating the vagus nerve:
You’ll be welcomed in a way that calms your nervous system and reduces social anxiety. Think candlelight, music, and a genuine smile — not a conference badge and a seating chart.
Guided engagement principles:
The table rules are simple but sacred: listen to understand, not to respond. Disagree without dismissing. Share space. Ask better questions.
Reflective prompts & question cards:
Because “What do you do?” is the death of all interesting conversation. Instead, you might hear:
“When did you last change your mind?”
“What’s something you’ve unlearned recently?”
“How do you define success — and who taught you that?”
Curated guest mix:
You won’t be sat with your echo chamber. We design the table to maximise difference — not for controversy, but for cognitive expansion.
Pre-event coaching:
Not in a cringey way. Just a few tips in advance to help you show up as your most curious, generous, grounded self.
Science Says: Dinners Like This Work
A 2019 study from the University of Chicago found that face-to-face interaction with people from different backgrounds significantly reduces prejudice and increases empathy (Broockman & Kalla, 2016).
Why? Because humanisation kills bias. Not stats. Not guilt trips. Stories.
When someone shares a moment of grief, joy, doubt or pride — your brain lights up in synchrony with theirs. That’s mirror neuron magic. You literally feel their story in your own nervous system.
That’s inclusion in action.
What You Leave With (Besides a Full Belly)
A new connection that challenges your worldview
A shift in how you see power, privilege or belonging
An idea that lodges in your mind and won’t let go
A deeper understanding of yourself, via a total stranger
…and possibly a new WhatsApp group with a Buddhist monk and a TV presenter named Craig
It’s nourishing. It’s destabilising (in the best way). And it’s one of the most effective things we do at BARDO.
Ready to Rewire Over Risotto?
Dinner with Strangers isn’t open to just anyone. It’s invite-only, not because we’re snobs — but because we want the right mix. It’s about curation, not exclusivity.
So if you’re curious, courageous, and hungry (in all the ways that matter), apply for a seat at the table.
Because sometimes, the fastest way to break your bias… is over a bowl of handmade pasta.
Want to bring Dinner with Strangers into your organisation, board, or leadership development programme?
Let’s talk.
We’ll save you a seat — and challenge your mind, one bite at a time.
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