It started from a charming trend that popped up on TikTok earlier this year. People were hosting cafés at home, with everyone from home-cooks to baking experts laying out a spread for their nearest and dearest.
I’m sure many people watched it and moved on, but me? As an avid baker, a hospo pro, and a desperately extroverted gal who’d fallen down the TikTok black hole, I saw it as something a little more substantial: an opportunity to connect.
Having recently returned to the old faithful workforce that is hospitality, I’ve seen first hand the sense of community it creates. From the coworkers I’d whine with, to the locals I’d hear stories from, or the customers who’d ask for my number (who am I, Carrie Bradshaw?), my address changed from a suburb to a community.
Gen Z is in the midst of a loneliness epidemic. Despite our increased access to one another — or perhaps because of it — people are struggling to find real connections. Dating apps are making people feel lonelier and social media, it turns out, isn’t that social after all.
So, I devised my own monthly solution to improve the disconnected lives of people in my orbit, hoping to encourage a little face-to-face conversation and maybe even a meet cute.
Enter: the home café.
(Almost) every month since February, I’ve hosted an open invite gathering at my house, with the aim to create a space for people to meet and mingle authentically, away from any apps or their not so-social-media.
I won’t lie, it’s one hell of an undertaking. Each café takes a good 24 hours of prep and baking spread out over the week, including options for two celiacs, oh so many vegans, and one damn person with a dairy allergy. But, as a girlie who loves baking but especially loves compliments even more, it’s sort of a dream come true. The second someone tells me the cake tastes good, I forget all the work and money I poured in, sort of like how women forget the pain of childbirth, but with less pain and trauma, and more frosting.
Though inspired by that TikTok trend, the idea was largely driven by my own health. In a twist no one saw coming, I had started having seizures in the past few years and, unfortunately, for this reformed party girl, alcohol can be a trigger.
So, I wanted a way to see my friends without the drinks, which proved difficult, as this was all happening in the heat of summer, which meant people were bouncing from festivals to the Aus Open or were just excited to sit in a sunny sport with Aperol Spritz, and who can blame them? It’s one of life’s great pleasures.
The first café, over-catered and hosted in my parents’ backyard, was alcohol-free by design. We sat under the aptly named “Tree of Idleness”, a large gum that hangs over the lawn, and snacked on cake, tarts, and the largest focaccia I’ve ever made (thank you Ellie Bouhadana for the recipe).
Since then, it’s evolved. It’s now hosted at my place. The number of people varies each month and the food is still over-catered, but that says more about my menu planning than anything else. In August, I asked for donations for Gaza and raised $500 for the Palestine Children’s Relief Fund. December will be a mixer: everyone attending must bring a friend to encourage real-life connections rather than swiping through singles.
When it comes to loneliness, this café idea isn’t going to be some big game changer, I know that. 9 million Australians feel lonely each week and, unfortunately, it’s a silent killer, contributing to 26 per cent of early deaths, about the same as smoking 15 cigs a day.
However, the reactions from my friends have shown that the little act of getting together resonates. I even had one friend introduce me to his mum as “the girl who hosts cafés” when I met her at the pub.
What started with a TikTok trend has evolved into something a little more: an opportunity for people to find some much needed connection and, most importantly, a chance for me to get some compliments on my baking.
The post I Wanted To Feel More Connected To My Community So I Opened A Café At My Home appeared first on PEDESTRIAN.TV .
