The strangers at my dinner table

They have at least two things in common: They love food and, whether they are aware of it or not, they are part of a growing movement called collaborative consumption

When Yu Xin's epicurean friend told her about a service through which users can essentially invite themselves to private dinners in other people's homes, the urge to give it a try was overwhelming. The mobile app Huoli offers amateur cooks who fancy themselves professional chefs an outlet to entertain others, and at the same time the chance to meet people and make a bit of money on the side.

Each chef has an introduction page on the app in which they say something about themselves, their values relating to food and life, the food they specialize in and anything else they think potential diners will want to know, as well as photos and menus of the food they plan to serve.

Generally between four and eight guests will attend the dinners - although sometimes there can be more than 10 - and those who wish to attend make reservations by paying through the app.

Yu, 27, of Beijing has taken part in several such dinner parties since May, and the experience is fabulous, she says.

The choices for different cuisines are abundant on Huoli, and chefs all seem to be engaged in cooking their version of delicacies to satisfy strangers' palates, rather than being in it simply to make money, Yu says.

"I wouldn't say the chefs on Huoli are all better than chefs in expensive restaurants, but they're definitely much better than chefs in run-of-the-mill eateries. The ingredients are all high quality and fresh, and you can sense their passion for cooking and sharing good food with others. Making money is not the main thing."

For Yu, these dinner parties go far beyond enjoying food that is delicious and healthy; they also present the chance to meet interesting people. Diners who come to the dinners are strangers to one another beforehand, but often end up being friends.

Yu says that because her job with an Internet company keeps her busy, her circle of friends is small, but because of these dinners she has extended it.

Most of the diners are gastronomes who have a zest for life, irrespective of their age, so they often have similar values and get on well with one another, she says.

Sometimes before a dinner the host invites diners into a WeChat group where they can introduce themselves, giving everyone a glimpse of the kind of people they will meet at the dinner. Some of the dinners or afternoon teas on Huoli have a theme, which naturally attract people who have common interests, Yu says.

Some get-togethers include wine matching, food made with organic ingredients, vegetarian food, or varieties of cheese, meats or seafood. In some gatherings the ingredients go well beyond food, including, for example, fortune telling and relationship counseling.

Guang Ming, chief executive of Huoli, says the app, which went public about six months ago, now has nearly 50,000 active users, and more than 1,500 hosts.

Most big cities and popular tourist destinations, such as Xiamen in Fujian and Chengdu in Sichuan, are among the locations where the app is most used because its target users include travelers, he says.

Huoli is one of many private kitchen Internet sites that have sprung up in China in the wake of social dining that began to catch on in the West several years ago.

The most well-known include Woyoufan and eatwithchina, and the startup companies that put these out are often said to be part of what is called the sharing economy or collaborative consumption.

Guang says the sharing economy is reshaping China's food scene by liberating people who truly enjoy cooking to prepare food in their spare time for those who are looking for an experience different to that of restaurant dining, and to make money as well.

He is confident that more and more people will use such sharing-economy-based private kitchen apps, either as hosts or diners.

A Shanghai host, who wanted to be identified only as Ly, says she regards herself as a dining addict and that Huoli has broadened her outlook on life.

Now a freelance artist in Shanghai, the 36-year-old has a knack for cooking that is rooted in her worldwide travels. Since she was six, she says, she has been to 36 countries and regions. Ly says she can tell how to cook a dish once she tastes it, and the numerous dishes she has eaten on her travels are the source of her inspiration, allowing her to create new ones.

Her most recent creation is sushi that uses noodles, instead of rice, which she says looks good and has a distinctive taste.

About four years ago she started catering for friends and charging 500 yuan ($79) to 1,500 yuan a person per meal. The ingredients are obtained mostly from her family's organic farm. She enjoys bringing joy to diners and being valued by them, she says.

On Huoli she charges 350 yuan a person for a dinner for six, and is amazed at the diversity of the diners, she says. They are from all walks of life but share a passion for food. She likes conversing with them, as it offers her a glimpse into worlds that are different from hers.

"It feels like a journey, and you never know who you are going to meet next."

For diners, private kitchen apps also provide a chance to experience new things, says Shen Hao, a food critic and an early user of such apps.

He has been to dozens, if not hundreds, of private meals over the past 18 months or so, he says. Some of the hosts are restaurant owners or food suppliers, but most are enthusiastic amateur chefs, Shen says, adding that he has found the dinners entertaining and interesting.

"You never know who will cook for you, and who will dine with you until you are with them."

However, lately, he has attended fewer dinners because he has become a little tired of dining with strangers, he says. In addition, some of the diners he has met recently have been less interesting than those he met earlier and have lacked respect for the hosts and other diners.

One host, Liu Yang, is widely regarded as Beijing's preeminent cheese-maker.

More than 10 years ago he was in France studying business when he had an epicurean awakening - to the glories of soft French cheese.

Now his cheese shop, Le Fromager de Pekin, in northwestern Beijing, has a variety of French and other international artisanal cheeses, and the shop's clientele has expanded from expats living in Beijing to a modest group of Chinese.

Over summer Liu joined Huoli to promote cheese and its culture, offering app users cheese tastings and matching workshops.

On Huoli, he is presented as a China-born artisanal cheese master whose creations have won international awards, and he prepares a cheese-tasting feast almost every week, accompanied by talks about cheese and visits to his shop and studio.

He also offers five-or six-course dinners occasionally, using organic ingredients and cheese to educate people about the huge variety of cheeses and the many different ways they can be used.

Before that, he was a host at Woyoufan, one of the pioneering private kitchen online platforms in China. The app went public in January.

Cheese is relatively new to most Chinese, and it is difficult to find anywhere in the country to learn about it, Liu says. Woyoufan and Huoli have helped fill that gap by disseminating information about cheese and bringing together people interested in it, he says.

The apps can also be helpful in adding to the otherwise humdrum routine of people on business trips. One of those people is Li Zaoxian, 20, of Shantou, Guangdong province, who works for a cigarette company and often has to travel to Xiamen in neighboring Fujian province.

"I got tired of eating in restaurants and wanted to try new things," Li says,

So now whenever he is in Xiamen he simply taps into Huoli to book a private dinner near his hotel. He came across the app in a promotion on a travel app, he says.

The private dinners he has attended in Xiamen have all been hosted by locals and attended by locals, apart from him, he says, and their hospitality has overwhelmed him. Apart from enjoying authentic Xiamen fare, he has also had a glimpse into how locals live, he says.

However, Shen, the food critic, wonders about the shelf life of the likes of Huoli, particularly given the fierce competition between apps to obtain and keep diners and hosts. The apps will develop different features and initiate promotions to compete with rivals but doing so requires large financial outlays, he says, and it is difficult to know which apps will be profitable and survive, let alone thrive.

liuzhihua@chinadaily.com.cn

(China Daily Africa Weekly 10/16/2015 page24)