On Sunday evening, the Dining Group got into its Getaway
Toyota Camry (more on that later) and headed across the Bay Bridge to the “Comida
Caribeña: Exotic & Exciting Caribbean Food!” dinner hosted by Christina via
BonAppetour.
After a short detour (either the host or BonAppetour,
unclear who, indicated the wrong address on the website), we parked in front of
a cheery yellow house in North Oakland. This experience was already different
from our Feastly experience earlier in the day: chef Christina hosted us in her
home instead of a shared kitchen and we four were her only guests. As soon as
Christina greeted us at the door with a warm and eager hug, we knew this dinner
would feel more like going to a friend’s house than going to a restaurant.
Christina welcomed us into her eclectic apartment, immediately
inviting us to make ourselves comfortable, and pouring us delicious rum bobby
cocktails. Sipping our drinks, the five of us quickly bonded, swapping travel, family
and foodie stories around a beautiful round wood table. Over the rest of the
evening, conversation easily flowed as if we were old friends catching up after
a long time apart.
Over an entrée of (the moistest!) Caribbean jerk chicken, perfectly
seasoned coconut rice with Dominican style black beans, and tender sweet glazed
plantains, we learned that Christina lived for several years in Barcelona,
Spain, where she started hosting supper clubs and dinners through BonAppetour. In
Barcelona, she met one of the company’s founders, Rinita, who asked her to
continue hosting after she moved to the Bay area this past February.
Christina, a self-trained chef, has been able to hone her
hobby into a “gig economy” career. She has fostered a following as a personal
chef, catering parties for locals craving home-cooked Caribbean and Argentinian
cuisine. Though she now cooks regularly, we were only her second guests via BonAppetour
since she first moved to the area. This is definitely not a reflection of
Christina’s listing on BonAppetour’s website. Christina is available nearly
every night to host guests, but the website hasn’t quite taken off in the
United States like it has abroad. Also, it was unclear if Christina has had a
visit or any additional support from BonAppetour since relocating. The lack of
support from BonAppetour is in stark contrast to the Feastly brunch we attended
Sunday morning and the EatWith dinner on Monday evening, both of which were
hosted in company space and/or had a staff member present to manage customer
relations.
Dinner concluded with personal pineapple upside-down cakes and
an offer of coffee with continued conversation. Christina generously offered to
help us find other amazing and unique dining spots in the Bay area. She clearly
knew her community well and was eager to share all it has to offer.
The evening ended with warm hugs all round. As we walked to
our car, we four immediately gushed about the food and the company. We all felt
that this experience felt the most like going to a family dinner, with
soul-warming home-cooked food and company.
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