Girl’s Gotta Eat.

So, this is an idea I’ve been stewing on for the last couple of months.

As I ride the emotional waves of my very recent separation, I’ve found the companionship of one of my best friends- who not only lives a stone’s throw away but also happens to be going through his own d***rce - to be the crutch propping me up during the hardest of times. Thankfully, like me, he also appreciates fine wine and good food, so we’ve quickly become each other’s surrogate “partner-in-dine” (not sure that phrase will stick).

I’m at the stage of life now where so many friends have settled down or even moved intrastate to start a family- or are simply approaching the top of the career ladder and have less disposable free time and energy than we once had in our 20s. I’m happily sitting in the no-kids-but-open-to-more-dogs pen, and I appreciate there aren’t too many of us. I’m completely content cradling a Chardy instead of a baby. People get busy, life is unpredictable, and sometimes you can go months without seeing your closest mates- and that’s okay- that’s just adulting. But perhaps there are others sitting in the same boat as me and my bromantic mate- not necessarily needing a shoulder to cry on, just keen to check out a new bar or fancy-ass restaurant that’s usually reserved for celebrating anniversaries.

Sometimes we naturally trauma-dump on each other with the CliffNotes of the latest chapter of our respective separations, but most of the time we just enjoy each other’s company and our shared appreciation for wining and dining- with no agenda other than who’s going to be the funnier one that night.

So, as I approach my 40s, I figure- why not try and create something that combines two of my favourite things: bringing friends together and putting food and wine in my pie hole?

This will be a word-of-mouth / by referral only social club, and I’ll do my best to balance the diversity of diners (as my brother cautioned- “the last thing you want is to end up with a table of sad dad’s not knowing how to start a conversation”).

This isn’t the Lonely Hearts Club- this is the Divorcee Diners Club.

So whether this is for you or you can vouch for a mate who has an appetite for dark humour paired with no fussy eating habits, send them my way.

Ideally this starts as a once a month thing in Sydney due to the aforementioned busyness of people, but this feels like a good frequency to start with- giving people something to look forward to without eating into their child-support payments (if we don’t laugh, we cry- and sometimes we just need a really good feed).

I haven’t worked out the logistics yet (future Hannah’s problem), but if you’re newly-ish single and this sounds like your cup of tea, pop your details in the form below and, if/when we have a good little dining group, I’ll be in touch.

Han x