Dinners with a Difference x Bóveda Kitchen Takeover featuring Gill Dinh

This month’s Dinners with a Difference is extra special as we gather at Bóveda in Thirroul for a Kitchen Takeover with MasterChef 2024 contestant and upcoming chef Gill Dinh.

Gill, a local favourite and MasterChef alum, has been delighting Wollongong with her fresh pop-up dining experiences.

Bóveda is renowned for its modern Mexican dining, incredible tequila pairings, and mouth-watering corn cobs. After their recent kitchen fire, the theme of resilience feels especially fitting. Together, we’re excited to host this community dinner that blends food, story, and deeper conversation.

Come solo, or bring a friend you’d like to get to know better.

About Dinners with a Difference

Dinners with a Difference is a facilitated conversation over a shared meal, designed to dip beneath the surface of everyday talk.

This month’s theme is RESILIENCE.

Resilience is what enables us to face life’s challenges while staying open to joy, love, and creativity. It is about showing up and being seen, even when the outcome is uncertain or the process is tough. It does not mean avoiding adversity or pretending everything is fine. Instead, resilience is about embracing vulnerability, finding strength in our struggles, and choosing growth through life’s ups and downs.

This dinner warmly invites those curious to explore what resilience means in their own lives, how it helps us navigate challenges, cultivate courage, and foster connection. Together, we will reflect on how resilience is built, how it shapes our identities, and how it empowers us to live wholeheartedly.

What does resilience look like in everyday life?
How do we cultivate resilience during times of uncertainty or change?
What role do vulnerability and connection play in building resilience?
How can we support resilience in ourselves and others?
What practices or habits help us bounce back and grow from adversity?

FOOD MENU / Shared Set Menu

A twist on Boveda’s classics by Chef Chris Jones in collaboration with Gill Dinh’s added South-East Asian flair and bold flavours to leave a lasting impression.

Wonton Chips served with House Guacamole, Sweet and Spicy Salsa Tatemada, Lemongrass and Spring Onion Oil V, DF

Corn Ribs, Tajin Pork Crackling, Blue Cheese, Lime GF

‘Bò kho’ inspired Slow Cooked Beef Birria Tacos, served with Vietnamese Chimichurri, Green Mango, Coriander DF, GF

Wood-fired Lemongrass Chicken, Palm Sugar Glaze, Nước Chấm Dipping Sauce DF, GF

Twice cooked Potatoes, Fermented Salsa Taquera, Garlic Crema, Vietnamese Herb Salt V, GF

Your ticket includes a shared selection of entrees and mains (see above), with dietary needs thoughtfully catered for. A range of drinks packages will be available, or you can purchase drinks individually on the night, ensuring a well-rounded dining experience.

To help spark meaningful conversation, you'll receive a short pre-event questionnaire the week before.

With the entire restaurant exclusively reserved for our dinner, we’ll have the space to speak freely and engage in vibrant dialogue as a community.
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Feedback from previous participants

"Dive in and give it a go. So worthwhile, stimulating and full of insightful conversation."

"A great night where you get to eat delicious food with a diverse array of interesting people all open to deep conversations. As well as the deep thoughtful conversations, there are always loads of laughs."

"It’s an opportunity to drop your guard - the normalities of day to day, and any roles/responsibilities. It’s quite liberating to discuss meaningful topics as a (relatively) anonymous person and speak truthfully without a filter. How bloody refreshing!"

"Chatting with random strangers was really fun."

"As a young Aussie guy, most of the conversations I have are surface level, sports-based, or just entirely sledging, which I love, but I don't really have the opportunity to philosophically explore topics or share meaningful (and related) anecdotes in a respectful forum where I could be challenged, encouraged and introspective, just for the sake of good conversation."

"Gretel creates a safe and inclusive space where people can be seen and heard amongst a group of complete strangers! Conversation is gently guided with good humour with a nod to complexity and nuance. Dialogue is liberated and reinvented in a fun and casual atmosphere."

"So, those questions you have about the way the world is right now, and your place in it, and how you would like people you can share that with, and how you are feeling about all that? Bring all of it. That's what Dinners with a Difference is for."