Dinners with a Difference - Perfection

Dinners with a Difference is a facilitated discussion over a meal that dips beneath the surface of everyday conversations.

Come solo or bring someone that you'd like to get to know better. 

This month's topic is PERFECTION.

Perfection is the pursuit of flawlessness, the desire to get it just right. It’s the polished final draft, the clean house before guests arrive, the high standard we hold ourselves (and sometimes others) to. At its best, perfection can be a form of care, creativity, and excellence. It can reflect a deep commitment to doing things well.

But perfection is a paradox. It promises certainty, control, and approval, but often delivers stress, paralysis, and disconnection. The drive to be perfect can stop us from starting, sharing, or simply showing up as we are. It can rob us of the messiness, vulnerability, and experimentation that make life interesting and growth possible.

We live in a culture that often confuses perfection with worth, where effort is invisible, image is everything, and flaws are to be hidden or fixed. But what if perfection isn’t the goal? What if it’s the barrier?

What does it mean to be good enough as a partner, a parent, a professional, a person? Where does striving support us, and where does it become a trap? What do we miss when we’re too busy trying to get it right?

What is the opposite of perfection wasn’t failure? What if it was wholeness, presence, and embracing what is, not just grasping at what could be?

This dinner invites you to explore your relationship with perfection: where it helps, where it hurts, and what might open up if you let a little more imperfection in.

• Where in your life do you feel the pressure to be perfect?

• What’s the cost of trying to get it "right" all the time?

• How do you respond to your own mistakes or to others’?

• What would it look like to aim for progress instead of perfection?

• Where might a little more mess or softness serve you?

Join us for a night of deep conversation, reflection, and connection.

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Your ticket includes a shared selection of entrees and mains, with dietary needs thoughtfully accommodated. Drinks will be available to purchase on the night, rounding out a delicious and satisfying meal.

To help spark meaningful conversation, you'll receive a short pre-event questionnaire the week before. We kindly ask you to complete it beforehand to help us set the tone for the evening.

With exclusive use of the venue, we’ll have the space to speak freely, connect deeply, and enjoy rich, uninterrupted dialogue in a welcoming and relaxed setting.

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Feedback from previous dinner guests

"Chatting with random strangers was really fun."

"An incredibly positive experience of new people and new ideas - without pressure to be anything but oneself."

"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."

"Great concept, with an excellent facilitator leading a group of strangers down unexpected paths. It’s a safe space for discussion of everything from the personal to the whimsical."

"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!"

"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."