A Peace Feast Mini is a way of investing in friendships with people from other cultures and faiths at a deeper level. It takes the ethos of a Peace Feast and brings it to a smaller group of friends. The three key ingredients are just as present - food, stories and friendship.
Perhaps you’ve made a new friend at a Peace Feast but feel like you’ve only just scratched the surface? Or maybe there’s a neighbour on your street whom you get on really well with, but you want to get to know them better?
Peace Feast Minis are a way of getting the ball rolling and providing a framework for people to build deeper connections with friends from other faiths and cultures. They can take place in homes, cafés and restaurants and they often flow into or out of a bigger Peace Feast. However you choose to run a Peace Feast Mini, remember to make room for food, stories and friendship. The questions and examples below can help you get started.
Questions to Consider
1. Where will you meet? For some people, the home is the perfect place for a Peace Feast Mini. Inviting someone into your home is a universal sign of respect and hospitality and it allows them to see you ‘as you are.’ For other people, the home can be a private place and visiting can be awkward for both the host and the guest, so some Peace Feast Minis are best in a café or restaurant where it’s less intense. Whatever you do, think carefully about your friends and neighbours from other cultures and what might be best for them.
2. How can you serve each other’s cultures and dietary needs? If you’re cooking you may need to make sure dinner is kosher or halal or vegetarian and it’s always good to check food intolerances. If you’re meeting in a restaurant, you can find somewhere that caters for or reflects your friend’s culture or faith.
3. Keep it simple. If you cook or buy the most extravagant food and drink, it can embarrass your friends, especially if they can’t reciprocate. If you’re hosting, you can still cook something special without appearing on Master Chef. Or if you’re eating out, you don’t have to order the most expensive thing on the menu.
4. Does your friend have children? In some cultures, if you invite someone over for dinner, they might get a babysitter to look after the children. Other cultures don’t do that, they simply take the children with them and when they get tired, they just fall asleep on the sofa. Think about how to make life easier for your guests by creating a child-friendly environment or meeting earlier in the day, rather than late in the evening.
5. Who pays? If you go to a restaurant or café, think beforehand who will split the bill. In some cultures, it is a show of great kindness to treat your friends to dinner, but in others, it can dishonour them. You could always have two Peace Feast Minis and take it turns to pay for one each.
6. How do you find out each other’s stories? Stories are an essential part of a Peace Feast. Make sure you give time to each of your friends to share something of who they are. You can download the Peace Feast Questions here.