The Table Is the Original Creative Space
Why food, wine, and intentional gathering might be the most powerful form of creativity we have.
As creatives, we spend so much of our lives making things for other people. We create events. We build businesses. We tell stories. We solve problems. We make beauty. But somewhere along the way, many of us stopped gathering simply for the joy of gathering.
We forgot what it feels like to linger around a table, to have conversations that don’t revolve around deadlines, to slow down enough to notice the details, to allow a meal to become an experience.
That is exactly why we created Sunday Supper Club
When people ask me what I do, I usually tell them I create experiences. Sometimes that looks like producing a festival for thousands of people. Sometimes it looks like curating a conference for creatives. And sometimes, it looks like inviting a room full of strangers to sit together over an intentionally designed meal.
To me, curation has never been about making something look beautiful. It’s about creating an environment where people feel something. Every detail of Sunday Supper Club has been considered through that lens.
This dinner is presented by Sweets & Sounds Entertainment in partnership with Chef Steve Roberts of Nappe Roots and Cara Santino of Little Lion Collective. While Steve tells stories through food, Cara tells stories through wine, and my role has been to curate the experience that exists between them.
Steve has spent years dreaming about a space like this. His vision has always been larger than opening another restaurant or serving another menu. He believes food should be seasonal, cultural, deeply personal, and capable of bringing people together in ways that feel restorative rather than transactional.
He shared something with me that has stayed with me: restaurants today often have to prioritize profitability, serving dishes they know will sell. While that’s the reality of running a business, Steve has always believed there should also be room for curiosity, for seasonality, culture, experimentation, and storytelling. Sunday Supper Club is his answer to that. It’s a platform where he can explore ideas, workshop dishes, and create without asking permission………That philosophy immediately resonated with me because it’s the same reason I started Sweets & Sounds.
People often associate me with large-scale festivals, conferences, markets, and community events, but what many people don’t know is that some of my favorite experiences to curate happen on a much smaller scale. I genuinely love hosting.
I love setting a table before guests arrive. I love thinking through the music that will be playing in the background, the lighting, the flowers, the pacing of the evening, and the little details that make people feel cared for before they even take their first bite.
I love inviting friends into my home for dinner parties, not because there was a special occasion, but because I believe sharing a meal is one of the simplest and most meaningful ways to build community. Some of my favorite conversations, biggest laughs, and deepest moments of connection have happened around my own dining table. Those evenings have taught me something, that’s people aren’t just hungry for good food they’re hungry for connection.
They’re hungry for spaces where they don’t have to perform. Where they can put their phones down, slow their pace, meet someone new, reconnect with an old friend, or simply enjoy being fully present. That’s the feeling I’ve always tried to create through Sweets & Sounds.
My goal has always been the same: to create experiences that make people feel connected to themselves, to one another, and to the city they call home. Sunday Supper Club feels like a natural extension of that mission. It’s a chance to take everything I’ve learned about hospitality, storytelling, and experience design and bring it to a table where every detail has been considered with intention. Because sometimes the most meaningful events aren’t the loudest ones. Sometimes they’re the ones where the music is soft, the conversation lingers long after dessert, and everyone leaves feeling like they belonged.
I’ve always believed that creativity deserves room to breathe, that artists deserve spaces where they don’t have to ask for permission, that community isn’t built by standing on stages—it’s built by sitting around tables.
Then there’s Cara.
I think wine is one of the most misunderstood creative mediums. People often think of it as an accessory to dinner, something you order because it sounds nice or because someone else recommended it. But after reading through the wine pairings Cara has chosen and the detail that went into it, I realized that wine isn’t an afterthought. It’s another course.
Cara doesn’t choose wines that simply “go well” with food. She builds conversations between the glass and the plate. Every bottle has a purpose and every pairing tells another part of the story.
A bright Bergerac Blanc doesn’t just accompany the Shrimp Rillette, it refreshes your palate while highlighting the earthiness of the shrimp and oyster mushrooms. A Riesling layered with jasmine, peach, apricot, and orange blossom softens the heat of the chili crisp while allowing the tomatoes and kalamansi to become even more expressive. A Vermentino from Sardinia mirrors the subtle salinity of the confit clams, making every bite feel as though the wine was always meant to be there.
By the time you reach the fourth course, you’ll realize something remarkable is happening.
Whether you’ve chosen the Caribbean-inspired grilled snapper, the Senegalese-French Yassa au Maillard duck, or the vegan Chana Masala, every glass has been selected to elevate—not overpower—the dish. The Albariño cuts through the richness of the coconut rice with bright citrus and minerality. The Beaujolais wraps itself around the duck with delicate strawberry and cherry notes that make each bite feel lighter and more nuanced. Even the orange wine chosen for the Chana Masala brings texture and complexity that allows the spices and chickpeas to shine in an entirely new way.
And then there’s dessert.
A lightly sparkling Moscato d’Asti alongside the London Fog Tres Leches creates a beautiful harmony of bergamot, cream, lavender, and delicate bubbles. For our vegan guests, an aromatic Gewürztraminer echoes the hibiscus and ginger in the sorrel granita so seamlessly that the evening ends exactly how it should…..with surprise. That’s what excites me about working with someone like Cara. She reminds us that creativity isn’t confined to a canvas or a stage. Sometimes creativity is knowing exactly how one sip can completely transform the bite that follows.
Together, Steve, Cara, and I are each working in different creative mediums.
Steve’s medium is food: Food is art.
Cara’s medium is wine: Wine is storytelling.
Mine is experience: Hospitality is design.
The menu reflects all three.
The evening begins with a Shrimp Rillette served over a warm grit cake with pickled ginger and scallion—or an Oyster Mushroom Rillette for our vegan guests. From there, we’ll move into Cukes n’ Toms, a vibrant cucumber and heirloom tomato salad layered with crispy rice, chili crisp, and kalamansi vinaigrette.
The third course introduces a confit clam flatbread with oregano pesto, pecorino romano, and Calabrian chili, while the vegan menu reimagines the dish with confit jackfruit and vegan pesto.
For the main course, guests will choose between Caribbean-inspired grilled red snapper served with coconut rice and fried green plantains, or a rich Yassa au Maillard duck breast inspired by Senegalese and French traditions. Our vegan entrée features a deeply flavorful Chana Masala finished with coconut yogurt and shado bene.
Dessert closes the evening with a London Fog Tres Leches topped with lavender whipped cream and smoked sea salt, while our vegan guests will enjoy a refreshing sorrel granita.
What excites me most about this evening isn’t simply the menu. It’s watching three different creative disciplines collaborate toward one shared experience.
When those three disciplines are given the space to collaborate instead of compete, something beautiful happens. You don’t simply attend dinner, you become part of the art. As someone who believes deeply in community, I also believe some of the most meaningful conversations happen around a table. Some of our best ideas are born over shared meals. Some friendships begin between courses. Some perspectives shift over a thoughtfully paired glass of wine.
That’s the kind of evening we’re creating.
One where you leave inspired not only by what you ate or drank, but by how you felt.
If you’ve been craving a slower evening…
If you’ve been looking for a reason to gather…
If you’ve been wanting to experience food as art rather than simply consumption…
If you’ve been curious about wine but have never known where to begin…
We saved you a seat.
Come hungry.
Come curious.
Come ready to experience what happens when three creatives use their craft to tell one story.
We’ll see you Sunday, August 2nd.
With love,
Angel Dahfay