Become a Founding Member

What you will get if you join now.

The dinner club with a twist

Making friends and building community over food is the core mission of Dinner Mates.
It is never just about the food, but about sharing meals together, being part of a community and creating sustainable and lasting connections with new friends.

Join community

Early invites

Be alerted when new events are added, 48-hours before ticket sales are available to the public.

table by water

Lower ticket cost

Members pay less than non members for all in person events.ย 

Join community

Join the Community

Be connected to each other and become part of the local and global Dinner Mates Community.ย 

Grow with us

Grow with us

Get in on the ground floor and help build a membership that you love.

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Locked in price

You are locked in at this low price as long as you stay an active member.

Say goodbye to eating alone!

With Dinner Mates Club, you will always find people to eat with.

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The joy of sharing a meal

Whether you prefer to stay in your neighborhood or explore other areas, you can always reach out to other members and share a meal with them. No longer do you have to sit at the bar alone looking at your mobile phone.

Who is Dinner Mates Club for?

This is for you if you...

  • Are new to town and want to meet people

  • Want to try out that new restaurant on the corner but don't want to go by yourself

  • Are a foodie

  • Miss throwing dinner parties

  • Are hungry for some spicy conversation with like minded folk

  • Love being a part of building something amazing

  • Want to make a difference

Happy guys and girls having talk by dinner while sitting by served table in cafe

What Dinner Mates participants are saying:

"Iโ€™m a self-proclaimed foodie. Thatโ€™s why I live in Portland. This is a great chance to check out the local food scene in a totally different way." -Liz Vella (Portland)

"This club is a healing experience. A reset for COVID." - Suzy Kunz

"I love food, and I like trying to find community. This feels like a nice kind of coming out party."- Susan Hayhurst (Falmouth)

"Itโ€™s as much of a dining experience as it is a social experience." Jake Dryden-Jaffe, general manager at Petite Jacqueline.

Meet your Founder!

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LC profile in grey

Laurel Chiten

Founder

Laurel Chiten was an award winning independent filmmaker for over 30 years (Blind Dog Films). She was also a foodie and lived in Manhattan.

One summer day in 2019, she walked into a restaurant around from where she lived, andย  had a vision of people in her neighborhood sitting around a table eating together.

That was it! The idea of Dinner Mates was born! She dropped her film career, made a 180 degree turn to make this dream come to life. It took off like a rocket.

But when the pandemic hit, Dinner Mates took a pause. During the pandemic Laurel moved to Portland ME and started up Dinner Mates again.ย 

Dinner Mates was created to bring people together, to make a difference in our personal lives, and our world.

Our mission is: Break Bread, Make Friends, Build Community.

One meal at a time.

Here's some of what you get as a Founding Member

Access to the exclusive member site

Once you sign up as a member, you will be given access to the member only part of our website where you can purchase tickets, and learn about other activities and information. This will be updated frequently.

Upcoming Events (1000 ร— 1000 px)
Upcoming Events (1000 ร— 1000 px)

Connect with the community via our private app (coming soon!)

We are partnering with a company who has created an app designed for building community. Once you join, you can create your own profile and can search and connect with all the other members with similar interests, set up your own dining events, dialogue with each other about restaurants, food, shared topics, and more!

Your ideas are encouraged!

Being a founding member you will be able to offer ideas and suggestions all the time! Rest assured your ideas will be read and implemented if at all possible. As a member you will help design and shape Dinner Mates, for not only this area, but set the standard for other locations. It all starts here in Portland!

Upcoming Events (1000 ร— 1000 px) (1)
For hosts cooking

Host your own dinner parties

Who doesn't love a good dinner party! As a member you can set up your own party. Choose the menu, the price, the number of attendees, etc. Try out a new recipe, create a theme dinner, make a simple supper or a gourmet elegant party.

Dinner Mates platform will do all the ticketing for you, and you will get all your costs covered.

Create impact

Want to create events to raise money for your favorite charity? Every event is set up to collect donations. Want to focus on discussing a particular topic or raise awareness about a cause? You can design your own small private events.

Women for Ambassador page
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Virtual Cooking Events

As a member, you are invited to join any of our Virtual Livestream Cooking Events at a reduced price.

BONUS: Surprise pop up events!

Portland is a foodie town filled with great restaurants and eating activities. You just never know what exciting event might be added to the calendar at the last minute. Well... just for fun! Most will have limited spaces. Some might be Members Only. As a member, you will be alerted immediately and get first dibs on signing up!

DM events template (4)

Everything you get today!

ONLY

$19/month

$16/month
Cancel at any time

Offer ends May 22nd @6pm

FAQ

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For now, yes. But the ticket price will be higher, for non-members. Approximately $15-$20 more per event.

Yes! You can always cancel, no questions asked. Your membership will automatically cancel after the month is over, depending on when you request the cancellation.ย 

Once you sign up, you will be invited into the private membership site. You can manage your membership there, including cancellation, changing your password, address, etc.ย 

Of course! You are always welcome to rejoin, but the price will be higher.

No! Most people come alone and find it an inclusive atmosphere and easy to get into a lively conversation. The mission of Dinner Mates is to create a comfortable space for members to make new friends while sharing a meal.ย 

All events are open to members first. If an event still has availability, it will be open to non members. Non members must pay an additional price.ย 

Members cannot reserve tickets for non-members.

Great question! We are going to do our best to accommodate all members, to make sure they can get into the events as long as they sign up within the 48 hour window before the event is announced to the public.ย 

If the demand is there, if we continue to grow we will add more events.ย 

Every restaurant tries to accommodate dietary needs, but it depends on the restaurant. ie: If it is a seafood restaurant, it is hard to offer vegan options.ย 

Absolutely! That is the idea of becoming a Founding Member and getting in on the ground floor! The website will have an easy way to submit your ideas. We welcome your feedback!

Become part of the Dinner Mates revolution

Copyright ยฉ2022 FriendsWithForks โ€ข All Rights Reserved

Join the Friends with Forks Community

Thank you for joining the 

Friends with Forks Community

Dinner Mates Club 

Get notified as soon as enrollment opens up again

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Thank you!

That's it for now.

While waiting, feel free to try out any event as a guest!

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Become a Dinner Mates Ambassador

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Thank you for your curiosity!

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