Embrace the Unconventional: Kitchen by Mike for Unforgettable Events!
FEAST FOR FESTIVAL OF DANGEROUS IDEAS
Presented by The Ethics Centre, The Festival of Dangerous Ideas (FODI to its fans) is audacious, original and independent, sometimes challenging but always thought provoking. Since 2009 our curated festival has been bringing the best of the best credentialed thinkers, talkers and artists the world has to offer. FODI boldly blends talent from multiple disciplines, backgrounds and perspectives– from visual art to live performance, food, and much more.
A festival of international significance is expensive to deliver. We keep ticket prices low so it’s accessible. Thus, our non-profit independence is both an asset and a challenge. In August 2023 for the first time ever, we asked FODI fans to help keep us in the game. Kitchen by Mike have been a key collaborator for us since the Festival in 2022, so were our natural choice to partner with for our first fundraising dinner. ‘Feast for FODI’.
We invited our fans to come together for one night that promised an end to boring dinner party conversations in Sydney. We invited FODI alumni to act as ‘provocateurs’ at each table and poke the conversational bear, taking on all the topics – sex, drugs, democracy and more. Alumni guests included former BBC political correspondent Nick Bryant, philosopher Tim Dean, political philosopher and academic Luara Ferracioli, social researcher and author Rebecca Huntley, thought leader Simon Longstaff, film and TV critic Wenlei Ma, investigative journalist Kate McClymont, artificial intelligence expert Toby Walsh, and more.
Executive Chef Mike McEnearney designed a bespoke shared menu that reflected the difficult topics – sustainability, consumption, the environment – and were delectable.
Why do you like partnering with KBM?
We want to work with partners who seek to differentiate themselves from the pack. Who are brave. Who are bold. Who think about the future – the opportunities and the risks. We relish collaborators who are driven by the same things we are – intellectual freedom, original and innovative thought, our impacts, playing a role in shaping the future, and who, at their heart, value community. This is Kitchen by Mike. Mike and his team understood the brief perfectly and delivered.
Can you write a review of your experience with KBM?
Each time we work with Mike, Gemma and the KBM team, our collaboration deepens, our shorthand quickens, and the possibilities for future collabs and endeavours grows. For FODI, this partnership in more than just food and beverage, and at the same time this partnership absolutely centres those things as being essential to the holistic FODI experience, for thriving hearts and minds. We love that Mike sees his place within an ecology, and we love tapping into that, supporting local and sustainable, while looking at new ways to create experience and connection through his kitchen.
