How we gather: Athena Gronti on hosting six-person dinner parties via & the Table
The textile designer shares her tips on creating hand-lettered menus and the inspiration behind her upcoming line of table linens
How we gather is an interview series featuring people who are bringing friends together in fun and inspired ways. Guests share ideas, stories, and practical tips to help us find friendship, create community, and gather more intentionally.
This week, we’re stepping inside the home of Athena Gronti—an Athens-born textile designer who moved to the Netherlands at 19 to pursue a design education. 11 years later, she calls it home—living with her partner and two cats in a cute flat in Rotterdam.
By day, she creates in a light-filled studio at de Wasserij (“the laundry station”), a fashion and textiles hub that was once a hospital laundry room. By night, find her cooking elaborate veg meals centered around what’s fresh and in season, with an audiobook playing in the background.
Athena regularly hosts dinner parties through & the Table, a community platform that connects six local women around a specified theme. In today’s letter, she shares her go-to dinner party menu, the inspiration behind her eponymous line of table linens, and the exact art supplies you can use to recreate her playful hand-drawn menus. Hope you enjoy!
P.S. Do not miss her Spotify playlist—it’s such a good one.
TW: What inspired you to start gathering?
AG: A year and a half ago, I discovered & the Table, a platform founded by Samantha Wolfson. It allows for six women that have never met before to come together for a themed dinner party, and have intimate conversation around the topic set by the host.
Being a host has allowed me to meet women that I would’ve otherwise not met and make intimate conversation right from the get-go. I started being more intentional about my themes, tablescapes, and menu, since I want it all to tie together. It becomes almost a spiritual practice, where I open my home and my heart to five women who are total strangers, and it’s so insanely rewarding. Food is such a connector. It’s like live magic—you can see and feel it happening as the night goes by.
What’s one of your go-to dinner party menus?
Roasted veg on tahini sauce. For an appetizer I always love a roasted veg on a tahini-lemon-garlic sauce, which is so delicious, nutritious and vegan! Some lemon zest, cress, or roasted nuts as garnish goes a long way.
Stuffed sweet potato. For a main dish, I like easy meals that still give you the feeling that it’s something special, such as this stuffed sweet potato dish, garnished with fresh dill for an extra cute look.
Olive oil cake or chocolate mousse.
’s olive oil cake has a special place in my heart because I’m a Mediterranean girly after all. Else a vegan chocolate mousse by Happy Pear is always easy to prep and make, and can be elevated by adding some orange infused olive oil on top, with some hazelnuts or pistachio for some extra crunch.What else do you usually have on the table?
For table snacks, olive oil tapenade with lots of fresh parsley and garlic is always easy, served with crackers. Cheese boards are always a go-to for me if my guests eat lactose, as I live in the Netherlands and the cheese selection here is to die for. Chicory served with a bowl of whipped feta is also a great one—super easy to prep beforehand.
Last but not least, a jug of water on the table is a must, and I also like to have my (white) wine in a terracotta wine cooler.
Food is such a connector. It’s like live magic—you can see and feel it happening as the night goes by.
How do you help a group of strangers create conversation and connection?
The more vulnerable people dare to become, the deeper the connection gets. There’s a domino effect that takes place, where seeing women around you open up inspires others to also open up.
I once hosted a table themed around “mothering” about child-free women who feel like mothers in a way—maybe to their closed ones, their pets, etc. We all started sharing our experience in mothering others, which inevitably brought up our own relationships to our mothers, and how that influences so much in our lives. It was one of the most profound dinners that I’ve ever hosted, because we were some strangers sharing some of the most intimate feelings and experiences we have.
