A 2-year-old St. Louis dinner club with a monthly dinner date and a guest list of a dozen dynamic women, among them doctors in various practices, was nearly interrupted when the current stay-at-home mandates were put in place and restaurants were closed for dine-in service.
But that didn’t stop “Chow Bella” founder, St. Louis County resident Dr. Jovita Oruwari, who conceived the idea for the club, and fellow St. Louisan, Melissa Grannum, a huge foodie, who quickly got on board. They decided to make the best of the situation without sacrificing great cuisine and relaxation among friends.
Oruwari is a breast cancer surgeon at Mercy Clinic in St. Louis, who approaches her role as a doctor with compassion and empathy. And she has a fun side, attending galas, working out at the gym, and under normal circumstances, enjoying a nice evening out to dinner, now and then.
But the current climate is certainly not “normal.”
The two friends wanted to create something that would relieve some of the anxiety of the pandemic, and decided to take the dinner club online, where club members can join them from the comfort of their own home via video chat.
Grannum scouts all the restaurants and makes suggestions of where to go. And the virtual dinner was no different. The group patronized local restaurants and picked up dinner curbside from one of three restaurants on a carefully chosen list.
The first online foray was a hit.
“We put on makeup and got dressed up, and poured ourselves a glass of wine or made a cocktail. I got to ‘see’ my friends, and we talked and laughed, and were able to momentarily forget about the pandemic.” Oruwari said.
“It’s important during this time to try to maintain a little bit of routine and normalcy, or you can go a little crazy.” Oruwari added.
It’s something they are definitely going to continue for the foreseeable future, until they can once again, make a reservation and sit down face-to-face at one of the great restaurants the St. Louis region has to offer.
Until then, it will be “Bon Appétit” using the wonderful technology we are fortunate enough to have at this time. Create your own dinner party. Let us know how it goes.
