The strangers at my dinner table

A host prepares for the dinner gatherings. [Photo provided to China Daily]

Sometimes before a dinner the host will invite diners into a WeChat group where they can introduce themselves, giving everyone a glimpse of the kind of people they will meet at the dinner. Some of the dinners or afternoon teas on Huoli have a certain theme, which naturally attract people who have common interests, Yu says.

Some get-togethers include wine matching, food made with organic ingredients, vegetarian food, or varieties of cheese, meats or seafood. In some gatherings the ingredients will go well beyond food, including, for example, fortunetelling and relationship counseling.

Guang Ming, chief executive of Huoli, says the app, which went public about six months ago, now has nearly 50,000 active users, and more than 1,500 hosts.

Most big cities and popular tourist destinations, such as Xiamen in Fujian and Chengdu in Sichuan, are among the locations where the app is most used because its target users include travellers, he says.

Huoli is one of many private kitchen Internet platforms that have sprung up in China in the wake of social dining that began to catch on in the West several years ago.

The most well-known include Woyoufan and eatwithchina, and the startup companies that put these out are often said to be part of what has come to be called the sharing economy or collaborative consumption.

Guang says the sharing economy is reshaping China's food scene by liberating people who truly enjoy cooking to prepare food in their spare time for those who are looking for an experience different to that of restaurant dining, and to make money as well.

He is confident that more and more people will use such sharing-economy-based private kitchen apps, either as hosts or diners.

A Shanghai host, who wanted to be identified only as Ly, says she regards herself as a food addict and that Huoli has broadened her outlook on life.

Now a freelance artist in Shanghai, the 36-year-old has a knack of cooking that is rooted in her worldwide travels. Since she was six, she says, she has been to 36 countries and regions. Ly says she can tell how to cook a dish once she tastes it, and the numerous dishes she has eaten on her travels are the source of her inspiration, allowing her to create new ones.