Recently, I was emailed by Flavio Regni to promote a project he launched on October 1st of this year, SoCelEaters. Touted as the first website dedicated to social eating for Celiac’s and Vegans, SoCelEaters is a fledgling website, started in  Perugia Italy, which is aiming to provide a platform to find social eating opportunities, and cultural immersion, for those following a gluten free and vegan diet. Once a user logs into their free account they can use an interactive map, as well as a search feature, on the website to find local grocery stores, restaurants, and users who are willing to open their homes and kitchens to strangers for a small feel of their choosing. To get a better understanding of SoCelEaters I asked Flavio a few questions: 

1. Can you tell me briefly about your background and how it might related to this project? 

For many years I’ve been a web developer, and internet marketer, so once I had the concept of this project in my mind the development of the website came second nature!

2.Are you a Celiac or Vegan, or have any other dietary restrictions?

I myself do not have any dietary restrictions, but I have many friends with these kind s of diseases and dietary needs, so I want to help them as I can.

3. What was your inspiration to start SoCelEaters? 

One of my friends opened a shop for gluten-intolerant guests a few months ago. We met in a playground, where we used to bring our children, and over time we started seeing each other and making dinners together socially. I came to meet others who often went to his shop at these dinners, and whenever we had dinner together I was struck by the fact that these people were extremely happy to have guests or for the opportunity to be able to go out and eat without worrying about food due to gluten intolerance. One night a girl said this sentence: “It would be nice to be able to travel and visit other countries and have a dinner like this anywhere in the world …”. This sentence rang a bell in my head, and being a fan of the Internet, I thought maybe her need could be turned into a useful service to all people with the same condition.  

4. How do those who are following a vegan diet fall into your vision? Why were they included? 

People who have chosen to go vegan are met with similar social dining difficulties as celiacs: they don’t know how a dish is made or if it contains any animal ingredient like milk or butter, so they might opt not to dine out or dine with others if they are not the chef. I felt this influence on social dining made Celiac Disease and a Vegan diet similar, even if they are deeply different one from each other.

5. What do you hope to achieve overall?
Our biggest dream is to turn Soceleaters into a “search engine” of breakfasts, lunches and dinners for people who suffer from Celiac Disease or who have chosen vegan diets. We want to make sure that all  people who are living these kinds of lives, whether by need or choice, are free to consult Soceleaters anywhere in the world just like they would do with the yellow pages to search for a restaurant in the area. We want Soceleaters give opportunity not only to eat tasty and healthy homemade recipes but also to meet new people and experience new cultures, all while spending far less than you spend at the restaurant.  

6.  I understand dishes at individual’s homes are for a fee. People may wonder where this rates comes from, so what are the suggested price ranges for dishes?
We don’t suggest prices because we think that everyone should be able to estimate the value of their dishes. By the way we hope that users will understand that their home is not a restaurant! A good compromise should be a 30% or 40% of what they spend for ingredients. 

7. Please feel free to share any of your social media sites as well.

Website: soceleaters.com

Facebook: facebook.com/Soceleaters

Twitter: twitter.com/soceleaters

Pinterest: pinterest.com/SoCelEaters/

Instagram: instagram.com/soceleaters                                                                                        YouTube: youtube.com/channel/UCW6xACtNOueyYc1DZ_cS6GQ

Google+: plus.google.com/+Soceleaters

Blog: soceleaters.com/blog

From harvesting, to cooking, to dining, all aspects of food are social. As Flavio mentioned above, this is influenced when you have a restrictive diet (whether by choice or not) so in my eyes projects that allow social interactions with trust and comfort are integral to maintaining a healthy quality of life for those with restrictive diets. I truly appreciate Flavio’s dedication and determination, and wish him and SoCelEaters the best of luck on their venture. Feel free to sign up if you are interested!