The strangers at my dinner table

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

Her most recent creation is sushi that uses noodles, instead of rice, which she says looks good and has a distinctive taste.

About four years ago she started catering for friends and charging 500 yuan ($79) to 1,500 yuan a person. The ingredients are obtained mostly from her family's organic farm. She enjoys bringing joy to diners and being valued by them, she says.

On Huoli she charges 350 yuan a person for a dinner for six, and is amazed at the diversity of the diners, she says. They are from all walks of life but share a passion for food. She likes conversing with them, as if offers her a glimpse into worlds that are different from hers.

"It feels like a journey, and you never know who you are going to meet next."

For diners, private kitchen apps also provide a chance to experience new things, says Shen Hao, a food critic and an early user of such apps.

He has been to dozens, if not hundreds, of private meals over the past 18 months or so, he says. Some of the hosts are restaurant owners or food suppliers, but most are enthusiastic amateur chefs, Shen says, adding that he has found the dinners entertaining and interesting.

"You never know who will cook for you, and who will dine with you until you are with them."

However, lately, he has attended fewer dinners because he has become a little tired of dining with strangers, he says. In addition, some of the diners he has met recently have been less interesting than those he met earlier and have lacked respect for the hosts and other diners.