# Theory of CBC Roughly every ten days, on the 9th, 19th and 29th of the month, I host a cookbook club. Each cookbook club, I attempt to cook a new set of dishes that I have never cooked before. This was, in principle, me attempting to learn how to cook. Inviting people over was a forcing function. In some ways this has been a success. I now know what kinds of shortcuts to take to consistently cook quickly. For example, using unexpected frozen foods is a game changer. Use frozen veggies and meats. Consider long term fridge dishes like kimchi? and always make too much food, so that you can save it for later. I also discovered what makes cooking so difficult for me - planning and prep mostly. The whole exercise becomes an overwhelming thought so instead of at least cooking something basic, I do nothing at all. But there has been a secret goal for CBC this whole time: The theory behind Cookbook Club is simple: *create a consistent [[The Frictional Space|frictional space]] where there is minimal cost in attending.* The core principle has been trying to get people to come out of their comfortable places, and create a consistent space through which we build community. To achieve this I am relying on certain principles. 1) Zero Cost: Host must pay without any expectation of repayment. To host is to provide a space. There should be no expectations upon guests except for that which the guest brings themselves. 2) Predictable: It must be reasonably consistent, People should be expecting the next event without planning or purpose. 3) Flexible: Some folks have a variety of routines that need to be accommodated. It can't simply be every Thursday - maybe there's a class or a gym on Thursdays. Maybe they have a friend they are entertaining. Having flexibility on the date and the guestlist allows for further reducing cost. Point 2 and 3 has some conflict - since CBC is on days with a 9, there needs to be teaching. If people aren't aware without being very vocal about the day it's occurring, CBC becomes completely unpredictable. Truth be told, CBC is functionally no different from a pregame to a night out. Providing a space, where there's no friction in attending. Bring things like drinks or cups. There might be a slight difference in the resulting experience by attendees, but it is identical in terms of social space. And yet I'm still unable to get people to actually convert from CBC to going out. I've been trying to figure this out for some time, as I was never the host always the attendee. Chris, [[Nathaniel Ho|Nathel]]'s friend, explained to me how their conversion from a Redwood City pregame goes to Downtown San Jose. It turns out, earlier in the week Chris and Stephen send out a message in the group chat "Hey guys want to check this out?" and the location meetup is just that, a centralized location to meet up. It is in the minds of everyone that going out is actually the objective. The focus needs to be that we are going outside - not that we are attending an event. In fact, Cookbook Club might be the wrong venue for this entirely. By setting it up as an event itself, it's trying to be too much. It might make sense to actually just get dinner out somewhere and then keep staying out. More to come.