Cook for twelve, invite near-strangers
Adults stop making new friends largely because nobody hosts. A table is the cheapest social infrastructure there is.
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Why it lands
Friendship in adulthood requires repeated unplanned contact, which working life almost entirely removes. Hosting manufactures it. The specific move that works is mixing groups — inviting people who do not already know each other — because a room where everyone is already friends is a reunion, and a room with strangers in it is where new connections actually form.
How
Cook one thing in a large pot rather than a menu, which is what makes it repeatable. Invite across circles deliberately. Say when it ends, so people can come. Do it on a schedule — first Sunday of the month — because a recurring invitation needs no decision.
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