R U OK? presents 'Conversation Bites'

In an Australian first, R U OK? and Taste of Melbourne in partnership with Electrolux are joining forces with celebrity chefs to launch Conversation Bites, a charity restaurant initiative to raise funds for suicide prevention and to encourage meaningful conversations from 30 November – 3 December in Yarra Park.

Celebrity chefs including Dan Hunter, Raymond Capaldi, Sam Pinzone and Geoff Lindsay, will combine their passion for food and suicide prevention to create a delicious ‘Conversation Bites’ menu and design a limited-edition dish for the R U OK? restaurant to share with loved ones.

A percentage of the proceeds from the restaurant will fund additional R U OK? campaigns and resources to generate more life-changing conversations.

R U OK? CEO Brendan Maher said: “Whether you’re a foodie or not, tough times can sometimes wear us down. That’s why R U OK? has teamed up with Taste of Australia, to get people together over food. Because a problem shared is a problem halved, and a great place to start is by asking, “are you ok?”

“Eight people per day take their own lives in Australia. So, how do we reduce that number? We need people to taco ‘bout it – not just on R U OK? Day, but 365 days a year.

“We are really proud to launch this first charity restaurant at Taste of Melbourne, and hope to replicate the idea across the country.”

Conversation Bites pop up restaurant and menu will be available exclusively at Taste of Melbourne, with four dishes being created by the line-up of chefs.

For more information on how to get the conversation started, visit ruok.org.au.