This year’s edition of 3daysofdesign introduces a new concept: Long Table Dinners held at each of our 8 Design Districts all across Copenhagen. Exhibitors, the press, festival visitors and guests are all invited to take a seat in an informal setting, share a meal, and watch the conversation become more meaningful.

Some dinners are designed to be small and intimate, others will gather more people around long communal tables. What they all have in common is that any festival guest or participant can buy a ticket and take a seat at the table.

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For Lærke Kløvedal, writer, novelist and food critic for the Danish newspaper Politiken, that idea makes perfect sense. Kløvedal is widely known in Denmark as the host of the popular podcast Det Sidste Måltid (The Last Meal), produced by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation (DR). In the podcast, she invites well–known guests — from artists and politicians to actors and thinkers — to share what they would choose as their final meal. Over dinner, the conversation moves between food, personal memories, thoughts about life, and death. It ends with Kløvedal reading the guests their own imagined obituary. Throughout Kløvedal’s work, food is not simply sustenance, but a way of gaining a deeper understanding of people — their lives, relationships and identities. And the table, she believes, is one of the most powerful places for conversations to begin. Kløvedal says:

“When we eat, we let our guard down. It’s as if we become more present in the moment. Eating is an invitation to be here — right now. And that’s a good place to start a conversation.”

In The Last Meal, the conversation begins with a simple question: what would you choose as your final meal? But the answer rarely stays focused on food alone. From Kløvedal’s work, she knows that:

“When you ask someone what their last meal would be, the next question comes naturally: why? And that’s when the stories begin. Because food is identity. It says something about where you come from, the family you grew up in, and what has mattered in your life.”

Meeting Over a Meal

The shared act of eating creates a certain kind of equality. Kløvedal adds:

“Eating is democratic. We all have to do it. And when you sit there eating, you also look a bit silly. You might get something stuck in your teeth or grease on your fingers. It changes the conversation. People relax. Here, the old expression breaking bread carries a deeper meaning. It’s an ancient expression: ‘breaking bread’. In earlier times, people would literally leave their weapons outside the door before sitting down to eat. Today, it might be more about putting your phone away and actually being present.”

Once that happens, something else becomes possible. As Kløvedal sees it:

“There’s also something about the lack of control. When we sit together and eat, anything can happen. The conversation can take an unexpected turn, and you might learn something new about the person across the table. That’s why a meal can create encounters that rarely happen in more formal settings. A meal takes time. You stay seated. And suddenly you might start talking about something you normally wouldn’t.”

If the conversation needs a starting point, Kløvedal has a suggestion:

“Ask the person next to you: what would your last meal be? Starter, main course, or dessert? First people think: what would I actually choose? And then comes the explanation. And suddenly you have a completely different conversation.”

Because when people share a meal, the tempo slows down. Phones disappear from the table. Attention shifts to the present moment. That’s when people relax, and when conversations become more personal, meaningful and memorable.

Tickets for the Long Table Dinners can be booked here. Seats are limited.