Intellectually Charged
Every element signals that this isn't a social event with a speaker attached. It's a room designed to make you think harder than you expected to.
The
Curious Glass — Speaker Dinners at Cecilia’s, Toowoon Bay
— at Cecilia’s —Fifty people. One idea. No safe topics.
Soft launch · Wednesday 18 November 2026
Cecilia’s, Toowoon Bay
The Idea
What is The Curious Glass?
A dinner every second month where the conversation is the main course. One speaker. One idea that should make you uncomfortable. Great wine. Proper food. A room full of people who came to think, not network.
Warm but Edged
Wine, candlelight, good food — but the warmth has weight. This is the dinner party you leave feeling different.
Deliberately Intimate
Fifty people. One idea. The room has limits. You're invited, but the seats are finite.
How it works
The Format
Every event follows the same rhythm.
- 6:00pm
Doors and drinks
Wine is poured, the room fills. Come when you can.
- 6:30pm
Buffet dinner
Cecilia's seasonal small plates designed around the evening's theme.
- 7:00pm
The talk
The host sets the stakes, then the speaker takes over. 30 minutes. No lectern. No slides. Conversational, personal, challenging. The speaker has one job: make fifty people question something they thought they already understood.
- 7:30pm
Open conversation
30 minutes. Real questions. Push back. Disagreement is welcome.
- 8:00pm
The closing question
The host wraps with one question to every guest: ‘How has what you heard tonight changed or challenged what you believed walking in?’ We film ten answers — that becomes our social content.
- After 8:00pm
Bar stays open
Conversations continue. They usually do.
The Calendar
Season One — 2027
The third Wednesday of every second month, March to November. Mark your calendar.
Soft Launch
Brendan Rogers
When Does Helping Stop Helping?
Why Rescuing People Is Often More About Us Than Them
Most of us think we help because the other person needs it. Brendan Rogers, a foster carer, thinks a lot of it is for us: rescuing someone often relieves our own discomfort at watching them struggle. On 18 November he'll make the case, and ask you to test it against your own life.
$50 per person · buffet dinner and two glasses of wine included · 50 seats
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Speaker & topic to be announced
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The Room
At Cecilia’s
Cecilia’s Restaurant sits on the beachfront at Toowoon Bay — one of the Central Coast’s best-kept secrets. The kind of place where the food is serious, the wine list is generous, and the room feels like it was built for exactly this kind of evening.
- Location
- Toowoon Bay, Central Coast NSW
- Ticket
- $50 per person — includes buffet dinner and two glasses of wine
The List
Be the First to Know
Speakers and topics are announced to our mailing list first. Join to get early access and first dibs on tickets.
Before you come