Inspiring Conversations with Kristina Robbins of Sweet Antelope

Today we’d like to introduce you to Kristina Robbins.

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I’ve been throwing dinner parties for decades but doing it professionally was a dream a long time in the making. Sweet Antelope combines a few of my favorite things: growing food and then gathering people around the table while we all share stories. I really wanted to create an event that felt like you were going to a friends’ house for a dinner party but you don’t have to bring anything and you don’t have to help clean up.

A key part of the genesis was our neighborhood yoga and pot luck dinner.  In 2014 we moved to Harvard Heights (just south of Koreatown) and a whole new world opened up for entertaining as these 1908 Craftsman houses are spacious. We quickly discovered a network of other families with young kids all within walking distance. That first year, we started a Friday Night Yoga in our attic. While the adults did yoga our kids happily ran amok in the backyard trampoline. Drinks and pot luck dinner followed and a tradition was born. Along the way we got to hone our skills for regularly hosting 20 loving souls.

The pandemic put an end to all that but from those ashes the idea of Sweet Antelope was able to flourish as during lockdown I transformed our back yard from a soccer field into an urban farm and I had the time to start imagining what this would become.

In 2023 we started with a monthly ticketed event, and much to my joy, we quickly started selling out. This wouldn’t have happened without good friends acting as boosters I’ll forever be grateful for that as it takes a village to do pretty much anything.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Honestly the biggest obstacle was getting out of my own way. I had been wanting to make this career switch for a very long time and agonized over what form it would take. I knew I wanted to create a very human-centered experience around food, but what that looked like and the skills I needed to develop it were unclear. The best thing I ever did was take a workshop with Cricket Buchler and an extraordinary group of women pursuing their passions. They made me realize that my idea was not just a tiny uncertain flicker but a fully formed reality that lived in my psyche, and I did know what to do. I just needed to incrementally, brick by brick, do the one next thing that would move it from my brain into the material world. It was the power of being around whip-smart women who could reflect back to me what they were hearing and seeing.

Great, so let’s talk business. Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Sweet Antelope is a private dinner party for 20 people (up to 28 depending on the season) featuring a 5-course menu based on the vegetables that have been harvested from the backyard farm that week. The night begins in the farm with appetizers and a short performance by an accomplished storyteller. Guests are then invited to share their own stories in small groups at their table based on a theme drawn for the night. I love that the theme is just a place to get started. Often, people are inspired to tell a story that builds off of something someone else shared. The conversation that follows becomes an alchemy of who is at the table that night and how their stories weave together. It’s a collated conversation so it’s not just the usual who are you and what do you do with strangers. You’re going to get to know people from the unique stories they tell about something that’s memorable from their life. One worthy aside is that sharing stories is an invitation not an expectation. If you’re not up for sharing your story then we just ask that you are an active listener. We are an introvert friendly establishment 🙂

Since launching Sweet Antelope, our guests have come back to book private events for friend and family celebrations as well as team events for their business or organization. We are open to customizing our dinners to create something special for any group that wants to relax, connect, and remember how interesting humans are when you get to hear their stories.

My brain is now on fire with other events we will be launching that focus on food and bringing people together through experiences. Next month we will be launching the Dance Your Ass Off Dinner. Follow us on Instagram to learn more about it; it’s gonna be fun as hell.

How do you think about luck?
It helps to be lucky but to some extent you can also make your own luck. My luck in starting this business has to do with relationships. This is a family run business and I am extremely lucky to have a supportive husband and children that have pitched in as greeters, servers, test kitchen sous chefs and groundskeepers (my husbands preferred title). When I started hatching this idea, everyone in my life enthusiastically responded “of course you should do that” and that is no small thing. Friends came early and often to my first dinners and spread the word to everyone they knew. The word of mouth has been extraordinary. Friends also came out of the woodwork to offer their expertise and fill in the gaps in my own skill set. I’m lucky to have that in my life.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.sweetantelope.com
• Instagram: @sweetantelope
• Other: TikTok:@sweetantelopefarmla

Image Credits
Maiz Connolly Nick Higgins Laura Ann Ahmed Francesca McConchie