I like the idea of bringing food and people together
Sound like you have a great plan of attack and I like that you've though hard about the interface and user interactions
In terms of getting creative with design, perhaps you could use some kind of metaphor? Perhaps a communal dining table so you can "add people to your table" (i.e. groups of people with similar interests or something like that
Could facilitate a new interface for sharing and creating events and recipes as well incl. dinner parties, foodie events, food deals etc.