A book by Chris Schembra · 7:47
Gratitude and Pasta
The Secret Sauce for Human Connection
Listed as the #2 book in Forbes' “8 Books That Will Help You Spark Human Connections In 2020.”

About the book
How a bowl of pasta sauce sparked thousands of relationships.
This is the story of how a simple bowl of pasta sauce sparked thousands of relationships, helping some of the most successful people on the planet connect around the dinner table.
The epidemic of loneliness and depression among CEOs, executives, and founders is rampant, and yet, we continue to create and foster relationships in the same way we always have — with boring networking events that leave us more disconnected than ever.
Born of author Chris Schembra's own disillusionment with success and his increasing sense of isolation, this book shares the journey of 7:47 Club dinners and how he used them to foster gratitude, empathy, and human connection in his life and in the lives of thousands of friends and colleagues. This book will teach you to create and structure your own intimate dining events so that your guests will have an experience that will bring them closer together, and closer to you.
Where it started
Gratitude and Pasta grew out of the table. On July 15, 2015, Chris invited fifteen people into his 350-square-foot Manhattan apartment. At exactly 7:47 PM, he threw the pasta in the pot, then asked:
“If you could give credit or thanks to one person in your life, that you don't give enough credit or thanks to, who would that be?”
The book is a playbook for hosting those gatherings.
“While most people get their networking done through conferences or business meetings, Chris Schembra has his own formula for human connection: pasta dinners.”
— Forbes · Read the Forbes list
Praise for Gratitude and Pasta
“Now, more than ever, it's essential for leaders to communicate authentically to build genuine relationships. Chris and his book have laid out a proven system to help leaders communicate their values around the dinner table, creating lasting connections.”
“Chris is a fiercely committed person to what he believes in, the Power of The Human Spirit. He is a person who sees good in others and the positive energy that his dinners create are contagious!”
“Going to Chris' dinner was invigorating and stimulating. I felt his passion for serving people and his questions were provoking, making me think far deeper than usual.”
Inside the book
- Chapter 1You Don’t Have to Be Alone to Be Lonely
- Chapter 2Setting the Table for Gratitude
- Chapter 3The Secret to the Sauce: Gratitude, Empathy, and Connection
- Chapter 4The Elements of the Dinner
- Chapter 5Setting Your Intention
- Chapter 6Planning Your Dinner
- Chapter 7The Day of the Dinner
- Chapter 8Let the Games Begin
- Chapter 9Creating Connection with Gratitude
- Chapter 10What People Say Around the Dinner Table
- Chapter 11Closing Out the Dinner
- Chapter 12Planning Your Future Dinners
Book details
- Author
- Chris Schembra
- Contributor
- Sara Stibitz
- Publisher
- 7:47
- Published
- April 2020
- Format
- Hardcover, 150 pages
- ISBN-13
- 978-0-578-60494-7
- ISBN-10
- 0578604949
- Audiobook
- Narrated by Chris Schembra · 3 hours 24 minutes · Released July 21, 2020
Get the book
Set your own table.
Available in hardcover and as an audiobook narrated by Chris.