Supper gatherings!!

Dinner parties with a close group of friends are always fun. Conversations, food and friendly banter – all make for a good gathering.

I recently came across an episode of Jamie Oliver’s cooking show shot in New York where is attended a supper club gathering and subsequently held one himself after drawing inspiration from this gathering.

Of course, it wasn’t just a simple supper gathering. Guests who attended had to pay up a fixed amount that would cover the food and drinks. It was a communal setting. People attended, they conversed and made new friends and dined at the common table.

To tell a bit more of the concept of supper clubs –These are restaurants or dining establishments that also serve as social clubs. Historically, the first Supper club is said to have commenced in the US. The concept is now prevalent in UK, US, Latin America and Europe and other regions. I believe they started the concept to protest against the rising restaurant prices. Believe it or not, there are Underground restaurants as well that make amazing supper clubs. These can go completely ignored if not mentioned of as only regular customers know of their whereabouts.

Watching Jamie Oliver’s show, I am inspired to hold my own supper club gathering - An evening with friends and new acquaintances with good food and conversation. Maybe other friends can then host such gatherings further. It will be interesting planning such an evening and I aim to keep mine restricted to friends and their friends. I don’t intend starting a professional supper club, but the idea is to keep a simple evening, trying to introduce new friends and enjoy food

There are variations in the theme – such as guests get involved and partake in the cooking process or even at times, raise a potluck. I however, prefer getting my own cooking done.

Ideally, the numbers of people are kept small at such gatherings. About 8 – 10 people are the norm. The meal is laid out on a common table and the host is as involved in the supper as the guests.

The food should ideally be simple and quick to serve lest the host ends up spending an entire evening in the kitchen without spending any time with the guests. I feel the dessert should be the highlight of the evening as no one forgets the dessert. On a precautionary note, it would be wiser to discuss the food preferences as Vegetarian or Non- vegetarian to avoid any of the guests going hungry.

It would also be helpful to monitor the conversation amidst the guests at such a gathering and refrain from any controversial topics such as politics, religion etc. lest the guests start feeling uncomfortable. Not a very pleasant scenario.

It is not usually a norm to charge for the meal, but it depends on the host. Best to check prior to the gathering. It could be a good idea to take along your drinks if attending the gathering and if the host is comfortable with a drinks scenario.

It is also a decent idea to initially discuss the menu if the guests are going to be involved in the cooking or if they are planning to bring some food to the event.

With Christmas round the corner, the festive spirit is in the air and everyone’s in a jolly frame of mind. I plan to have one such dinner probably around Christmas day and gauge everyone’s appeal towards it. Maybe one of the guests will take the chain forward.

Here’s looking to a good evening with old and new friends.