Hello and good morning. I hope you all had a wonderful weekend.
A few months ago my good friend Karina and I were on the phone chatting, I don’t think Robert had long been out of hospital, and I was bemoaning the fact that things were stressful and I needed to inject more fun in my life after a crazy few months. Karina told me that she had been thinking about starting a supper club and perhaps I’d like to be involved with that. Well a few months passed, we both got distracted again and then finally Karina took the bull by the horns, set a date and the emails went out inviting people to our first ever Supper Club.
The premise of our Supper Club, apart from having a really lovely evening with friends, is that by the end of the evening you go away with a list of dishes that you have seen prepared and that you have tasted, that you can then use as a complete dinner party in your own home.
The evening was split up and we were each given a certain portion of it to create and prepare.
It went something like this -
Karina was our first hostess.
Sarah – Canapes , Asparagus with Prosciutto
Lindsey- Appetiser, Mushroom Soufflés
Cherry- Main course, Slow roasted shoulder of lamb
Karina – Side dish, Roasted vegetable couscous salad with harissa dressing
Sophie – Dessert, Summer Berry Pavlova
Moya – Drinks, Pimm’s & Lemonade
I arrived early at Karina’s to finish my lamb off in her oven and help set -up a wee bit, although Karina was very organized and had it all covered. Her house was looking lovely and ready to go.
The supper club members were treated to a glass of fizz upon arrival.
And the table was set simply so as not to distract from the food.
Although we did have a loose theme which was British Summertime. We desperately wanted our first Supper Club to take place outside in the garden and Karina had decorated with some beautiful lights to make it special but the rain just wouldn’t let up.
I was in charge of the playlist so I downloaded three or four albums on to my Spotify account and played them through my iPhone and the dock. The music was there in the background and accompanying the conversation not drowning it out.
It’s at this point that I have to confess to not taking my tripod with me and I could have kicked myself. The food looked so beautiful (and tasted divine) and my pictures have not done it justice. I’ll be better prepared next time if the girls will give me a second chance!!
Sarah’s canapes. So tasty and so easy.
Lindsey’s soufflé. Light and seasoned to perfection.
I’m afriad that I actually have no shot of my lamb or Karina’s salad as I was too busy eating and forgot my duty as the evening’s resident photographer. But what I can say is that it was one of the most simple recipes I’ve ever followed and turned out a treat. I’m cooking it for lunch very soon so I promise I’ll shoot it then but the link to the recipe website has a pretty good shot.
Ahhh, dessert. It was utterly delicious and the coulis drizzled over the top of the berries was beautiful.
We wrapped the evening up at about eleven pm as all of us have young children, jobs, school runs and beds that call our name loudly as the evenings wear on.
And we’re having another Supper Club in September. I have to say that I’m a Supper Club virgin but I had the time of my life. Everyone made such an effort and there were two people at the end of the evening that both offered to host the next one. I think this is really encouraging and I can’t wait to see everyone again. Karina was perfect as the host, calm and lovely and had everything under control. She even sent out an email to all of the members with some thoughts on the next one.
I think Karina and I would love for three things to happen with this Supper Club -
1, We’d love for the members to feel so comfortable that we all begin to try our own unique recipes. But for now we’re happy using tried and tested versions from our favourite books and websites.
2, We’d like it to carry on for many months/years/decades
3, We’d love every body to have a really great time and go away from each event with an all encompassing menu for a dinner party or other event that they need to cook or prep for.
And that is what I’d like you to have also. The recipes I’ve linked to today were the ones used by the supper club members and are all available online. Each dish complimented one another and it was a great success. If you’re thinking about starting a supper club I say do it. I promise to be much more prepared next time and to get some better shots. But for now I hope you enjoyed the little peek in to our supper club as much as we enjoyed the evening.
Click here to discover if you won the Neom Luxury Organics giveaway from last week.
I love you and thank you so much for reading today.
Cherry x
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What a delightful occasion with good friends! Finding those who have similar motivations for food preparation can be a challenge; however, this sounded perfect!