How costs are handled is an important element to successful clubs. The reality is that Supper Clubs are generally a low cost way to socialize over a meal. The key is understanding and communication.

The way our neighborhood club handles costs is simple an efficient. And while there are many ways to handle costs this formula just works well. Costs for making the dishes are tracked by each couple. At the end of the evening, all costs for food and wine will be totaled then divided equally among the four couples, with each couple paying one-fourth of the total meal cost.

Cost Example

It is amazing how costs are virtually never an issue. With a little planning and discretion, supper clubs are economical even for the more cost conscious. You can have a good meal and social event for less than $70 per couple. The cost driver is usually the alcohol. The rule we have followed is to target “reasonably” priced wines. Although participants have defined “reasonable” differently, on average we have probably been in the $20-a-bottle range, though there have been notable exceptions for costs and quantities. I can tell you that our young kids did once question the number of wine bottles in the recycling bin after one particularly fun event.

With new people coming in and out of the club, there have been a few surprises. One new club member built in the cost of a pot she bought for the event into her total contribution. I can’t say that couple is still part of the club. The rule we have lived by is that if we incur a cost because we want to try something different or more expensive than the norm, we simply absorb that cost. With this said, some hosts are more popular than others.

Finding the Right People

Getting people who mesh well together is always a challenge. One benefit of supper clubs is coming across all kinds of people. The good news is that you get to meet people. The bad news is that the chances of them being a great fit are pretty slim. One of the beauties of my supper club experience is that my wife and I have used the more formal supper club, where there are a lot of people, to find the smaller group that we really wanted to be friends with. In the end, dealing with a few jerks can be worth it if you get to know some very interesting people.

The solutions on how to find people to participate in a Supper Club are broad ranging:

• Neighborhood groups
  • One of the easiest ways to find people and conveniently located.
  • The Classic Supper Club model is based on our neighborhood. We have a neighborhood association that publishes a newsletter. There is a section that advertises participation in the supper club. I have actually heard of people that bought a house in our neighborhood because they knew about the supper club.
• Internet groups
  • One site you could use to get started getting together with people over food is grubwithus.com. People get connected through the site, usually at a local restaurant.
• Colleagues
  • We all spend quite a bit of time with the people we work with. The subject of socializing over a meal is very easy to interject. When I lived in Delaware, I traveled with a guy I worked with. We would dine together on a Wednesday night and the subject of my supper club would come up. It didn’t take long for him to want to be part of the Saturday night supper club, where I would try to replicate the dishes we shared at a restaurant the previous Wednesday.
• Church groups
• School groups
• Facebook friends

The supper clubs I have been involved with have led to real friendships. We have formed clubs from the wide array of sources listed above and have learned there is no one right way to find the right people. Trial and error is the only way. Going through a few bad experiences makes you appreciate the good ones.

Finding the right people has some real benefits. While most of us know a thing or two about wine, it is great to have a wine and beer experts in the group.

My friend, Scott, is the perfect example. He is excellent at paring the right wine with the menu. Scott, like many wine “experts,” has an excellent wine collection and is great at offering up a few (or 10) delicious bottles from his cellar. Scott was such a good customer of the local wine store affectionately named “Germantown Baptist Wine and Liquor” by Scott’s wife Kathy that when he moved, the wine store flew their flag at half-mast for weeks.

In my neighborhood, we are also blessed to have a “beer guy” as well. Tom Schoelkopf worked for Anheuser Busch and is a great guy to have at a party. You can count on him to bring a good selection of Budweiser’s classic product as well as some newer products they are developing. For many of our supper club events, people are asked to bring an appetizer. Tom is famous for asking, “Do you want me to cook or should I just bring beer?” Somehow, the answers are pretty consistent

It can be difficult to find the right people for a supper club. A good thing about being part of a larger group is that you get to meet a lot of people. Some you like and some, not so much.

A quick outline of what Impromptu Friday Nights – A Guide to Supper Clubs is about:

Almost everyone likes to socialize over a meal. Supper clubs that bring people together to enjoy a meal are natural enablers. The concept of supper clubs (hosting regular dinner parties) seems simple but the “how to” can be daunting. This book shows the reader how to set up supper clubs, provides options for different club formats, from large and formal to small and informal, and includes sample menus with recipes.

One of the cornerstones behind this book is the French culinary concept of “Mise En Place.” Loosely translated, this means put into place. Whether you are a classically trained chef or a weekend warrior hosting a dinner party, the key to success is preparation. The book has been written with menus, recipes and preparation plans to show the reader how to do things in advance so that the host/cook can enjoy the party and have a better chance of preparing and presenting a great meal.

Each chapter outlines a different kind of supper club based on different preferences – from a classic formal club to a club where members can’t cook but they know where to get great food. Chapters go over organization, club make-up, scheduling, host responsibilities, menu development, mise en place and costs. Sample menus show how to put a meal together, and prep schedules at the end of each chapter guide the reader to executing mise en place. In addition, sections listing prep time, cook time, cookware needed and wine recommendations complete the guide for a reader to be able to host an amazing meal.

Who should be interested?

Supper clubs are a great solution for most generations but it is a particularly attractive concept for millenials, the “social” generation. Millenials grew up going to great restaurants, watching the Food Channel, and practicing being foodies. They know a lot about good food. While many might love the supper club concept, they are searching for a guide on how to get one set up. This book has been written with millenials in mind with the goal of providing a roadmap for them with simple solutions so they can enjoy the benefits of supper clubs. They are entering the stage of their lives where supper clubs will be a great fit with their socialization needs. As they settle down into longer-term relationships, get married and start families, supper clubs provide a great way to get together with friends over a meal.

Impromptu Friday Nights – A guide to Supper Clubs will be available from Morgan James Publishing in January 2018