When talking about Supper Clubs with people one of the first things I hear is: “I don’t cook but I love to socialize over a meal”. There is a chapter in the book outlining a type of club that is a perfect solution. This type of club is for people that either don’t like to cook, can’t cook, don’t have the time or are simply not good cooks. In today’s “foodie” world, there are all kinds of options to bring people together over a great meal without cooking.
This club is patterned after my daughter’s mother in law. Helene is a foodie and a great hostess, but she doesn’t cook. She and her husband, Rick, bring together great meals by shopping from local markets and restaurants. One of the best things about this type of club is the research. Think of all the fun you can have trying different foods from all kinds of markets and restaurants with the objective of hosting a supper club meal.
Helene and Rick spend summers in Montauk NY and there are some great restaurants there. My wife’s cousin’s family owns the restaurant East by Northeast, but even with family connections getting reservations and fighting crowds during the summer peak season can be quite a challenge. The perfect answer is a supper club.
Whether you live in Montauk, have a lake house in Iuka Mississippi, or live just about anywhere, this type of supper club is a perfect solution;
The makeup of the club is based on who is available. You can send out an email early in the week, text a few friends around noon the day of, or simply run into people on the train. Just about anybody loves an impromptu opportunity to socialize over a meal.
The organization of the event is pretty simple. The host (or anybody) can write a menu like the following example. You just outline what to buy, where to buy and delegate responsibility.
Sharing the cost and the workload makes it even easier. It is true that a big piece of the work falls on the host couple in that they have to clean up and make the house presentable, The key concept is to keep it simple and encourage the next host to sign up for the next event.
Spontaneity and flexibility makes this type of club a lot of fun. A little direction from the organizer with a menu sets a tone and and the fun can take off from there.
Here is an example menu:
Supper clubs don’t need to be formal or overly structured. You don’t even have to know how to cook. You just need people that like to socialize over a meal (who doesn’t) and some organization.
If you enjoy this blog and similar other stories/supper club lessons subscribe to get future blogs at www.impromptufridaynights.com/blog and be on the look out for my book Impromptu Friday Nights a Guide to Supper Clubs. Morgan James Publishing published the Kindle-Version on September 5, 2017 and the hard copy coming out January 30, 2018.