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Supper Club: Recipes and Notes from the Underground Restaurant
Authored by the owners of the Underground Restaurant, London's premier supper club, this text will teach you everything you need to know about running your own supper club, supper club etiquette, what to cook and much more.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published March 1, 2011
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
May 4, 2012
Firstly, this has nothing to do with eating on the subway but you are partially right if you think of something being hidden from street view. Restaurants, hidden from public gaze, often in the privacy of one's home yet open to a discerning clientele is what this book concerns itself with. You think it can be difficult getting a table at a top restaurant, yet for some "underground restaurants" you ain't seen nothing yet!
They can go by different names: supper club, secret restaurant, underground restaurant, pop-up restaurant and so on. You won't usually find them in normal restaurant guides nor read reviews of them in glossy magazines, yet they can be the place to be if only you get to be in the "inner circle" and know of one, or more.
This book is an explosion of knowledge, insight, culture and feeling. Even without an invite into the inner circle, with this book you are able to make some of the dishes that appeared on what was London's premier and best-known secret supper club.
The author "opened" her first supper club at home in 2008, calling it "The Underground Restaurant". Despite its existence being spread by word-of-mouth, the author still was inviting strangers into her home to eat. Naturally such restaurants don't have the same rules, regulations and expectations that come with a normal restaurant. You can't just phone up and book a table for a particular time on a particular date and know you will get the chef's signature dish upon command. The uncertainty, spontaneity of it all adds an extra frisson of excitement and expectation.
The concept is still relatively new in England, despite it being relatively common in places as diverse as Cuba.
For the guest as well, it can be a challenge. The author, for example, does not cook meat at her restaurant (there are borrowed meat recipes in this book) due to her beliefs yet she states she is not a "proselytising vegetarian". In essence you get whatever she feels like cooking. Inspiration can come from themes, something she overhead in the street, essentially anywhere. You get what you are given. You can take your own alcohol. Yet people are mesmerised by the experience and it has spread through a grassroots movement.
This is more than just a recipe book. It is a sort-of history book, experience book, recipe book and cultural review all rolled into one. Richly illustrated, stylish, beautifully laid out, not too formal but not too anarchic this is a pleasure to read. It appeals on so many levels. If you just want to learn about the culture, you've got it. Want to learn about some of the recipes and inspiration? Ditto. Want to start your own? Need one go on…?
Nothing is too mainstream or so common albeit with a small twist that would be found in 101 "top restaurant/chef" books. Yet common items can appear with the esoteric and innovative. A true mismatch. This book overruns with excitement. The information just flows out of the page and overloads the senses. Even things like how to start your own restaurant, which does not appear on this reviewer's horizon, is interesting and engaging.
Featured recipes feature both familiar and unfamiliar items. Marmite on toast with crispy seaweed? Sorrel Soup? Crème fraîche ice cream? Will you try it? There are more "mainstream" recipes as well, but nothing should be taken for granted.
If this book attracts you at the first glance you will want to read it cover-to-cover and return to it time and time again. Just remember it is not just a recipe book. It is not a style book. It is just something totally different.
// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //
They can go by different names: supper club, secret restaurant, underground restaurant, pop-up restaurant and so on. You won't usually find them in normal restaurant guides nor read reviews of them in glossy magazines, yet they can be the place to be if only you get to be in the "inner circle" and know of one, or more.
This book is an explosion of knowledge, insight, culture and feeling. Even without an invite into the inner circle, with this book you are able to make some of the dishes that appeared on what was London's premier and best-known secret supper club.
The author "opened" her first supper club at home in 2008, calling it "The Underground Restaurant". Despite its existence being spread by word-of-mouth, the author still was inviting strangers into her home to eat. Naturally such restaurants don't have the same rules, regulations and expectations that come with a normal restaurant. You can't just phone up and book a table for a particular time on a particular date and know you will get the chef's signature dish upon command. The uncertainty, spontaneity of it all adds an extra frisson of excitement and expectation.
The concept is still relatively new in England, despite it being relatively common in places as diverse as Cuba.
For the guest as well, it can be a challenge. The author, for example, does not cook meat at her restaurant (there are borrowed meat recipes in this book) due to her beliefs yet she states she is not a "proselytising vegetarian". In essence you get whatever she feels like cooking. Inspiration can come from themes, something she overhead in the street, essentially anywhere. You get what you are given. You can take your own alcohol. Yet people are mesmerised by the experience and it has spread through a grassroots movement.
This is more than just a recipe book. It is a sort-of history book, experience book, recipe book and cultural review all rolled into one. Richly illustrated, stylish, beautifully laid out, not too formal but not too anarchic this is a pleasure to read. It appeals on so many levels. If you just want to learn about the culture, you've got it. Want to learn about some of the recipes and inspiration? Ditto. Want to start your own? Need one go on…?
Nothing is too mainstream or so common albeit with a small twist that would be found in 101 "top restaurant/chef" books. Yet common items can appear with the esoteric and innovative. A true mismatch. This book overruns with excitement. The information just flows out of the page and overloads the senses. Even things like how to start your own restaurant, which does not appear on this reviewer's horizon, is interesting and engaging.
Featured recipes feature both familiar and unfamiliar items. Marmite on toast with crispy seaweed? Sorrel Soup? Crème fraîche ice cream? Will you try it? There are more "mainstream" recipes as well, but nothing should be taken for granted.
If this book attracts you at the first glance you will want to read it cover-to-cover and return to it time and time again. Just remember it is not just a recipe book. It is not a style book. It is just something totally different.
// This review appeared in YUM.fi and is reproduced here in full with permission of YUM.fi. YUM.fi celebrates the worldwide diversity of food and drink, as presented through the humble book. Whether you call it a cookery book, cook book, recipe book or something else (in the language of your choice) YUM will provide you with news and reviews of the latest books on the marketplace. //
September 27, 2012
Did no one else find Rodgers' attitude really really annoying when they read this? She just has such an inflated opinion of herself - her style & appearance, her cooking, her 'humour' - that it almost completely distracted me from the actual book! The first half is 'How to run a supper club,' interesting but not something I'm planning to do any time soon, and the second half has recipes, which were OK but nothing amazing, only a couple that I really wanted to try out. Finally at the end of the recipes were some sample themed night menus, which I was interested in for dinner parties. These were good but only took up a tiny fraction of the whole book, so if like me you're interested in hosting foodie parties, I would probably recommend The Vintage Tea Party Book instead - it covers much more than afternoon teas, including some amazing tea-based cocktails for the evening.
August 11, 2012
Great and interesting read. I would recommend it to anyone who has wanted to open their own restaurant but never dared. Very helpful and encouraging.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews