Restaurants in stranger's houses

[Heyjoni]

OK, "restaurant" is maybe a bit of an exaggeration (!) but I need to know if anyone else remembers a trend a few years ago of going to someone's house and them cooking for you? Like an amateur chef in their own house? With other strangers there?

All pre-Covid obviously.

DP thinks I'm imagining it! I never actually did it but I remember it being a bit of a thing. It must be true, the Guardian was all over it!

Does anyone know what I'm talking about? Did anyone do it?

Nope not a clue

It was a supper club thing. Maybe only happened in hipster parts of London?

Yes! Supper clubs

A dinner party?

Yes, supper clubs? Wasn't it keen amateur cooks hosting dinner parties at home for strangers? Not sure how they advertised, social media? I never went to one. Seem to remember as you say not hearing any more about it after COVID. No idea if it's still a thing.

Yes. Supper clubs. West London (well that’s where we were).

Yes it was a thing, I remember it.

Never went.

Yep, supper clubs. They were big around London but thinking about it, COVID probably put a stop to it.

You could go to one in an old train carriage near me if I recall correctly 🤔

Editing to add: supperclub.tube is still happening!

Supper clubs definitely reached Berkshire at least.

Yeah I'm also in London and was definitely a thing.

Still going to some extent. I know one person who does them as a networking thing in their sector. Know another person who used to run them but has now turned them into supper club sex parties. 🤮

Is it sex first or supper, do you know?

Yes thank you everyone! Supper clubs! I'm not in London, maybe that's why I never went 😂I remember reading about it in the Guardian. I never knew if it was actually a thing though, or whether the Guardian was trying desperately to make it a thing.

It seems really weird to me thinking about it now, going to a completely unknown house to eat (hygiene standards etc).

Yes Supper Clubs.

Glad the trend has died out. Thought they were a CF way of making money or showing off given these people were usually home cooks with no hygiene certificates.

Supper first! It was on one of those shows Alice Levine did about sex and definitely seemed like supper first. I never went to one though!

There was also the Latitudinal cuisine ones for a while. Every dinner people had to bring a dish from a country along a specific latitude and they worked their way around the world over time. Did a special one for the Olympics in 2012 in a much bigger space and the table itself was a wooden carving of the world. Hard to explain but looked amazing.

Weren't there a few TV series based on home restaurants

Yes, supper clubs and yes, I did live in a hipster part of London 😆

I went to a few. 1 was a Vietnamese themed menu and I think the chef actually owned a restaurant nearby. There was no menu, so we have no clue what was coming, how many dishes etc. As soon as the 1st person finished, the 'chef' rapidly asked people to add their contribution to an envelope and leave!

Other places were smaller, had a menu on a chalkboard and more relaxed. Some had a suggested fee, I think some a set fee.

Wow that's really interesting @JC03745. It sounds way more organised than I imagined.

I like cooking and I like having friends round for dinner but I can't imagine having strangers eating in my house. But obviously you wouldn't do it if you were uncomfortable with that.

Yes, this was definitely a thing. I can't remember what the phenomenon was called, but I remember a few articles in the Food section of the local paper.

There was a TV show about this I seem to remember. People would set up a restaurant in their home and diners paid how much they thought the meal was worth? It seemed really stressful, cramped and not much fun - for the amateur chefs and diners alike, tbh.

Yes, I went to one...in London. But I did know the chef/ host who was a friend of a friend.

They are still a thing where I live

Where do you live? 😄Have you been?

I'm guessing Cornwall...

Supper 🤮

Yes, this is one of the original ones. Always wanted to go - she lives round the corner from my old flat in London. (I've since moved away).
https://msmarmitelover.com/supperclubs

I remember it! Years ago when I lived in London