Pop-up Supper Club - Take #1
The idea of a pop-up supper club in the lounge had been floating around the Keston Kitchen since the end of summer 2010. The first one finally took place on March 12th. The evening was a brilliant success and a great time was had by all.
Behind the scenes
When we realised we were serious about popping-up in the lounge, the preparation started with finding a date that we could all do. Not as easy as it sounds when you have four busy girls, and Lindsay on board! March was decided, so then came the task of the menu. We worked to our own guidelines; a four course menu of seasonal dishes, with ingredients sourced as locally as possible. We all like a challenge, and March, being the most sparse month of the year when it comes to fruit and veg, certainly provided that.
The menu
The menu was decided; trout to start, some local pork in the middle, rhubarb and custard dessert, and something sweet to end. A lot of hours went into testing recipes, tasting ingredients, and collecting everything on the Friday before the big day. A big thank you to Jesse Dunford Wood, an amazing chef that we stumbled across at the Mall Tavern in Notting Hill. He kindly discussed our menu with us and offered to help us source the trout for the starter and smoke some of it on the roof of the pub! I can safely say the smoked trout was out of this world, with an incredible intense flavour that just made you want to have one more piece. Also, a big thank you to Kurt at Volcano Coffee Works, who I spent a couple of hours tasting coffee with and choosing the right blend for the end of the night. Finally, thanks to the bees of Nunhead who make really good honey, which we used in the mini merigue cupcakes with toasted hazelnuts and cream.
On the day we spruced up the lounge, which has never looked so good. Rach sorted the tables so that we had a blue end and a red end. Very pretty and also pretty practical for those on waitressing duty. The red table became the rowdy table after about 5 minutes. They all hit it off and the chatter, laughter and drinking continued long into the night, with the blues occasionally trying to match the noise levels from the reds - a difficult undertaking. The food ended around midnight and we all got talking. I can only compare it to a brilliant dinner party with great guests. Suddenly it was 1am and then it was 3am when the last four guests left, as good friends, with numbers swapped and plans made.
Now, we're putting together our next menu and guest list for June 4th, take #2, ensuring the night will be as entertaining and delicious as the first... Book early if you fancy coming along.
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