Journeying down a bustling Broughton Street, I watch people dine in candlelit restaurants, ones I have seen plastered all over Instagram advertising small plates for big prices. I saunter past heaving, sweaty pubs blasting rugby chants, crowded tables filled with people weaving around each other to get a look at the big screen. I pass them by, that’s not what I am in for tonight.
Rounding the corner, I emerge onto a calm street tucked away from the Saturday night mayhem. The din subsides and fades, replaced by the big blue door’s buzz and click as I am welcomed into a long hallway. A faint flicker of jazz music beckons me towards the stairwell, leading me up and up and finally, to a door with a sign proudly saying “Welcome to Your Mates Kitchen.”
This was my first time at a supper club, something I had been dying to try all year. In an age where digital interactions have slowly become the norm, many of us are finding this way of connecting much less attractive and honestly, quite lifeless. However, for those seeking a real life experience that still feels exclusive, relaxed and intimate, the current sensation of supper clubs may be for you.
“It was not an extravagant meal but a hearty simple use of ingredients shared with friends”
With a focus on communal dining and limited availability, supper clubs promise a dinner experience like few others – bringing in the chance to meet new people, try new foods, all whilst keeping that energy of exclusivity without blowing your budget.
But what exactly are supper clubs? In short, they are exclusive dining events held by hosts who are (usually) not professional chefs of any kind, but instead are just regular people. Often these events are held in the host’s own home or a private location, where a menu or ‘pop up’ is supplied, always different to the one before.
Whilst this may seem like a new wave for Edinburgh’s social scene, the idea of supper clubs goes way back. Originally introduced in the 1940s and 50s, supper clubs were big in America, becoming more popular during the prohibition. It allowed people to secretly gather and drink, without advertisement. Later in the United States, in places such as Beverly Hills and Wisconsin there was a rise in supper clubs for people to spend long hours eating, interacting and forms of live entertainment.
A three course dinner paired with jazz music was on the agenda at the most recent supper club I attended. You may wonder how a student, during our current financial times, can afford to attend this seemingly lavish event. Well, more and more of these events are being marketed as extremely budget friendly and often much cheaper than dining out at a standard restaurant in Edinburgh. Not only did I meet lovely new people, but the chefs were the same age as me who simply had a passion for cooking and bringing their friends together. As a result, it was not an extravagant meal but a hearty simple use of ingredients shared with friends, which tasted better than the expensive meals a lot of restaurants would ever produce.
It is an old idea which has been made new again, especially in the UK. Friends and wider social circles can meet and experience food and connect with people in person without needing to take out a mortgage. It is less about having a fancy evening for a certain class, but instead for anyone who wants to experience real human contact away from social media.
@Yourmateskitchen was behind this particular supper club. As soon as I stepped into the room I was transported into a fashionable set up of cozy, dimmed lighting, tables with tall warm candles and personalised menus. The flat itself was both new and old, where the high ceilings kept the old Edinburgh tenement alive, the array of photographs, rustic rugs brought a level of sophistication that we all dream of having. All of these details only added to the experience – taking it from dinner in a student flat, to an intimate yet elegant event that lingers in your mind.
One of the chefs, Mia Milne, talked to us through each dish with exquisite detail and I soon realised how much effort had been put into the night. This was not just friends making dinner but rather a professional experience where the hosts separated themselves from the guests, allowing us to be catered for like any other establishment.
Not only was every course vegan, but they were all presented with such love that the low cost (of only £18 per person) made you want to pay more – from the homemade miso butter and focaccia, to the crispy romesco aubergine and stuffed ravioli.
“The intimacy of the event encouraged everyone to put away their screens and unplug from the online world”
As the slow music played in the background, there was a level of confidentiality that I quite liked – it was me and 10 other diners, all of whom were unique and interesting. There were two Irish girls, a more serious woman who came alone because she heard of the supper club at her gym, and an elegant couple who were straight out of a 90s romcom. Although we were different, we were all in the same boat, so this commonality meant everyone could relax and open up.
What struck me as significant was the fact that none of us went on our phones at all. Even when the first awkward introductions were made, we remained present. The intimacy of the event encouraged everyone to put away their screens and unplug from the online world and in the end, we really focused on the shared real life experience.
