Chef Mark Coulton comes up with some surprising venues for his supper club
Look who’s coming to supper!
There’s a growing trend amongst diners to give high street restaurants a miss and opt instead for a supper club. It’s a kind of dinner party with new friends at an unusual venue, prepared by someone who enjoys cooking.
While Wales can’t claim to have started this phenomenon, we are catching up quickly. One of the first Welsh supper clubs to emerge is based in Abergavenny, food capital of Wales and home to the famous Food Festival (15-16 September 2012). A variation on the secretive supper clubs found in Londoners’ dining rooms, Foodworkshop Supper Club is not organised by a talented amateur cook but rather by a professional chef, Mark Coulton. The owner of a successful event catering company, Mark’s credentials couldn’t be better – he worked for Franco Taruschio at The Walnut Tree in the 1990s and has won Great Taste Awards for his ‘Chef in the Freezer’ range. So why’s he getting involved in supper clubs? ‘I enjoy being with diners, connecting
with them, finding out what they think; that’s how I get inspired to develop new dishes from the very best local produce. As a chef who spends a great deal of time providing
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catering for large corporate and private events, it’s exciting to get intimate again. To spend time creating a great meal for twenty to thirty people,’ says Mark. Unlike some supper clubs, Mark is keen
that he uses different venues each time. ‘It all adds to the event being distinctive and gets me thinking creatively about the theme for the evening which is reflected in the food and drink we serve. So, for example, in summer we may go to a vineyard and have a barbeque with a great selection of wines. In winter, when the game shooting season is in full swing, we’re more likely to serve pheasant on a country estate. One of the most interesting was a Murder Mystery supper club held on a wintry night in Sessions House in Usk, complete with Victorian court room,’ Mark adds. Word has spread quickly about Mark’s supper club and he is regularly approached by people with ideas for future venues – an historic building, a village hall, a farmhouse.
While Mark likes to keep people guessing about what he’ll do next, he’s consistent about one thing: ‘At our supper club you’ll always get great, local, seasonal food,’ he says. So if you don’t fancy cooking on holiday
or want a change from the hotel restaurant, try Foodworkshop Supper Club – the new eating out.
supperclubwales.co.uk
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