What going to a Supper Club is really like
I was so excited to be able to have a guest experience at our latest supper club ‘Supper at Sea’ and wanted to share my experience…
Written by Lily, founder of Dinner Ladies in September 2022, about Supper at Sea on the first night of September.
This year we hosted 2 evenings of Supper at Sea and having worked on the first evening, it was my time to be wined and dined on night two.
It was a lukewarm evening but given the oppressive heat wave we had recently had, the evening had a cold chill in the air which definitely felt like the start of Autumn. The weather has always been anxiety inducing for this supperclub, as it is an outdoor event, situated on the balcony of the Rowing club, overlooking the Thames. We want guests to feel as close to the water as possible. Whether to seat guests inside or outside is tensely debated until about an hour before guests arrive.
As darker clouds loomed and lingered, I handed over the fatal decision to the team working that evening and tried to forget about it. When I approached the Rowing club, long elegant rowing boats were being lifted at angles overhead across the pink sunset sky. Lycra clad rowers littered the embankment, creating an exciting bustle as they came onto the shores from their evening row. The scene is truly set the minute you set foot on the riverside.
I strolled in through the doors at the London rowing club and was handed a delicious, themed cocktail on arrival. Presented on sand boxes, I was transported straight to the beach. For the signature cocktail we infused gin with off cuts from the menu; cucumber skins, chilli tops, lemon rinds, fennel tops and apple cores. Once infused with all that flavour, we topped it with English sparkling wine, elderflower & lemon juice. The results were a very fresh and zingy British cocktail that felt like summer at the seaside in a cup.
As I stepped into the dining room, one long table was set up banquet style inside and it looked so beautiful. The angst and worry of not sitting outside melted away as the table sparkled in candlelight under a canopy of fairy lights, hanging from an upside-down rowing boat attached to the ceiling. Welcome drinks were out on the balcony, where we could admire the warm glow of the sunset and the last of the rowers, gliding effortlessly across the water. Our first bite was brought to us on the terrace, oysters al fresco, with pickled vegetables and a yuzu mayo, served on natural hay.
When we entered the dining room, the table was already laid with exciting canapé trays. Served in groups of six, it was an instant conversation starter, bringing guests closer together to discuss the flavour profiles. 3 exciting canapés were elegantly presented. A bright green lovage soup served in a shot glass was fresh and silky, paired with a seaweed Madeline with goat’s cheese barnacles. There was also a fresh crab doughnut, light, fluffy and full of rich crab flavour.
The detail on the table was a delight. Each name place was a playful paper boat. The detail in the menu design was beautiful. Gold sprayed seashells, starfish and driftwood adorned the table. A simple newspaper was the table runner, bringing back nostalgic memories of fish and chip shops. One of our incredible team had even repurposed leftover wax in candles and remoulded them into shells.
We tried a bottle of the new orange wine on the menu, supplied by Jascots our amazing wine supplier who pair each of our bespoke menus with a wine list to match. The wine was a lovely bright tangerine colour, it was well balanced and a great start to the evening. It complemented the starter very well, a strikingly presented razor clam, cooked and sliced and served in its shell with charred leeks and a merguez sausage cream, under a parmesan crumb. We were told to sprinkle this on, like sand, to give a texture crunch to the dish. I love this kind of playful element to a menu. Next up we moved to the Chablis, a creamy, rich and full-bodied white, but still crisp enough to complement the upcoming courses.
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The next course was almost a palette cleanser in that it was so fresh, crispy and zingy. A mackerel tartare plated onto a sesame cracker, cut with apple, cucumber and fennel with a watercress puree.
Our main course was an amazing take on fish, curry sauce and chips. A delectable piece of hake had been marinated in an amazingly rich curry sauce, paired with sea vegetables and delicious crunchy vegetable crisps and bombay potatoes. The dish also had a bright green mint chutney and pickled pink onions, a real colour bomb and a satisfying end to the savoury courses. The pudding was so fun and creative, an upside-down ice-cream splattered onto the plate, made of an incredible puff pastry cone, a fig leaf ice cream and fig syrup. The perfect playful end to what was a really memorable evening and one that I will never forget.
