How To Start Your Own Supper Club

One of life’s great pleasures is sharing good food and drink with family and friends. A great way to do this is to have a regular gathering at someone’s home. If you make it a recurring event with a regular group of friends, everyone knows the date and can attend when available. So here is how to start a supper club of your own.

What is a Supper Club?

A supper club (or foodie’s night) is a chance to get together at someone’s home and share some great food and drinks. You can organize it however you’d like to work for your group.  The format is flexible.

A Few Ideas

• Pick a country or cuisine as the theme. Everyone brings a drink or dish. The host for the month coordinates the menu so you have a range of appetizers, main dishes and desserts.
• Potluck – everyone brings their latest favorite dish so you can try recent recipe finds.
• Pick a cookbook with everyone cooking a recipe from the book. Use the library for this if you don’t want to buy the book.
• You can also have someone host, set the menu and ask others to bring what they need for the night.
• Create a seasonal menu to showcase what is available at the local market.
• Tie it to a trip by exploring the foods for an upcoming trip destination or share favorite foods you discovered while traveling.
• Lunch or dinner? Breakfast, even? A supper club doesn’t necessarily have to meet over supper.
• Work your way through the alphabet, picking a theme for each letter.
• Mix it up! Try a formal meal, drinks and appetizers, a wine tasting evening, a BBQ at the park or pairing beer and food.

6 Steps to Help You Start Your Own Supper Club

1. Determine how many members?

Do you want a small group of dedicated members or a larger, looser group, providing flexibility if people are unable to attend every month?

2. How often will you meet?

Save the date by putting your Supper Club nights in your calendar to ensure that you and your friends schedule other activities around it. Yes, there will be times when you can’t make it, but it will be something you look forward to and won’t want to miss.

3. Hosting Duties?

Decide the role of the host. Responsibilities might include organizing and coordinating invitations, RSVPs and the menu. Does the host choose the theme be it a cuisine, country or cookbook? Or do you agree on the next meal’s theme as a group?

4. Where to Meet?

Think about where you will meet. A member with great outdoor area might perfect for a summer meeting. Someone with a small house might select a local park or a cocktail evening. Someone with a large entertaining area might have it at their home while someone else is performing the duties of “hosting”.

5. Organize the Menu: Meal and Drinks

Get organized. Use tools such as Evite or Punchbowl, Facebook or Google calendar organize invitations, track RSVPs and coordinate the menu – or simply email friends and family about the idea.

And don’t forget the drinks! Options include everyone bringing something, drinks in lieu of cooking, the host providing, or vary it according to the menu.

To make it easy for your first meeting, here are 8 Complete Dinner Party Menus for Easy Entertaining at Home. Each menu is based on the cuisine of a different country and includes recipes and drink suggestions.

6. Enjoy it!

Have fun, eat some great food, find a new favorite recipe, and enjoy the company. You don’t have to be a great cook to start a supper club, just an enthusiastic eater!

Elizabeth writes regularly about discovering the world through food and travel over at Compass and Fork. This post was originally featured there.