Amid the crisp damask table linen, beautiful centrepieces, vintage candelabra with fat white candles dripping wax stalactites and the slender flutes of bubbly, you wouldn’t expect guests to blow soap bubbles at each other and giggle like kids in a playground.
The glistening bubbles punctuated a four-hour epicurean feast, where guests were treated to delicate sea bream and fennel ceviche, seaweed-baked pomfret with puréed cauliflower, tender short ribs with pear-glazed chestnuts and a divine white chocolate, pepper corn cheesecake with spiced plum and ginger crumble — a veritable feast fit for an emperor.
This wasn’t a private dinner party or a setting at one of the city’s hip new restaurants. Instead, it is the perfect marriage of the two, with an added dollop of mystery.
Dubai’s social concierge service Lime and Tonic hosted the Secret Supper Club’s Emperor’s Kitchen event earlier this month. The club is among a new wave of underground supper clubs in the emirates. Clandestine meetings, random locations, secret instructions and some of the most creative menus are all part of the attraction.
Although it has taken over the foodie capital of the UAE, the real capital, Abu Dhabi, is on a par with Dubai.
Buthaina Al Mazroui and Al Amira Noor Bani Hashim, founders of The Dinner Club No57, describe their secret supper club as “a new way of experiencing food”.
Every month they choose a different location, gather a group of unique individuals, and serve delicious, beautiful, mouth-watering food. “Think of it as a surprise underground party for your senses. But better,” adds Buthaina.
Made popular around the same time that the culture of eating locally grown food has become fashionable, supper clubs have been steadily increasing in numbers all over the globe, from Sydney to San Francisco and Hong Kong to London, gaining zeitgeist status in the food world.
The original supper clubs started out as acts of rebellion; the prohibition speakeasies and Cuban paladares were of a truly underground nature. These gave way to supper clubs that were seen as a reaction to fine dining establishments, an antidote to the kind of restaurants that charge $50 (Dh183) for a salad.
For instance, popular in Hong Kong for over a decade, the si fang cai — or speakeasies — in private homes are considered by many to have the best food in the city.
From casual soirées eschewing the trappings of fancy food, the earlier secret supper clubs have given way to a new breed of clubs that is posh, intimate and promise a culinary experience like none other. It is this breed that has made its way to the UAE.
“The idea came about in October, because we were getting impatient with the process of opening our boutique café, No57, so we decided to get our name out there by starting our own supper club,” says Al Amira. Three weeks later, they hosted their first event at a construction site for a villa in Abu Dhabi. Today’s professional version of the anti-restaurant offers chefs and owners the potential to test the waters without the prohibitive costs of opening their own establishment.
For chef Tomas Reger, Lime and Tonic offers the perfect platform. Reger bills himself as a consultant and private chef who provides exceptional bespoke dinning experiences. As for why he would prefer working here rather than at a Michelin-starred restaurant is easy to understand. “I partnered with Lime and Tonic to develop a pop-up food concept that would suit Dubai,” he says. “It gives me the opportunity to come up with new ideas and dishes and to cook for new people — all without having an actual restaurant that would limit my creativity.”
Lime and Tonic has a presence in London, Sydney, Rio, Prague and since October in Dubai. “We do secret dinners in all our locations and we wanted to also provide our members the opportunity to experience this here,” explains Tareq Sanad, Managing Director.
“The concept itself is quite simple — to be an (un)restaurant experience, a dining experience that is not in your normal restaurant set-up.”
Says Buthaina: “It all starts with a strong idea of the type of place we would like to host it in. We really try to think outside the box: how far we can go. We then try to source an available venue.”
One of their dinners was hosted in a school bus. “The bus we found was a functional school bus that we had less than 24 hours to completely gut out and transform and at the end of the evening we had to return it to its original state so the driver could collect the kids the next morning,” says Buthaina.
Once the location is set, Al Amira gets inspired to create a look that is in complete contrast with the place. Buthaina then feeds off on that inspiration and creates a menu that complements the design and atmosphere.
At Lime and Tonic things work a little differently, “We come up with a theme for the dinner first,” Reger. “So far we’ve had art, movie, fashion and Venice. The theme inspires me to create a menu with the best available ingredients. We always ask people for their preferences and allergies, but that challenges more than limits me.”
A huge part of the appeal of these clubs is credited to not just the hip factor but the ego boost it gives to guests.
“People like being part of a secret club,” says Reger, “which is why we limit the number of guests to between 16 and 20, to maintain the exclusivity.”
Sanad is of the opinion that people are always looking for something different, something that hasn’t been done before and with the secret supper club that is something that people find to be a key attraction.
“Our dinners work because of all the thought we have put into every detail. From the selection of location, to the set-up, to the food, to the guest list, to the seating arrangement and the mystery behind it all,” says Al Amira.
Plus it is always fun to meet new people that you usually wouldn’t get the opportunity to otherwise.
It is obvious that the pioneers of the secret supper club in the UAE appear to have got the recipe just right.
