Eating together helps to create strong relationships and a growing trend in the UK proves that British people know that very well! Many new clubs, projects and charities are using food to bring people together, whether they are travellers or elderly people looking for company or newly-arrived refugees looking for ways to integrate in society.
DO IT YOURSELF
The new ‘Supper Clubs’ are small DIY restaurants that people create in their own homes. Also known as ‘secret dining’, it’s quite easy to do. All you need is a large enough room and a few tables. You decide on the menu – everyone eats the same thing to minimize costs – and then you invite your guests.
The whole idea is to stimulate interesting meetings and conversations between strangers. It’s best to do it for free the first couple of times while you practise your cooking and catering techniques, then, once you’re confident, you can start asking for a contribution. To avoid the legal problem of selling alcohol, just ask people to bring a bottle!
MAKING FRIENDS
It’s a great way to get to know people, especially in large cities. Many supper club hosts try to make their suppers special by experimenting with cuisines from around the world, inviting guest chefs, or including music, poetry readings or art exhibitions. Mother and daughter Anita and Monica Sawney started ‘The Spice Club’ in their flat in Manchester, serving delicious Indian food and offering cookery classes. They now host clubs all over the city. The food writer and chef Denise Baker-McClearn runs the Moel Faban Supper Club in north Wales for a maximum of eight guests. The recipes are international but the food is local.
PRACTISE YOUR ENGLISH
If you’d like to eat at a supper club the next time you’re in the UK, just search online for ‘supper club’ and the name of the town where you’re staying, to find a list of places. What better way to chat in English and meet some interesting people?
Some supper club hosts have turned their home catering into a business. Drinks companies selling organic wine or locally produced beer are often happy to provide sponsorship in return for the publicity they get via the club’s network. Other supper clubs have a more charitable orientation. This can simply mean making an extra portion for an elderly person living alone in the neighbourhood. Alternatively, it can involve real social benefits.
COMMUNITY SPIRIT
The E5 Roasthouse in Poplar, London is a coffee shop that employs refugee women who have been trained to bake bread in the nearby E5 Bakehouse. The project gives the women a new skill, English lessons and a means of giving something back to the community.
A GREAT IDEA
Fat Macy’s is another social enterprise that supports and trains vulnerable young Londoners, who live in temporary accommodation. Participants learn cooking and catering skills and the profits from the supper clubs they organise go into a housing deposit scheme, which helps the young people to afford their own homes.
If you choose to eat at a supper club in the UK, not only will you have an interesting evening with great food at reasonable prices, you could be making a real contribution to someone’s life. You could even take the idea home with you!
http://www.e5bakehouse.com
http://www.fatmacys.org
Here are some handy phrases to help you book a meal:
• Hello, is that the ‘……’ supper club?
•Do you have any space for this evening/next Friday evening?
•Is it OK if I bring a friend?
• Can you tell me what’s on the menu?
• Do you have a vegetarian option?
• Can I pay by card or do you only take cash?
• Do I need to bring a bottle?
• Do you charge for corkage?
•That’s great! See you tomorrow at 8.
Some simple phrases to break the ice with strangers:
• Have you been to a supper club before?
• Can I top up your glass?
• This is delicious!
• Can you recommend anything?
• Could you pass the salt/pepper?
• I’m sorry, I didn’t catch your name.
• Do you know many people here?
To listen to the “Everyday Dialogues – Booking a Table at a Restaurant”, click here.
Quiz:
https://www.learnenglishfeelgood.com/travelenglish/tourism-english-bar1.html
Practice Exercises – http://www.hkhk.edu.ee/eope/catering/practice_exercises6.html
Listening
Happy Knowledge 