For Southerners, a supper club is more than a shared mealit’s a lifelong tie that binds.
A cooking co-op shares the meal-prep duties, but participants do not always eat together.
Asupper clubis a little bit of each of these, but it goes further, deeper, and longer.
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We’ve gathered recipes and ideas for organizing your own supper club.
What Is A Southern Supper Club?
Supper clubsgather regularly and remain intact for years, sometimes even decades.
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Members take their participation very seriously, sticking together despite life’s inevitable interruptions and other challenges.
The mix of participantsincluding their personalities and proclivitiesis not indiscriminate.
Everyone in the group must get along and have compatible expectations on how the supper club will operate.
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No supper club meal should be mistaken for a humdrum dinner at home.
Food matters to supper clubs, but abiding friendship and consistent fellowship matter most.
How Does A Supper Club Work?
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There are no fixed rules for supper clubs, but there is surprising consistency on certain points.
Members take turns as congenial hosts and charming guests.
If possible, everyone in the group should know someone else.
This way, everyone can plan around it and its easy to remember.
Moving the date to accommodate schedules and plans may make gatherings less consistent.
Decide whether you want to have a set meeting place or rotate locations.
Will meals be a sit-down format or a casual gathering with appetizers, drinks, and desserts?
Themes will help set the tone for the meal and what dishes guests will bring.
There really are no rules.
Go with what works best for your group.
Add more dishes for more people, such as another side and a second dessert.
Most of the ladies have known one another since elementary or high school.
Spouses are invited only for Christmas.
“Once a year is enough,” she says.
They have a blast.
They also have themes.
Some, such as Halloween, are obvious.
The formation of the club ensures they keep their promise.
The first gathering went so well that they had another and have kept it going since 1999.
The host selects and prepares the entree and bread, and the others bring sides and desserts.
“We never tire of Miss Clyde’s sourdough rolls,” says Alice.
When she suggested they get together and cook for each other instead, a serious supper club was born.
They plan the themes and menus down to the smallest detailsfrom ingredients to companion beverages to decor.
“This is our deliberate gathering,” says Thomas.
“We get together because we really want to be together.
Our camaraderie and consistency are stronger than our busyness that would otherwise pull us in different directions.”
