What’s the deal with Supper Club?
This club was originally started by me (Kara) 3 years ago, and since then I have served dinner to a couple hundred friends and strangers out of my apartment. It’s kind of crazy, but I love it. I’m not a trained chef, but I consider myself a decent home cook. And I love bringing together people, especially around food. I usually run about two dinners a month and post the menus up on the website (and out to the mailing list.) People RSVP and then I pull together a group of 12 to dine. Most of the people who show up are people I’ve never met before, and most of them are local Brooklynites. It’s great to see what happens when a bunch of strangers are put together in a room with the copious amount of wine I provide. Guests have forged friendships, networked for jobs, and even sparked some romance.
Merrymaking at Supper Club
In addition to doing this because I love the magic of what happens when these people come together, I also thrive on the logistical challenge of pulling together a four-course meal for 12 on a budget, and get it on the table two hours after I get home from work. I often have a sous chef or guest host that helps me with my dinners. Anyone who has come to supper has probably witnessed my generous roommate Julie or affable friend Nicole, pouring wine and offering seconds. Without them, it would be really hard to pull this all off (thank you ladies!)
In terms of the menu, I think I’m getting it down to an art- how to choose pieces that fit well together, have a balance of night before prep and on-the-fly cooking, and work within the $35/person budget. Stay tuned to the site for more dinners and for my tips on how to throw a successful dinner party without completely stressing out (or going broke.)
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Why Ted & Amy?
When I started the Supper Club a few years back with a friend, we both really loved to cook for for our friends, but couldn’t afford to be cooking up great cuts of meat and locally sourced ingredients all the time. So our friends encouraged us to charge them for dinner. Soon after, Ted & Amy Supper Club was born! The name was chosen to honor two great local cooks… Ted Allen and Amy Sedaris. Ted lives in our neighborhood, so we were was hoping if we named a club after him, maybe he’d stop by. Turns out that a few days after the first dinner, I ran into Ted on the street. I told him about the club, and he didn’t seem too creeped out that he was the namesake of a supper club. Ted was actually pretty excited about it! Anyways, we hope one day he’ll be neighborly and pop on in. (and Amy, you’re invited too!)
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Who’s Kara?
“Kara strikes me as some kind of modern innkeeper — she creates a cozy, charming and unpretentious atmosphere, where the usual Brooklyn suspects — writers, professors, artists — can be exactly that.”
–Katherine Goldstein, Huffington Post
I’m Kara. I’m a 30-something New Yorker, living in Fort Greene, Brooklyn. I make websites, hot dogs, and dinner parties.
By day I work at an amazing firm, Fenton, as their web producer. We work almost exclusively with progressive non-profit organizations that are working to improve the world (they’re pretty incredible.) And I get to create their websites. I work with a fabulous team of designers, digital strategists, writers and developers to make it happen. It’s pretty awesome.
Outside of work, I run Ted and Amy Supper Club and The Great Hot Dog Cookoff. If you haven’t checked out the Cookoff, please do. It’s the premier weiner themed event in NY, and we’ve raised over $13,000 for local charities through this annual culinary competition.
For more on Kara, read the recent profile on Serious Eats.
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What are people saying about Supper Club?
Featured review: Huffington Post 5/14/09
This was an early review but I think it really captures the spirit of the communal spirit of Supper Club.
Urban Farm Online 5/13/10
Haute N The Kitchen 4/23/10
The Local 3/26/10
Lettuce Veg 3/11/10
NY Food Chain 12/10/09
Time Out NY 11/15/09
Morta Di Fame 11/4/09
Underground Dining 9/23/09
NY Post 9/16/09
Huffington Post 5/14/09
Hilary’s Hideaway 4/18/08
Not Eating Out in NY 4/20/08
Where I’m Cooking From 5/5/08
Here’s a video from one of the more unusual suppers. Video courtesy of NY Food Chain:
