March 21st, 2011

JAMIE OLIVER SUPPERCLUB – raising money for charity

That the combination of supper clubs and raising money for charity works, has been shown on several occasions, for example at Fernandez & Leluu and The Friday Food Club (beautifully summarized by The London Foodie HERE).

So it was only a question of time until also commercially successful chefs jump on the supper club bandwagon.Â I was lucky enough to participate in the new Jamie Oliver Supper Club which is now held roughly monthly to raise money for the Jamie Oliver Foundation.

First of all, before you get too excited, I have to make clear that Jamie himself did not cook. In fact he was absent from the event but brilliantly represented by a range of chefs most of which have learned their trade at his restaurant Fifteen, just around the corner from the supper club , North of Old Street tube station.These chefs all have successful careers of their own but returned to their home soil to cook an amazing “Sunday Roast with a Twist”.

The twist was the fact that the whole meal was purely vegetarian – I did not miss the meat for a second. Each of the courses was prepared by a different chef to utter perfection, maybe a bit more luxurious than your every day supper club…

Upon arrival we got a glass of prosecco (I love Sundays that start with prosecco, I am very easy to please and it was lovely to see so many familiar faces and make new foodie acquaintances. Also present and drinking with me were Leluu, The London Foodie, Cooking the Books, Rocket and Squash, AfternoonTease and SlowFoodKitchen.

The meal started with an enormous bowl of Jerusalem Artichoke Soup. This soup was very tasty, the distinct artichoke flavour perfectly complemented by the wild garlic and crunchy pieces of nuts. With the soup came freshly baked bread from the Fifteen bakery.

I was already full after the first course but much more was yet to come. The second course was an old Jamie Oliver Classic – Vegetable Rotolo – basically a thin sheet of pasta filled with spinach, squash and buffalo mozzarella drizzled with sage butter. Beautiful.

Then the Vegetarian Roast consisting of a range of vegetable based delicacies: mushrooms filled with cheese and romanesco, aubergine salad with mint, cabbage parcels and perfectly roasted potatoes.

Last but not least the dessert: naughtily rich and creamy Pavlova with black cherries, orange zest and a ginger infused dark chocolate sauce.

I had a wonderful afternoon, rolling rather than walking out of the door in the end, and all in all 350 pounds for charity were raised. Thank you Danny for organization and perfect hosting!