The supper club is making a comeback. Maybe it’s a renewed interest in things from the Roaring 20s (you know, Gatsby and gin cocktail recipes), perhaps we just want to be social again post-pandemic. Most likely, it’s just about our age-old tie to communal dining and how magical a good meal in good, intimate company can be.
Right now, the supper club is bouncing back. Establishments like BATA, one of the best restaurants in America, host dinner parties built around communal tables and conversation. In Los Angeles, outfits like the Lele Dinner Club have become so popular that the waitlist includes some 6,000 names alone.
Stephen Werther is the co-founder of SAVIENNE. A club of sorts, the organization curates multi-day culinary experiences in partnership with the James Beard Foundation. They involve top culinary minds and take place before dramatic backdrops like chateaus in Provence and private beaches in Costa Rica.
Presently, SAVIENNE’s destination list includes France, Costa Rica, Panama, Italy, Spain, Morocco, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic. Incredibly intimate, these food-centric gatherings involve just 20-30 guests on average. It’s part of what some are calling the third wave of the dinner party movement.
For context, the fist major movement of supper club-like gatherings took place in and around Prohibition. The second wave came as a result of desperation just a few years ago as COVID had us sheltering in place and we could not help but try to meet up—safely, mind you—and eat. The third wave is unfolding as we speak.
“Supper clubs echo Gertrude Stein’s legendary salons of 1920s Paris, where she gathered artists, writers, politicians, and cultural voices for unforgettable evenings of conversations and connections in her home,” he says. “Memorable gatherings centered around food, drink, and conversation will never go out of style.”
What’s driving the supper club revival today?
The recent pandemic, of course, was hard on the industry. It was also hard on our social nature, making it a devastating one-two punch on our collective need to gather and eat. “We were all starved for in-person social interaction,” Werther says. “Large tables of friends (new and old) are exactly what we could not have during the pandemic. And now we are getting as many of them as possible into our lives. ”
Thus far, Werther says, the reaction has been incredibly enthusiastic and positive. “We are well above our projections and expectations and are thrilled with the response to SAVIENNE,” he says. It speaks to the timelessness of the approach and also how the company is executing it.
Essentially, it’s like going to a state dinner or attending a party put on by an award-winning chef. “These are intimate dinners and weekends with the chefs and winemakers joining the tables and becoming part of the evening,” Werther says. “You will feel like you have been invited to dinner at the home of a Michelin-starred chef and you are the guest of honor.”
Who are you dining with? Fellow food enthusiasts, for certain, but also local artists, musicians, winemakers, and more. It’s an immersive approach, giving you a seat at the cultural table, so to speak, whether that be in a villa in Italian wine country or a historic property in Marrakesh.
That kind of transparency is perhaps more attractive than ever. Diners, liker drinkers and consumers in general, want to know more about what they’re eating. They want to know about the characters behind it, how it was made, and ideally dine around those who prepared it.
Behind the scenes: Chefs and creatives shaping the supper club scene
There’s a seriousness to the cast involved as well. Werther is a culinary veteran and former business partner of Anthony Bourdain. Co-founder Johnny Hoang also helped start the award-winning FAM Hospitality Group. Joshua Wesson works as wine advisor to SAVIENNE. He’s an acclaimed sommelier who’s won many awards, some from the James Beard Foundation. Merissa Principe rounds out the team, a celebrity travel advisor and the company’s in-house concierge.
The lineup of chefs is equally impressive. Think James Beard Award-winner Nina Compton, who also finished as runner-up on season eleven of Top Chef. Or James Beard Award-winner Chintan Pandya, the bright culinary mind behind Indian restaurants like Adda and Dhamaka in New York City. Other big names include Anita Lo, William Dissen, Johnny Curiel, and more.
The result is a bucket list level meal in the company of creative minds, cooked by some of the most talented chefs in the game. You can strike up a conversation with a poet across the table or pick the vintner’s brain about their approach. And you get to do it on some of the most breathtaking estates on the planet. That’s a supper club we’d like to sign up for.
What’s next for SAVIENNE? “Expanding to other spectacular parts of the world, in particular Asia,” says Werther. “Also, hosting special dinners in conjunction with some of the important cultural and sports events around the world. F1 races, Grand Slam tennis events, Art Basel, World Cup matches, and more.”
The supper club is back and, arguably, better than ever.
