We’ve decided to start a series of supperclubs.
What took us so long, we know. The concept is simple: basically we take one wildly talented chef – like, say, Jack Coggins of the insanely hot-right-now Goodbye Horses – and we drop them into an unexpected corner of London, or a residential neighbourhood that wouldn’t normally see their style of cooking. Like, for example, East Dulwich.
We’re calling it Dinners Next Door.
And for our debut event on Saturday May 17th, as you may have gleaned from small clues like everything we just said, we’re inviting Jack to south London to take over the kitchen at Kanella & Co, a gorgeous, family-run, Greek-Cypriot café in East Dulwich, for one night only, cooking a low-waste, high-flavour, ridiculously tasty three-course menu for a small group of Nudge Members. Oh, and there’ll be wine, too, from the ultra-low carbon outfit LAYLO.
It’s our debut event, and like all good first dates, we’re keeping it small, intimate, and hoping it leads to something more.
Sam Harris
For those who haven’t had a chance to eat Jack’s food yet, here’s a little more about him: he grew up in Hackney, and got his start scrubbing pots & pans while most kids his age were still learning long division. He cooks with a quiet nod to his Greek roots, and his food is clever, low-waste, and full of flavour – not in a preachy way, just in a “why isn’t everyone doing this?” way.
Caitlin Isola
On the evening itself, the space (which is already warm, unfussy, and quietly charming) will be dressed for atmosphere and intimacy, and the menu will include:
Tomato tart with smoked eel & spring vegetables – a roasted tomato tarte tatin, plus caramel spiked with vermouth vinegar, decorated with spring vegetables in a chervil, mint & tarragon salad, and a beurre blanc seasoned with smoked eel.
Yellow chicken & barley ballotine, aubergines & horseradish – a richly spiced chicken ballotine sausage, with barley encased in caul fat, all trussed, butter basted in a pan, carved to order, and sauce seasoned with horseradish and grape mustard.
It comes with a butterhead salad in white pepper vinaigrette, and a roasted aubergine condiment with olive oil & black olives.
Apple ice cream with oxalis & hazelnuts – roasted spiced apple & bread caramel ice cream with a hazelnut praline (made with the apple skins) and Italian meringue spiked with fig leaf vinegar.
The wine going with all of this will come courtesy of the folks at LAYLO, an award-winning start-up who specialise in ultra-low carbon wines (70-90% less than glass bottles) by packaging premium wines in cans & boxes. Each one is expertly sourced by a Master of Wine, so they’re actually amazing, not just ‘amazing for a can’.
Should things go well for our debut event? We’ll certainly be holding more.
NOTE: Dinners Next Door will launch on 17th May with an event by Jack Coggins at Kanella & Co in East Dulwich. Tickets cost £82 and include a three-course meal and three cans (187ml) of LAYLO wine. You can get them HERE.
If you’re a member, you’ll get tickets for £72. To get them, just head to the Member’s Box at the top of this page.
ALSO NOTE: Fancy trying LAYLO from the comfort of your home? Use the code NUDGE20 for £20 off your first order of two or more boxes of wine here.
Not a Nudge Member yet? Start a free trial.
Kanella & Co | 106 Lordship Ln, SE22 8HF
Like superclubs? Here are London’s best pop ups…