Cambridge Edition February 2023 - Newsletter

SAVOUR & SIP

HIDDEN AROUND THE CITY, A SMORGASBORD OF SUPPER CLUBS ARE READY TO BE DISCOVERED – MIRIAM BALANESCU TUCKS IN TROUPERS Supper JOIN THE CLUB

T he drinks are already flowing (maybe Street. There’s a sense of anticipation as new arrivals pile into the space, conversations starting up between old friends and strangers. We sit down according to the seating plan and, as the night sets in, the evening is as much a conversational feast as a gastronomic adventure, featuring stout-infused Italian bread, curry- flavoured taralli and sun-dried tomato panettone. I’m here for an event organised by Pina Broccoli Anaia of One Two unsurprisingly) and music plays loudly through the speakers by the time I arrive at Brewboard’s pop-up taproom on Green

traditional supper clubs, with guests gathering in the pâtissier’s sitting room around one immense table, decked out with special wares. “Every time, people have a conversation about the tablecloth!” she laughs. “I remember sitting around the table every night with my parents and my brother,” recalls Corinne. “It was all about the food. What I wanted to do with the bistro was a similar thing, people sitting around the table and sharing a plate of food. The bistro isn’t about fine dining. It’s not about a pretty place, or pretty presentations. It’s just simple food, shared simply.” Raised on Réunion Island, she started creating

It’s not about a pretty place, or pretty presentations. It’s just simple food, shared simply

her own French pastries and confections, often with a Creole twist – her passion fruit tart winning a Great Taste award. “What was missing from the patisserie was

Culinary Stew, a marrying of the taste-bud-tickling brews at this craft beer staple and the tasty treats found at Signorelli’s Il

Mercato. “I’m the person in the middle,” Pina tells me over the music. “I put it all together and take away the admin!”

my culinary background,” Corinne explains. And so, she founded her own cookery school – run from home – with a supper club following in 2018. “It was a way for me to introduce Réunion food to the English palates,” Corinne says of her monthly bistros, which alternate between French and Creole cuisine. “The British palate is an adventurous one. In France, it’s still a very traditional market. I wanted the proper home-cooked French food without the faff. “I could have gone and got an industrial unit, but I didn’t want to do that,” claims Corinne. “I always say when people come to Réunion, don’t go to the

This is just one of many tantalising culinary events cropping up around the city. While not a supper club per se, these foodie voyages designed by Pina have grown out of a supper club tradition in Cambridge. Such events are difficult to define, with more chefs and restaurants wanting a taste of the action, but originally they were organised by home cooks inviting food lovers to their houses to sample their very finest. Le Bistrot Clandestin, hosted by Gourmandises Académie’s Corinne Payet, is one of Cambridge’s more

42 FEBRUARY 2023 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK

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