How to start a supper club

I'm a Foodie with a capital 'F', so it's probably no surprise that I'm a big supporter of supper clubs. In college I was part of a supper club for years, and even though I'm not in college anymore I still try to keep it up. Here's a guide to start your own amazing supper club, including different types of supper clubs and a few tips and tricks I've learned.

But first, a few reasons why you should start a supper club of your own:

Why supper clubs are brilliant

#1 It's a great way to try out new recipes or share your own oldies-but-goodies. For me, supper clubs are the best occasions to experiment with new recipes, and a nice break from my usual "cooking-for-one routine".

#2 You get to meet and eat with some great, new people. Invite new people over! The food always becomes a natural conversation topic, so even if people are a bit shy, you'll always have something to talk about.

#3 Dinner is sorted. This  is especially great on weekdays. And if you're lucky, there are enough leftovers for dinner the next day.

#4 It's usually the start of something more. My college supper club was not only the start of some of great friendships. We started watching Game of Thrones on Mondays, and went out on pub crawls in the spring and had Tour-de-Chambre events in autumn.

#5 You decide the level of fancy cooking. It doesn't have to be either expensive or fancy food. If you're on a budget you can always make a cheap pasta dish or soup. People will love it either way.

Different types of supper clubs

#1 The regular.  This is the way I do supper clubs now: I invite a group of friends over, and I do the cooking with my roommate. We usually don't bother with starters and just serve a main course and a dessert, which is perfectly fine.

#2 Taking turns. At my student housing there was a common house, where we took turns cooking every Monday. It was a great way of doing it, because it meant only cooking on Mondays once every other month.

#3 Potluck dinner. The idea is pretty simple: Everyone brings a dish. Of course you can always coordinate a little bit, so you don't end up with five nearly identical dishes. Also, if you're really competitive you can offer a prize for best dish.

#4 The breakfast club. Having a breakfast club instead of a supper club is really fun. In my experience all you need is pancakes and coffee, and you have the perfect start of the weekend.

Other tips and tricks

Budget: As I said: It doesn't have to be fancy. With a little planning you can make soup and cake for about 3,5 £ per person. Just make sure to let people know the budget in advance.

What do your guest bring? Drinks, snacks, starters, dessert. If you need your guest to bring something, let them know. Usually people are happy to bring something.

How often? Depending on the size it can vary a great deal. I try to have people over every six weeks.

How many? Try to invite a handful of you're good friends and see how that goes. If it's fun and (almost) stress free, you can always invite more people next time. You can also ask you're friends to bring someone along.

Monday supper club. Supper clubs are not just for the weekend. Trust me, there's nothing better than getting together on a "school night". It's great to have something to look forward to after a hard day's work.

Dessert. It's basically a must-have. Dessert makes everything better. Period.

Washing up. If you spent hours cooking, you deserve some help washing up afterwards. You can easily turn it into a game, and it's done in no time.

I hope this has inspired you to start a supper club of your own. Please share if you have other great tips for supper clubs.