Alex Haw, organiser of Latitudinal cuisine, a weekly supper club where guests bring a dish, borrowed a large space at The Dairy in Kings Cross. He invited 100 guests, who were told to bring a dish from their country and a candle. Sourcing a thirty metre table and 100 chairs was no mean feat. The candles were lit as the light dimmed on a warm July day. Guests were given numbers three times during the meal, we changed places by seeking the corresponding number on the back of the chair.
Standing up at the beginning of each course, guests introduced their dishes, saying their name, where they came from and why they cooked this dish. One guest brought the first ever recipe, another said “I’m part Indian, part Scottish so it’s curried and deep fried”, a girl from Bologna announced that there was “no such thing as spaghetti Bolognese”. One of the most popular dishes was from the UK…’Coronation Chicken’ originally devised for the Queen’s coronation in 1953.
I brought a tower of profiteroles filled with orange blossom creme patissiere, a practise for next week’s Croquembouche. “I’m not French” I said “but I’ve slept with quite a few French men. Does that count?”
Latitudinal Cuisine. and on Facebook
Different Locations.
Latitudinal world-wide dinner
The Dairy, an amazing space
A map of where we sat initially, according to our longitude
Mains waiting on the side…
A sandwich shaped like a cake!
Dishes and candles
Stylish guests
Alex Haw, looking a bit mad here but usually gorgeous
Guests were asked to dress up
Milk bottle flower vases. Jelly shots
Here’s my number…
Desserts on the sideboard
Pea and mint soup from the UK
Huevos rellenos from Spain
Arepas from Colombia
1000 year old eggs
Irish salmon and soda bread
Changing places
Talking about your dish
morag.macmillan2
I follow both your blogs! Looks DELICIOUS!! Yum…….
theundergroundrestaurant
Thanks Morag!
It really was an amazing event!
LexEat
Beautiful photos! I love the concept!
The Curious Cat
Wow what a fun and wonderful idea! I love it – and the photos! xxx
Latitudinal
thanks for the post, darling; wonderful to see you, and great photos! i didn't dare ask whose nationality the french cream was 😉 til soon, xx a
Latitudinal
thanks for the post, darling; wonderful to see you, and great photos! i didn't dare ask whose nationality the french cream was 😉 til soon, xx a
Anonymous
What a cool creative event! I love all the pictures – the cake sandwich would be a brilliant twist for a kids party meal.
Latitudinal
by the way my darling the table was 30 METRES long – almost a hundred feet 🙂 just designing a bespoke one now generated from the contours of the world…xx
theundergroundrestaurant
Of course, that's what I meant. Have corrected it now.
Yes that cakewich would be great for a kids party!
curatingcontemporary
Fantastic!
We did it too as a X-Mas do for the past two years: every guest has to bring the typical X-Mas dish from their country.
It was very interesting to discover that Birmingham's favourite is curry lamb!
sybin