While the vast range of restaurants in New York City is enough to satiate any food enthusiast, supper clubs offer an alternative way for self-proclaimed connoisseurs to engage with fellow food lovers over a good meal. These community organizations allow New Yorkers to come together to cook, eat and discover all things food. Especially for students, supper clubs can act as a way to find both an off-campus hobby and a new community of foodie friends.
Cookbook Club
Cookbook Club hosts several events dedicated to cooking and eating recipes from a variety of cultural cookbooks. From public parks to members’ apartments, the location and intimacy of this supper club’s meals vary. Just a few weeks ago, the club held a Lunar New Year event, where attendees hauled their cookware to Greenpoint and attempted dishes from the Leung family’s cookbook “The Woks of Life.” The club also serves as a forum to learn about other food-based events and gatherings in the city. Join Cookbook Club’s Discord server to stay updated on its upcoming meals.
RecCreate Collective
For the artsy students who enjoy eclectic crafts, this one’s for you. RecCreate Collective is an arts and crafts club that hosts a medley of ticketed events — and while it isn’t focused solely on food, many of its events offer the opportunity to decorate baked goods. Each activity begins with an opening ceremony where guests are encouraged to mingle and meditate. Afterward is an “inspiration session” to jumpstart your creative flow — and a feast if you attended a food-related event — along with demonstrations of the day’s craft. Although RecCreate’s food-oriented activities like cake decorating tend to draw a skilled crowd, no art experience is necessary — indulging in buttercream frosting, vibing to good music and talking to new people is for everyone.
Central Park Cookbook Club
For students looking for a change of scenery, try this supper club that draws dozens of home cooks and bakers from all over the city to Central Park. Driven by the simple desire to dine, the Central Park Cookbook Club has participants select a cookbook every month — each member is then tasked with preparing a different recipe from the cookbook for the club’s upcoming meetup. Previous flavorsome forays have featured cookbooks such as Toni Tipton-Martin’s “Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking” and Pamela Anderson’s “I Love You: Recipes from the Heart.” During the winter months, meetups move to indoor locations in Upper Manhattan — but with spring approaching, you can expect the club to return to Central Park. Message the club’s Instagram account for the link to its Discord server.
The Salon
An Indian supper club founded by artist Ananya Chopra and fashion designer Kritika Manchanda, The Salon is known for its refined dinner parties that feature elegant South Asian cuisine. The club, which hosts one dinner per month at a loft on Bowery, was featured in Vogue India two years ago for bringing young South Asian New Yorkers together. At The Salon, you should expect creatives and intellectuals who take pride in discussing food and culture. Chopra and Manchanda, both of whom grew up in India, use their family recipes as inspiration for The Salon’s dinners, bringing nostalgia and delicacy to the table. Although previous events have been priced at $175 per person, for any students sick of NYU dining halls, attending a dinner at The Salon just once is a worthy special occasion.
Contact Ashwin Nanda at [email protected].
