I ran across a subscription from 2005 to an online cooking forum. The reason I was interested in subscribing at the time was because I was looking to expand my culinary skills and at the same time try to meet like-minded people to share in discussions of food, sharing recipes, and just being social with people without going to hang out at a bar or a club. I stumbled upon http://www.cookinglight.com/cooking/co/0,14430,,00.html. I was so excited about joining an existing one or starting a new one. Some people expressed interest, but then it never got off the ground. At least I didn’t join. I don’t live or am near that area anymore. Now two years later I find my posts and the responses I received and never answered….I feel BAD. I’m sure all those people moved on and either started their own club or fell off just like myself.
What I liked about the Supper Clubs idea:
- Meeting new people and socialization
- Something for you and your friends to do to get together
- A variety of menu ideas
- Don’t have to put together an entire meal by yourself
- Cost effective
What I didn’t like about the Supper Clubs idea (which ultimately made me lose interest) was my fear of dependency and the fear of the mundane. Let me explain. Perhaps this is just me. I was afraid of meeting strangers, even if they had the same interests, and not hitting it off with them. Now I would have committed to this club and I didn’t want to start something I couldn’t follow through on. So I shied away from the idea. Now my close friends, at the time and at the age I was at, none of the friends who lived close enough to entertain this idea were really into cooking. The ones that would be into cooking and trying this idea out, lived too far to do this even on a weekly basis. So for this to work out and be somewhat convenient for all parties involved, I’d say that you couldn’t live outside a 5 mile radius from one another. This all becoming too much of a chore, was the last thought which held me back at the time.
From what I read on www.cookinglight.com this concept has been a hit since its inception in 1999. Supper Clubs have really taken off all over the world. It is like that with anything, it takes a certain person. Everything is sparked by an interest. :-) I would definitely be interested in starting a supper club with my friends if we all lived within a 10 to 15 mintue drive from one another. The most I’d probably do is 20 minutes. Still that still doesn’t take care of my fear of it becoming a chore.
My personal experience:
I once did what I called a “Lunch Pool” with a former co-worker. She and I would take turns cooking and bringing lunch. We started with taking weekly turns. At first it was great, I thought. She cooked a different ethnic cuisine and so did I. So the “new” and the “different” definitely impressed me. Then I realized that while I was making my exotic and healthful meals, she was cooking a lot of one dish meals which used a lot of starchy vegetables and a very cheap cut of meat. I was very disappointed and felt that it wasn’t fair. Without jumping the gun and getting too upset, I asked her where she shopped. What the indgredients were, and what kind of cut it was if it were beef. So when I confirmed my suspicions I had to start making excuses as to why I couldn’t continue anymore. Yes, yes it was very cowardly of me! How do you confront someone and tell them “I’m not cooking anymore because I’m spending money on really fresh and healthy ingredients. You’re being a cheapskate and you’re going to turn us both fat and give us a heart attack.” I felt horrible for even thinking that, but that was how I felt and it was the truth. I’m not a splurger by any means. I’m very frugal. Frugal still doesn’t mean you have to eat in an unhealthy way.
Stay tuned and I’ll show you how to make food stretch in my future posts! Plus we’re gonna keep it as healthy as we can. 
