The concept of a supperclub is often one of two things, sometimes both.
It’s lazy and badly managed. Or it’s a terrifying event where you are sat next to people you have nothing in common with for tedious conversations in between the chef coming out and lecturing everyone about the tiny morsel that you are about to eat.
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I’m very happy to report that Michelle Trusselle‘s passion project, Myristica threw my dismissive preconceptions of what a supperclub could be out of the window and replaced them with an urge to save up for a flight to Grenada.
On arrival at a shiny office building in central London, the location of which is kept secret until you book your place, we met with a varied but small and cosy group of diners, all with interesting backgrounds and reasons for coming to the dinner that evening. What we all had in common is that we’d been drawn to this evening by what Marcus Wareing has dubbed “Caribbean royalty on a plate”.
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You might recognise Michelle from her time on Masterchefs : The Professionals last year where she finished as a semi-finalist but Myristica is the first time she is letting her Caribbean heritage truly come to the fore. A warm welcome met our group as we stepped out of the lift, into the open plan dining space, London bustling below us. With the team’s signature nutmeg and prosecco cocktail in hand we pored over the beautifully laid long table with hand written menus for the evenings curated menu.
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On the evening we visited, the menu was crafted around two key spices in Caribbean cooking ; mace and nutmeg. In fact, the supper club’s name Myristica is the latin moniker for the tree that creates both and is native of Grenada. We start with crab rolls and sweet potato bon bons, lightly fragranced with the spices before leaping into the most heavenly brioche I’ve ever tasted. Judging by the gasps and delighted clapping as these made it to the table brought by Michelle and her team of two, these pillowy brioches with whipped pillowy nutmeg butter make it to many of Michelle’s supper club menus. Sure enough, you can read about them here in this sample menu.
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From the brioche we moved swiftly onto a Tomato Choka, Michelle’s take on a Trinidadian classic and then before we could all wonder how they were turning out such perfect dishes from a straightforward kitchen (you can spy on them as the whole affair is open plan, a real treat to see professionals at work) the delightful lobster course (pictured above) appeared as if by magic.
With each course being the perfect small plate, we were both satisfied by this point in the meal but excited for the remaining main and two (yes, two) desserts. As we sliced into the soft, delicately flavoured Pan Fried Chicken dish with Potato Fondant we glanced at the time and realised that we had happily whiled away 3 hours already in the best possible way.
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Sadly, due to realising the time and the impending last train home, we had to forgo the final dish of the evening, another crowd pleaser according to the two friends and couple sitting either side of us. We bequeathed our desserts to our new dining buddies (who were only too delighted to take care of them for us) and bid farewell to Michelle and her team, vowing to come back – and book a hotel for the night next time around. Judging by the convivial scene around the long table that we left behind, I’m sure that the dinner table chat of travels to the Caribbean, family recipes and culinary inventions could go on into the wee hours.
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The five-course tasting menu Myristica experience, including canapes and petit fours, costs only £80 – £95 per person including a wine pairing.
Dates for the upcoming Myristica Supper Clubs are 13th July, 3rd August, 21st September, 19th October, 30th November. Book in for the Supper Club here: https://www.myristica.co/
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