Hull supper club raises £20,000 for local restaurants
A Hull-based supper club has contributed over £20,000 to local and independent restaurants in the city since its launch in 2014.
Monday Supper Club was launched by Phil Ascough, president of the Hull and Humber Chamber of Commerce, Jan Brumby, chief executive of For Entrepreneurs, and Elaine Burke, an arts consultant and projects director, in order to raise awareness of small, independent restaurants in the area.
The supper clubs offer guests a three-course menu for £20, not including sides or drinks, at a different location each month. Ascough calculated an average spend of £25 per head would have contributed £20,000 to the industry so far.
"People say there's nowhere to eat in Hull - but there is! We want to show them." Ascough said. "We started it because we thought there was a real lack of activity in these eateries. Like every city we have our chain restaurants but they don't need supporting."
Since its launch, Monday Supper Club goers have eaten in around 25 restaurants in Hull. The first was held at fine-dining Indian restaurant Tapasya on Beverley Road, and the group has since visited at venues including: 1884 Wine and Tapas, Wellington Street; 1884 Dock Street Kitchen, Humber Dock Street; Shoot the Bull at Old House in Scale Lane; Jardelle in Beverley; Marrakech Avenue on Princes Avenue; and Stanleys in Paragon Square.
Ascough said: "We don't do stuffy places; we go to places we would happily go to on a night out. We look at things like quality of food, the atmosphere and the location. There are some great places around East Yorkshire but we don't want people to drive for half an hour to get to the restaurants.
"It's really laid back. We think that people have enough on with membership forms, subscriptions and name badges that we wanted it to be really informal, like you're having an enjoyable night out with friends.
"It's really important that we work with businesses and support what they're doing."
This week, the club visited college restaurant Elwell's in East Riding College, Beverley. Ascough said the club want to support the students by pairing them with chefs from their favourite Hull-based restaurants.
Students at East Riding were teamed up with Deborah Spicer and Dan Poole of 1884 Wine and Tapas and according to Ascough, some have secured work experience at the restaurant.
Monday Supper Club doesn't have a website or any social media presence. To show interest in the monthly event, contact Phil Ascough at: phil@ascoughpr.co.uk.
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