Pop Up Restaurants — any in Brisbane?
admin April 2nd, 2010
The latest trend to hit London is the pop-up restaurant. This is subversive dining that runs from student fare to haute cuisine. It is said to be the offspring of the GFC but roving supperclubs in New York and one or two in Paris have been going for years. Aided by Facebook, Twitter and Paypal these underground ‘restaurants’ operate like this: budding chefs, or entrepeneural types after some extra cash, clear out some of their loungeroom furniture once a week and offer meals to their friends and the public, sometimes for a ‘donation’ and other times a price is set. Another variation that is legal is when would-be restaurateurs borrow the kitchen of an established restaurant for one night to serve their own cooking.
Do you know of any home restaurants operating in Brisbane? Restaurateurs may see this trend as a threat, but I say ‘bring it on’. Many people have the peculiar idea that restaurants are easy money and a tootle to pull off successfully. After a stint in a pop up, for both ‘chef’ and the dining public, I am guessing that most will be more than happy to let the professionals do it next time. Still … it could be fun.
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It takes a lot to run a restaurant . I can cook but really do I know the health and safety rules of a restaurant ? no but I do know that food takes a lot of time and effort. I think it is ridiculous and a silly idea.
Don’t let the Brisbane City Council know where they are!
Hi
I was listening to the ABC radio yeserday in the middle of the day and the producer of that segment was on the radio asking about pop up restaurants. She was new to Brisbane and a real foodie and wanted to know about this. She sounded keen to do it herself I thought. If you contact the ABC and ask for the producer for that middle of the day segment she is keen to get on to it too and maybe together you could make something happen.
She was asking people to phone in to let her know if there were any in Brisbane.
I left the car so didn’t hear if anyone responded.
I think her name was something like Emma Sides.
Brisbane does tend to be behind in trends (not a bad things by the way, in my view) so I am expecting pop-up restaurants to materialise towards the end of this year. Let’s know if you hear of one.
Our blog (gastronautssupperclub.blogspot.com) is still in its early days, but contains more information about Gastronauts which is a Supper Club in Brisbane. It started earlier this year after a few of us saw Jamie Oliver visit a New York supper lub. We thought if it could be one in New York, it can happen in Brisbane. We are hoping to have our next dinner in May.
The Weekend Australian Magazine (May 29-30) writes in an article called Blind Date: “Young food-lovers with restaurant fatique are turning to word-of-mouth recommendations — on food blogs, or elsewhere on the internet — to join these secret assignations … as one underground diner says, ‘The food is usually pretty good at these things, but it’s more about community and sharing — sitting next to a stranger and becoming friends over a meal …
In Melbourne the fascination with supper clubs began about five years ago with a flurry of internet chatter about the self proclaimed ‘underground dining experience’ Zingara Cucina, a roving ‘gypsy kitchen’ offering strangers rustic Italian food and entertainment. ‘We roam from laneways, apartments, parks, galleries and rooftops. We dine wherever we logistically can; enjoying the food that our ancestors have passed down from generation to generation’ say the owners in an automated email response that pops into your inbox when you try to book. Whether or not the enigmatic Zingara Cucina exists is open to debate: some say it’s just the3 savvy viral experiment of an advertising exec to see what kind of press he could generate …
Great introduction to underground restaurants (or pop-ups as you call them) in last Weekend’s Australian colour supplement. Look forward to trying one – come on Brisbane!
Grant Stockwell, editor of City North News tells me that there is a pop-up restaurant in Brisbane. Go to: http://www.mapsupperclub.com
Hi – I’m planning on starting something as early as November in Brisbane – currently in London but am trialling some ideas over here to see if it has legs. Check out my blog for sample menu – http://ladybusinessau.wordpress.com/
Would love to know your thoughts and if this would garner interest in the Brisbane market.