But here's one trend you probably don't hear of very often - underground dining.
These underground restaurants, or supper clubs operate in the home of the chef’s kitchen, or even in offbeat spaces like museums, parking lots or alleyways for larger groups. For discerning diners who are constantly in search of something new, this type of dining could be exciting and rewarding. Chefs are often inspired to host these underground dining events to introduce guests to experimental dishes that use exotic ingredients, or perhaps present an age-old family recipe in a more private setting. While you still pay for your meal (like contributing to your share of the cost at a potluck), you get the bonus of a dinner party setting with like-minded foodies.
Another reason for the emergence of underground dining is the flexibility of serving food to guests in an informal setting. For self-taught home chefs who believe that they have winning recipes but lack the capital to open up a brick-and-mortar establishment, this is the perfect way to showcase their culinary skills. However, they do have to be careful not to violate local food regulations related to serving food to the public.
This type of dining isn't exactly new. In the interest of keeping it exclusive, most of the time you have to be invited or referred by someone else. In Latin America, where underground restaurants have long been a staple of the dining out scene, they are known as restaurantes de puertas cerradas, or locked door restaurants. Some underground restaurants, regardless of where you are require their guests to adhere strictly to certain etiquette (varies depending on the host or chef.) Failing to do so will quite possibly mean that you won't be invited to future dining events.
It's a big compliment that underground diners choose to hand over their meal choices to a chef. This indicates trust in a chef's palate and judgement. It also allows the chef a lot of room to create new taste experiences with diverse ingredients. By providing these meals outside of a tradtional restaurant setting, a chef is reminded of his or her passion for food as an art form.
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But we can understand that for the diner, the idea might be a little more squeamish especially when asked to put their trust in the taste of a chef they aren't familiar with.
We are introducing a dinner event on July 11, 2011 that is similar to the underground dining concept, but instead of a blind menu, you can view it before attending. And because do we want you to find us, we're not making it a top secret venue that requires a password to get in. Not just yet.The event is not even about making money. We are serving an 11-course meal for just $35 per person. It is our pleasure to introduce you to a variety of exotic, gourmet mushrooms and how to incorporate them into vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes. Our goal is to showcase another side of Chinese food that is modern, balanced, not heavy in salt and bad grease but yet still hearty and delicious.
