Arepa Arepa Arepa supperclub at Trove, Levenshulme

Arepa Arepa Arepa supperclub at Trove, Levenshulme

We had a chat with the lovely Jules from Arepa Arepa Arepa about bringing Colombian food to the Manchester ‘burbs, hosting supperclubs and advice for anyone who wants to start their own pop-up dining experience.

Tell me a bit about yourself and your supperclub events Me and my other half Bailey are a food-loving couple living in Levenshulme and decided to start a street food stall so we could get involved in our local market and bring the taste of my mum’s Colombian homecooking to the suburbs.The humble arepa seemed like such a perfect dish for walking around markets and food events with and we didn’t know of anyone else in Manchester who was selling them, so we decided to go for it! We had no idea anyone would even buy them let alone really like them.We enjoyed spreading the Colombian food love so much that we decided to start doing supperclubs – first off in our house, next at BrewDog and then in our favourite local cafe – Trove. Our food isn’t fussy or fancy in any way, it’s just hearty comfort food like what you’d get at the little lunchtime meal deal cafes in Andean countries.

 

What food trends do you think we’re going to see in Manchester in 2015?

Not just saying this but I do think Latin American food will become more popular! There are so many amazing dishes and ingredients from the region are all so versatile. I’d love to see someone doing amazing proper Mexican food and concentrating on dishes no one’s had before – not just tacos and burritos.

Do you think we’ll see more supperclubs?

I hope so because it’s our favourite way to dine! You do tend to see more interesting things at supperclubs because the organisers don’t have those commercial pressures that make restaurants feel they have to cook dishes that will please everyone. I’d definitely recommend starting a supperclub to anyone who loves cooking and hosting.

What do you like about organising supperclubs?

It’s a great way to meet new people and spread your love of a cuisine. It has made us try to be better cooks and think about how we present our food. As a child growing up with Colombian food all around I always thought English people wouldn’t like things like tamales and empanadas, so it has been a really pleasant surprise for me (and my mum too!) that they’ve gone down well.

What are the biggest challenges?

Since starting our supperclubs at Trove, we’ve definitely found the increase in numbers has been a bit of a shock. Also popping up in someone else’s kitchen can be quite difficult and takes some getting used to – but I hope we’re getting there!

How has Eventbrite helped you plan your events?

It’s a great service and has a really good reputation. Eventbrite has a name that people know and trust and it’s appropriate for events of all sizes. I love the new reserved seating idea too – it’s always a tricky one trying to guess which guests want to sit on their own and which guests fancy a natter on a shared table, so it’ll be good for people to be able to choose for themselves.

Do you have any advice for other supperclub organisers?

Go for it! Cook the food you love and are passionate about, try to have a bit of fun with it, do something a little different and people will love it!

You can find out about Arepa Arepa Arepa’s next supperclub on Eventbrite and on Twitter.

If you’re planning on hosting your own supperclub, check out how Eventbrite works and sign up for a free organiser account here.