A secret pop-up dining experience, just turn up and eat! I discover one of the best kept foodie secrets on the Gold Coast and chat to Bree Denman – the culinary creative behind the Goldtoast Supper Club…
Every month members of the Goldtoast Supper Club are invited to a one-of-a-kind dining experience at a secret location.
Like Forest Gump’s box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gona get… could be an extravagant 8 course dinner at someone’s house, or a picnic amongst the pine needles in a quietly zen forest – the mystery adds an element of fun that you just don’t get when you go to a café or restaurant.
Like a little kid checking under her pillow to see if the tooth fairy has been, I kept scanning my inbox for the next big reveal – oooh a Pancake Breakfast – I love pancakes!
My hungry eyes scroll straight to the menu, which is incredibly generous and presents pancakes a million ways, I could tell it had been lovingly researched.
I read with interest about Kaiserschmarrn or Emperor’s Mess – a fluffy shredded pancake named after Austrian emperor (Kaiser) Franz Joseph who was very fond of this sweet treat.
To secure my place at the table I make a payment, only $35 for this pancake event, which covers all food and drink.
The night before our breakfast I receive a text revealing the secret location and the following morning I rug up before driving to a picturesque park by a lake in Palm Beach.
When I arrive a long table is already set, pretty with a spotty tablecloth, vases of pink flowers and orange juice in miniature glass bottles. Hot coffee is offered, and I introduce myself to the others.
Despite being the coldest day of the year, eight of us have braved the wintery morning to gather and eat pancakes –some are longstanding regulars who’ve never missed a Supper Club event.
Greeted warmly I chat to my fellow foodies while Bree, our hostess, puts the finishing touches on her beautiful creations. She passes around the menu and our eyes dart to the table and back again as we try to identify each of the plates, then the feasting begins….
PANCAKE BREAKFAST
SAVOURY
• Blinis // topped with creme fraiche & smoked salmon
• Sweet Corn Arepas with guacamole // a combination of a corn fritter & an arepa – a traditional corn pancake
• Mini Okonomiyaki // Mini Japanese vegetable pancakes drizzled with kewpie Mayo & homemade yakitori sauce
• Turmeric Crepes // a buckwheat crepe topped with rainbow salad & a whole egg
SWEET
• Silver Dollar Pancakes
• Kaiserschmarrn // a torn pancake dish with buttery apple
• Coconut Hotcakes // with banana & cream
• Boston Cream Crepe Cake // layered crepes with pastry cream and drizzled in chocolate glaze
SYRUPS & SIDES
Maple Bacon│Lemon & Sugar│Caramel Sauce│Watermelon Jam
Rose Petal Jam│Chantilly Cream│Iced Tea
Brightly coloured turmeric crepes gave a nice savoury hit, with thinly sliced pickled beetroot, a poached egg and black sesame seeds making a very handsome dish. Coconut hotcakes oozed with crème fraiche, caramel sauce and bananas.
My fav, the giant Boston Cream Crepe Cake, was a mighty stack of pancakes entombed in a thick chocolate glaze that required a large knife to cut a slice.
Syrupy rose petal preserve (think Turkish-delight-jam) was my favourite topping and it sparked a conversation about Sara & Sevda Persian Supermarket in Southport that specialises in Middle Eastern food (note to self, must visit). Conversation flowed and slowly the food disappeared (I didn’t eat again until dinner time).
The whole breakfast experience left such an impression on me that a few days later I contacted Bree to find out more about her delightful Supper Club…
What inspired the Goldtoast Supper Club?
My nose was always in a recipe book and I loved cooking for my friends and hosting dinner parties. One day I found a book called Supper Club by Kerstin Rodgers (aka MsMarmiteLover) – she lives in London and the book is about how she started her own supper club. I loved the concept and twenty-four hours later my friend and I had decided on a name and launched our very own supper club for the Gold Coast.
How does the supper club work?
I choose a food theme then spend a month researching recipes and ideas for presentation. It means I get to play with new flavours and techniques in the kitchen. I plan the menu and once it’s finalised I post it on the website and people book a place to come and dine with us. We’ve been going since 2012 and have lots of regulars.
Supper Clubs have become a worldwide phenomenon, bringing strangers together to dine on beautiful food. These guerrilla style pop up events have their origins in places like Cuba where such social gatherings were not allowed so were held in secret.
What’s your foodie history?
I’ve done some catering, worked in cafes and prepped desserts for a restaurant. I’m a bit of a scaredy-cat so I haven’t worked in a full service kitchen before. I’ve recently started catering and doing private parties – hen’s nights are great fun!
What have been some of your favourite Supper Club themes?
I loved our Spring Fling secret supper, every course included edible flowers! We got really creative with the menu and tried some unusual things like lavender & goats cheese salad and crystallising orange blossom water to serve alongside the orange tart with dehydrated candied orange slices.
A special element at our Colonial Australian secret supper was a beer brewed especially for us by the boys at Black Hops brewing, we were so lucky!
My biggest event was a Modern French dinner which was a mammoth 8 courses for 24 hungry guests. People still tell me they dream about certain dishes, I love that. The menu had truffled custard served in egg shells, escargot served on squid ink and parmesan soil and a chocolate dessert that cracked open when you poured hot caramel sauce over it. The whole night was pretty special.
How do you join Goldtoast Supper Club?
It’s free to join, just go to our website and sign up for our updates. We hold events once a month that are a little bit unique and take your tastebuds to heaven. It doesn’t matter if you’re on your own, everyone is welcome and strangers soon become friends. We get people coming down from Brisbane and have lots of regulars because it’s so much fun.
goldtoastsupperclub.com
Mailing List
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Instagram: @goldtoastsupperclub
Hi it’s Shannon here, thanks for reading my blog post 🙂 If you likey then ask the nice virtual postman to deliver my ShanzDay journalings. I take photos too – you can find loads more on Instagram, and you’re most welcome to join me as a guest in my Facebook lounge
Eat Well Travel Often my friend! #travelandnoms
Who knew there was such diversity with pancakes?! I like the sound of the Kaiserschmarrn. I’ve always been interested in the supper club concept, definitely on the bucket list.
I know, I learnt alot about pancakes! You should come down for the next one!
It is fantastic to know that an idea can grow and with food a core how many good things happen and people get together and this all makes for a happy and informed umbrella … I like the whole concept .. great :>
I agree, it’s great that people all around the world are hosting supper clubs!