As a matter of fact, the Secret Supper Club at the lake Ammersee nearby Munich is not so secret anymore. This might have to do with various press articles, or some TV reports broadcast by Bayerischer Rundfunk, the last one in November. That again probably has to do with Miss Anise’s and Miss Ginger’s ambitious culinary agenda. On 4-5 weekends per year they open their house – or depending on the season their garden – to up to 14 strangers who will usually have booked their places months in advance. Bavaria may be rich on many things, but clearly not on private restaurants and supper clubs. The very first one that ever opened in Munich was run by an Irish man, Shane MacMahon, but has meanwhile turned into a proper restaurant. Since then, the Secret Supper Club, founded in October 2010, besides Tischgeflüster in Augsburg is one out of just two in the whole of Bavaria. Miss Anise and Miss Ginger have built a strong reputation that goes far beyond the region. It happens quite often that people travel longer distance and combine a secret dinner with a weekend stay at the lake Ammersee or in Munich. But caution: Last minute decision makers are definitely bad off, even the waiting list tends to fill up rather quickly.

The Secret Supper Club is probably the only one of its kind with 2 kitchens, a real luxury when cooking for 14 people: Miss Anise and Miss Ginger are friends and next door neighbours, and usually the action plan involves both their stoves, ovens and fridges. None of them has a professional background in gastronomy or the food industry. Miss Anise is running a media company, Miss Ginger is a journalist, and cooking and entertaining guests is just their hobby – but one they practice with much love and dedication. The menus they create are meant to enchant their guests. They love to try recipes from all over the world – one of their dinners was for example a culinary world tour that covered all 5 continents. They also like to give well known dishes a different touch, by either combining them with new ingredients or adding some spices that one would usually not expect in there. Equally important is to them to turn the food into a feast for the eyes, a piece of art that is beautiful to look at. In advance of each dinner, the 2 ladies spend hours and hours on testing recipes, optimizing them and working out in all detail how everything will finally be arranged and decorated on the plates. And more than once they decided to let go the original idea because it didn’t meet their expectations.

Preparing a dinner does easily take them 2-3 days, so needless to say this is not a profit-making business. The price per person is calculated to cover the expenses for the food, €55 for six courses, an aperitif and mineral water. Wine or beer is not included, this is a BYO supper club, following the good old ‘Bring Your Own’ tradition. Experience has shown that this is no problem at all but rather makes people to feel more at home: They walk over to the kitchen and get their bottle from the fridge as if they were at a friend’s house. But even without that the ice is usually breaking quickly. Miss Ginger and Miss Anise have noticed that their guests tend to be open-minded people who are generally curious for new experiences, talkative, and very often interested in traveling. Obviously, the 2 hosts are curious themselves to meet their guests once they are done with the kitchen, and many times the conversations did go on until well after midnight.

You can book your place at the Secret Supper Club’s table via email or telephone, details to be found on the Secret Supper Club website or the info section on Facebook. The recipe for the autumn menu’s dessert, Hokaido Panna Cotta, is available from here.