unearthed travelling supper club: Review

Recently, we were lucky enough to be invited along to the press/blogger night of a travelling supper club, hosted by food brand unearthed at Clifton’s The Devilled Egg Kitchen Academy. Those who shop at Waitrose may be familiar with the company, which was started in 2008 by Simon Day, a food sourcer who had decided that he wanted to share some of the world’s wonderful products and ingredients with the UK. Beginning with just three lines of olives in Waitrose, the range has now expanded to include a wide variety of cured meats, tarts and much more.

With a very real and obvious passion for food and its provenance, Simon and the team are aiming for firsts – bringing pork rillettes to UK supermarkets for the first time, as well as the wonderful ingredient that is Calabrian ‘nduja, which we enjoyed as part of our main course on the night.

They’re also a charitable bunch – not just because they plied us with plenty of amazing food and wine on the night, but because 1p from every pack sold goes to their chosen charity, Action Against Hunger.

Our meal was hosted the day before the public supper club at the home of The Devilled Egg Kitchen Academy. Bristol was the first stop for the team, who are planning on visiting a number of other cities in 2013 – and what a treat they have in store for them!

The public event was priced at £45 for nibbles, a three course meal and a glass of wine with each course, with unearthed products being used throughout. And what a meal it was. On arrival, we were treated to chunks of spicy honey glazed chorizo, prosciutto and Gorgonzola pastry twists and squares of unearthed’s Tarte Flambee, all washed down with a cocktail comprising cider and spiced rum – not something I’ve ever tried before, but something that I’d happily have again!

The starter was a unanimous success. unearthed’s garlic prawns as the centrepiece of beautifully presented arancini, the rice still with a lovely bite to it. The red pepper and macadamia nut dip by which it was accompanied was a revelation, not two ingredients I would have put together but they worked really well.

I definitely want to see if unearthed will give out the recipe for the main course! You’ve heard of beef Wellington…but we were presented with a piggy version, using Iberico pork, chorizo and ‘nduja (a spicy, spreadable Calabrian sausage) as the filling. Amazing. This was served with a gigantic bean and artichoke mash, along with huge bowls full of red cabbage liberally peppered with small slivers of Kabanos sausage.

I’m afraid that half of my “International Baked Alaska” dessert had to be foisted off onto the other half, as I was getting full by this stage! We were each presented with a huge mound of meringue, dotted with pomegranate seeds and opening up to reveal thick slices of panettone and a beautiful chai tea ice cream – very rich, very sweet, very moreish…very large!

unearthed is very much a big company with a small company mentality – although they sell to Waitrose, organising small scale events such as this, being chatty and friendly on social media and genuinely taking an interest in how their customers are using their products – combined, of course, with fantastic products – means that they’re a brand that will continue to be a staple in my kitchen for a long time. Thanks for a great night!