Story by Geneviève Sandifer for Haven in Paris. Photos courtesy of Miss Lunch. Top photo by Francesco Majo.Supperclubs are nothing new. Whether the recent popularity they’re enjoying first started in London or Manhattan — where the hook was exclusivity and bragging rights about ‘discovering’ underground chefs in their lairs — or in the impossibly small kitchens of aspiring Brooklyn chefs and foodies is anyone’s guess.
What is certain, though, is that the move from chefs’ tables to chefs’ kitchens did not pass Paris by unnoticed. In many ways, the model is better suited to French dinner-party habits than it is to the fickle attention spans of New Yorkers, and it has enjoyed a fair amount of low-key success notably among foodie expats.
HiP Paris recently received an email from a certain Miss Lunch — a chef, artist, teacher, writer with a passion for incorporating her rich heritage into delicious, alternative culinary experiences. Trained at the Beaux Arts and a Paris resident for 15 years, she dabbles in art, cooking classes, cookbook writing and … semi-public dinner parties.
On Sundays, ML (as she likes to sign her emails) welcomes up to 8 guests in her loft home for a multi-course meal that has been described as “outstanding” or “fantastic—every bit as good as I’d expect at a high-end restaurant.” We at the Hip Paris blog have not had the opportunity to test the goods ourselves yet, but we will report back after our January 3rd reservation!
Aside from her in-demand Loft Lunches, ML also gives Saturday cooking classes and sells a line of hand-made kitchen accessories. Her goal has been to shape her culinary identity around her exotic background. Although she grew up in Canada, ML is part Egyptian, part South-African and part Belgian, with vacations spent not in chilly Ottawa but on her favorite Italian island, Pantelleria. Most recently, she was developing a cookbook project centered around dishes that could be prepared, cooked and eaten on a sailboat. To pull it off she embarked on a two week journey with a photographer, a filmmaker and a couple of friends as guinea pigs and proceeded to cook up daily delicious feasts based on what the day’s fishing and port visits brought their way. Fingers crossed a publisher will pick up on the book soon; until then, ML has generously given us this fabulous recipe for a Chard & Cheese Loaf to tide us over. Bon appétit!
Miss Lunch still has availability for lunches starting January 3rd. Price per person for lunch: €45. Contact her at reservations@lunchintheloft.com to save your place. For more information on Miss Lunch, please visit her website.
Written by Geneviève Sandifer for the HiP Paris Blog. Images courtesy of Miss Lunch. Looking for a fabulous vacation rental in Paris, Provence, or Tuscany? Check out Haven in Paris.
