A STAY-AT-HOME mum has set herself a one-woman mission: to revolutionise Bridgwater’s social scene by cooking up a storm for complete strangers … in her front room.

Inspired by a London trend, 33-year-old mum-of-two Kate Gardiner began hosting a ‘supper club’ in her home after moving to Bridgwater’s West Street after years in northern Italy.

Informal, cosy, and a fresh way to meet new faces, Kate wants to spark off a broader network of supper clubs in Bridgwater to get others joining her in sharing and celebrating different cuisines.

It presents a creative challenge for the mum to four-year-old Delilah and nine-month-old Beulah.

Kate told the Mercury: “I’d really love to spread awareness of the idea as it is quite an ‘underground’ one, as I feel many more people would begin their own supper clubs if they knew about it.

“It would be nice to have a few more around here so we can share the concept!”

So what can you expect as a Bridgwater newcomer going to a stranger’s house for this dinner party?

Fans of Steve Coogan and Rob Brydon’s sardonic Trip To Italy will know what I mean when I draw a comparison between the comedy duo’s Romantic trek, and this Bridgwater supper club’s ‘feel’ – the genuine article on the food front, interjected with funny conversation.

Just two of the 16 of us sat round Kate’s square dining table had been before; the five courses Kate cooked up for us were straight from the terroir of a small farm near Reggio Emilia, a city located between Bologna and Parma.

That is, far from a bog standard Anglo-Italian affair.

Kate was given her Italian induction by the best possible team: husband Jglis’s ‘mamma’ and ‘nonna’ or grandmother. Passing on that education is all part of it, she says.

We tasted a ‘strudel salato’ with the sharp salt tang of Fontina cheese; a lasagne bianche, layered with Italian sausage, courgettes and parmesan (“people forget lasagne is the pasta itself,” said Kate). Later we would sample ‘nonna’s’ own lemony rice cake recipe – a culinary experience very much made by the sound of Deane Martin singing ‘Volare’ in the background.

Altogether a great networking tool for Bridgwater newbies as well as fantastic fun for foodies.

For more information about the supper club and to contact Kate visit purplespoonsupperclub.com