Thomas Hedley spoke to Stuart Langley, founder of the Disappearing Dining Club.
‘I used to beg, borrow and blag spaces for free or as little money as possible – it was the only way we could make it work.’
With menus influenced by French, Italian, American and Swedish cooking, Disappearing Dining Club has hosted dinner parties in lighthouses, launderettes, abandoned music venues, antiques shops, a five-floor department store, churches, salvage yards, railway arches, photographic studios, film sets, galleries, fashion stores, recording studios, private homes, car parks, beaches, rooftops, street food markets and gardens.
And now they’ve set up shop, too: Back In 5 Minutes is a tantalisingly titled mini-restaurant inside a clothes shop – through the curtains and down the stairs – at 224 Brick Lane. All thanks to visionary founder, Stuart Langley.
Langley, 38, spent 15 years working in TV and film, teaching English in Kazakhstan (‘dreamy’), and serving cheap Jägerbombs in Ibiza (‘dreamier’). From 2003 he ran the East London cocktail bar and nightclub Sosho, moving to the East Room, a private members’ club, in 2009. Then in 2010, he founded Disappearing Dining Club with his partner and Head Chef, Fredrik Bolin.
So the idea behind Disappearing Dining Club is: you find a remarkable venue (a lighthouse is perfect), get some people over and cook them dinner. What inspired you?
There was no real inspiration, it just evolved out of a particular set of circumstances. I was between jobs, looking for a new direction. In October 2010, a chef I knew suggested we co-hosted a supper club, which became our first Dinner Dance. I liked alliterative names like Secretsundaze and Secret Cinema, which led me to the name Disappearing Dining Club.
Why did you make East London the home base for the dining club?
Because it was the area of London I knew best. Disappearing Dining Club launched with no money and even now, has never had any investment or resources other than what we have created for ourselves. I used to beg, borrow and blag spaces for free or as little money as possible – it was the only way we could make it work.
Was gentrification a factor in your decision to set up shop around here?
Not really, although it is something that works to our benefit. But East London has been a huge influence on me, and Disappearing Dining Club is all of my favourite things rolled into one unique business – so, yes, East London has been a big influence.
Does East London have more to offer in terms of venue space?
It isn’t so much about the spaces as it is the people who own them. Creative people like creative ideas and that helps us get access to spaces in East London that we wouldn’t be able to pay to gain access to in other parts of London.
You obviously have an affinity with East London. What other businesses in the area have excited you?
Red Gallery is a terrific collective of artists, innovators, entrepreneurs, musicians and creatives who have developed a huge squat into an outstanding example of what’s possible in an abandoned space. I loved Mayfield’s, a restaurant in Hackney that unfortunately closed recently, and I’ll be looking out to see whatever the owner Claire Roberson does next. Clapton is racing along. Walthamstow too, and it’ll be fun to see what comes of Hackney Wick.
Would you raise any issues within the East London community?
East London is rolling along at a pace that we can’t slow, stop or steer. This isn’t something we can control. But what we can control is how and where we spend our money. Creative East Londoners should support and create East London businesses, and that means walking past Pret, walking past Byron, walking past the latest thing opened by some big international group, and seeking out the latest indie coffee shop, burger wagon and pop-up restaurant. This is the difference between the East and Southeast compared to the rest of London.
Is it a good place to set up a new business?
It depends on the business. But what I would say is that East London is a community driven by creativity and people who make things happen. If you want to do something new, something you believe in, something that might only appeal to the few and not the many, then you’ll probably find a willing audience in the East.
And finally, what’s in store from Disappearing Dining Club?
You just missed our Dinner Dance on 6th December, but New Year’s Eve tickets are already on sale. In the meantime, come and eat with us at Back In 5 Minutes.
