Cover A spread of dishes from Martin Ledesma Laurel’s pop-up at La Vie en Rose supper club (Photo: courtesy of La Vie en Rose)
A spread of dishes from Martin Ledesma Laurel’s pop-up at La Vie en Rose supper club (Photo: courtesy of La Vie en Rose)
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Poblacion’s worst-kept secret, La Vie en Rose revives their pop-ups with young chefs in the spirit of creative collaboration across industries
The supper club experience has evolved through the years since its early days during prohibition in the United States, where the situation called for an intimate place for people to gather and enjoy a good meal. Some integrated live music and dancing into the experience, while others opted for a more relaxed vibe where guests can simply interact over good food, drinks and stimulating conversation.
Modern supper clubs, as expected, have become more creative with their concepts, where chefs focus on local ingredients, offering a more intimate and interactive vibe, sometimes in unconventional spaces like a home or art galleries. What remains at the very core of these establishments, though, is the social atmosphere where guests are encouraged to interact, and a curated selection of dishes that usually follow an interesting theme.
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A spread of dishes from Martin Ledesma Laurel’s pop-up at La Vie en Rose supper club (Photo: courtesy of La Vie en Rose)
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Poblacion speakeasy La Vie en Rose (lovingly known as LVR, for short) revives its supper club, making it a transformative space to support other creatives, particularly chefs. Their most recent one features young US-trained chef Martin Ledesma Laurel, whose dreams of opening a restaurant in El Nido, Palawan, were extinguished when his friend and business partner unexpectedly passed away. “We want to provide chefs like Martin who are in between restaurants a temporary home where they can showcase their talents,” explains La Vie en Rose owner Jenny Yrasuegui, “with that casual nature of a supper club so they can just be themselves and cook the food that they like. We do get involved with the curation of the menu, but we allow our guest chefs significant creative freedom.”
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Above Chef Martin Ledesma Laurel at La Vie en Rose’s supper club (Photo: courtesy of La Vie en Rose)
Chef Martin Ledesma Laurel at La Vie en Rose’s supper club (Photo: courtesy of La Vie en Rose)
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At his La Vie en Rose pop-up, 29-year-old Laurel featured dishes inspired by his comfort food, like bacon and kimchi-stuffed croquettes and a mango float-like dessert given a millennial twist. “It’s like getting frozen yoghurt and then asking them to top it with ripe mango and graham crackers,” he expounds. The highlight is Laurel’s kinilaw of talakitok, onion brunoise, garlic, ginger, mango vinegar and citrus, which is well-balanced and nuanced, demonstrating a practised hand with the deceivingly simple cooking technique. Having spent time in El Nido, where kinilaw is a beloved dish, it exposed his deep understanding of the medium, which actually requires a trained palate and some scientific know-how.
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Mango kinilaw by chef Martin Ledesma Laurel (Photo: courtesy of La En Rose)
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Aside from giving chefs like Laurel a much-needed platform for their work, Yrasuegui stresses the importance of gatherings such as supper clubs in stirring the proverbial pot of creativity across different industries. “I have a background in PR and I understand that bringing people together is so important,” she says. “It keeps society healthy, and also, it’s so important to stay creative and inspired, as well as to seek new partnerships.”
Yrasuegui talks of a more food-focused concept in La Vie en Rose, which is aligned with their personal values. The supper club is definitely something they want to keep doing more regularly, sharing their upcoming plans with a Chavacano chef who will feature Zamboanga cuisine and a partnership with a whisky brand for a food pairing dinner. “Ultimately, it’s a chance for people to just come out of their shell and have fun, maybe make a new friend or two,” she says. While food is a highlight at supper clubs, it is definitely more about nourishing human connection, something that we often take for granted these days.
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La Vie En Rose
International
|
$ $ $
6197 Gabaldon Street, Poblacion, Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines
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Jaclyn Clemente Koppe is a food and lifestyle writer, as well as a consultant to some of the country’s beloved food and beverage brands. Her passion for food and drink is only surpassed by her devotion to her family, most especially to her soulmate, Pepa the poodle.
