How the idea for Secret Garden Supper Club was born
When I started working on the idea for Secret Garden Supper Club back in January I was thinking about ways in which I could shine a light on the incredible natural beauty of the place I now call home and the exceptional edible flowers and produce available in this region. I had no idea what an incredible creative journey I was about to embark on and the people I would have a chance to collaborate with to help bring this project to life.
Things started to really take shape when I met Julie Guittard, a florist based in Nice who has the most beautiful boutique tucked away in the heart of the city. I talked to Julie about my idea and then when she suggested we use her boutique as the venue for the launch of Secret Garden Supper Club, I jumped at the opportunity as I knew that this hidden gem would be a wonderful way to bring the concept to life. Little did we know that the beautiful table in the boutique would bring together so many people, where new friendships would be formed and enable this project come to life in ways we had never expected.
I then met Kalice Brun who is a talented chef specialising in Niçoise cuisine, cooking with edible flowers and wild herbs and is an expert in Grand Cru French olive oils Kalice cooks from the heart and the local produce and ingredients of the French Riviera are in her blood. Eating Kalice's food is like stepping into her world - it's full of stories, memories and exceptional flavour combinations.
Romain Forini, our sommelier was chosen to join the Secret Garden dream team because his knowledge and expertise in local organic wines from Nice and his ability to pair dishes featuring wild and foraged ingredients with exceptional wines made his involvement in the project a no-brainer.
Secret Garden Supper Club is no ordinary dining experience, it's designed to be a visual feast and the work of Nora Daidone certainly bring this aspect of the event to life. Nora runs her own calligraphy and illustration studio Nice Plume. Her beautiful way with words and her incredible ability to work with different materials and colours created the 'wow' effect when our guests recently discovered their place cards - leaves adorned with their names written in gold - at our launch in May.
As soon as we had a date set for the launch of Secret Garden Supper Club I asked Maya Maréchal, a gifted lifestyle and wedding photographer if she was free. I had previously worked closely with Maya on this styled shoot and every time we work together she perfectly translates the vision I have in my mind when I'm styling a shoot or event.
It's been a long journey over the last 8 months and everyone involved has given their absolute best to the project for which I am eternally grateful! Getting to this point has been the biggest creative challenge yet but I'm excited about what the future has in store for Secret Garden Supper Club, I have a few ideas up my sleeve!
Keep your eyes posted on the Facebook group for the latest news about how the journey of Secret Garden Supper will continue to grow over the coming months or sign up for our email club for a behind the scenes insight into the secret garden and priority booking at the next event.