Whether in a cosy apartment, roomy villa or even a rustic-chic warehouse, the popularity of supper clubs continues to simmer — providing an alternative and social way to dine in comparison to the traditional restaurant. Now, a home-grown online platform is giving them a greater boost in the UAE.
BreakBread, which launched in September, is an online aggregator of supper clubs akin to Airbnb, where home cooks are able to list their dining events, and guests can book a spot around their dinner table.
BreakBread wants to “bridge the gap between the diner and the cook”, its co-founder and chief executive Dalia Lachine tells The National.
The gap she's alluding to has long been built into the novelty of supper clubs ― intimate dining experiences that are sometimes even described as “underground”, without the marketing and operational machinery of mainstream restaurants.
Supper clubs are typically hosted at a private venue and are limited to a small number of guests. Dishes change frequently and the success of the evening relies heavily on the social aspect of dining. As such, supper clubs are the counterculture to the grandeur of the restaurant industry.
“It allows me to exercise my profession with complete freedom, without the constraints and workloads in hotel establishments,” says French chef Vincent Caudet, a host on BreakBread, who describes supper clubs as the “renaissance in our profession”.
Caudet, the grandson of a farmer, loves the diversity of ingredients in French gastronomy. After pursuing culinary studies, he travelled around the world to perfect his craft. His supper club features dishes from his travels with a focus on Caribbean cuisine.
Supper clubs also allow chefs and cooks to “experiment with new dishes and menus,” says host Ramsey Shantouf, but more importantly they “allow us to build more personal connections with food enthusiasts”.
Shantouf's “love for fire” is the main inspiration behind his supper club. He hosts barbecue nights, serving steaks, burgers and hot dogs. Having grown up in Los Angeles, he saw how barbecue brought people together, which he aims to recreate in Dubai.
Sustaining the supper club
These benefits are futile if people have never heard about a particular supper club. Despite their long history, advertising has often been tricky. In the US, for example, the concept was often scrutinised for bypassing government rules on selling food.
This made it hard for supper clubs to pursue conventional ways of marketing, like putting a sign on the street or advertising online, so chefs generally relied on word of mouth. However, given a supper club doesn't function as a normal restaurant with an arbitrary menu and schedule, getting the word out can be challenging.
It's why, according to Caudet, a platform like BreakBread can be helpful. “It helps me become more visible to the community,” says Caudet.
Over the years, similar services have popped up with a mission to expand the alternative dining audience. An early platform that launched in the US is EatWith, which now has hundreds of private dinners in major cities around the world, from Paris to Tokyo. BonAppetour, launched in Singapore, also offers food walking tours and at-home cooking classes.
The platforms also allow hosts to invite more guests to their dinners, especially first-timers who may never otherwise have heard of a supper club taking place in the corner villa in Dubai's Al Manara, say.
“BreakBread helps first-timers to experience the true passion of chefs,” says Shantouf.
Italian chef Donna Patrizia, who is also a BreakBread host, says the platform makes the process of inviting customers “flawless and effective”.
Like most other supper club hosts, Patrizia wants to focus on cooking the best food. She pays homage to her childhood growing up in an Italian family, when “cooking was a pillar of our daily life”.
Originally a marketing executive, Patrizia spent the past decade doing what she loves most: cooking and sharing food. She focuses on traditional Italian recipes using quality ingredients and is particularly passionate about regional Italian dishes.
Through her supper club, she aims to build a “niche of foodies interested in discovering many underrated or unknown regional Italian dishes”, which might be more challenging to do in regular restaurants that often serve the same menu for longer periods.
Fervent passion aside, hosts also hope to make their home businesses financially sustainable, which aggregators claim to help with.
"Starting a new business is challenging because there are several barriers to entry,” says Lachine, adding the company hopes to help entrepreneurs with additional revenue streams.
BreakBread has more than 200 hosts in the UAE and plans to expand into Saudi Arabia and Egypt this year.
The end game is to help put often unheard-of supper clubs on the menu of dining options in cities, perhaps even enabling them to rival restaurants just as Airbnb hosts compete with hotels. The goal is to also enable chefs, such as Caudet, Shantouf and Patrizia, to enjoy the comforts of home cooking without the stress of running a full-blown establishment.
“Attending these events involves elements of personalisation,” Lachine says. “They are designed to promote social interaction and cross-cultural immersion.”
Eating, after all, is a social activity, she adds, and a supper club, with its “welcoming atmosphere” and “unique dining experience”, provides the perfect venue for such meaningful interactions.
More information is available at breakbread.com
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
The Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index
Mazen Abukhater, principal and actuary at global consultancy Mercer, Middle East, says the company’s Melbourne Mercer Global Pension Index - which benchmarks 34 pension schemes across the globe to assess their adequacy, sustainability and integrity - included Saudi Arabia for the first time this year to offer a glimpse into the region.
The index highlighted fundamental issues for all 34 countries, such as a rapid ageing population and a low growth / low interest environment putting pressure on expected returns. It also highlighted the increasing popularity around the world of defined contribution schemes.
“Average life expectancy has been increasing by about three years every 10 years. Someone born in 1947 is expected to live until 85 whereas someone born in 2007 is expected to live to 103,” Mr Abukhater told the Mena Pensions Conference.
“Are our systems equipped to handle these kind of life expectancies in the future? If so many people retire at 60, they are going to be in retirement for 43 years – so we need to adapt our retirement age to our changing life expectancy.”
Saudi Arabia came in the middle of Mercer’s ranking with a score of 58.9. The report said the country's index could be raised by improving the minimum level of support for the poorest aged individuals and increasing the labour force participation rate at older ages as life expectancies rise.
Mr Abukhater said the challenges of an ageing population, increased life expectancy and some individuals relying solely on their government for financial support in their retirement years will put the system under strain.
“To relieve that pressure, governments need to consider whether it is time to switch to a defined contribution scheme so that individuals can supplement their own future with the help of government support,” he said.
What can you do?
Document everything immediately; including dates, times, locations and witnesses
Seek professional advice from a legal expert
You can report an incident to HR or an immediate supervisor
You can use the Ministry of Human Resources and Emiratisation’s dedicated hotline
In criminal cases, you can contact the police for additional support
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
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Tips to stay safe during hot weather
- Stay hydrated: Drink plenty of fluids, especially water. Avoid alcohol and caffeine, which can increase dehydration.
- Seek cool environments: Use air conditioning, fans, or visit community spaces with climate control.
- Limit outdoor activities: Avoid strenuous activity during peak heat. If outside, seek shade and wear a wide-brimmed hat.
- Dress appropriately: Wear lightweight, loose and light-coloured clothing to facilitate heat loss.
- Check on vulnerable people: Regularly check in on elderly neighbours, young children and those with health conditions.
- Home adaptations: Use blinds or curtains to block sunlight, avoid using ovens or stoves, and ventilate living spaces during cooler hours.
- Recognise heat illness: Learn the signs of heat exhaustion and heat stroke (dizziness, confusion, rapid pulse, nausea), and seek medical attention if symptoms occur.
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
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Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
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Ain Dubai in numbers
126: The length in metres of the legs supporting the structure
1 football pitch: The length of each permanent spoke is longer than a professional soccer pitch
16 A380 Airbuses: The equivalent weight of the wheel rim.
9,000 tonnes: The amount of steel used to construct the project.
5 tonnes: The weight of each permanent spoke that is holding the wheel rim in place
192: The amount of cable wires used to create the wheel. They measure a distance of 2,4000km in total, the equivalent of the distance between Dubai and Cairo.
Scoreline
Arsenal 0 Manchester City 3
- Agüero 18'
- Kompany 58'
- Silva 65'
What can victims do?
Always use only regulated platforms
Stop all transactions and communication on suspicion
Save all evidence (screenshots, chat logs, transaction IDs)
Report to local authorities
Warn others to prevent further harm
Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
Race 3
Produced: Salman Khan Films and Tips Films
Director: Remo D’Souza
Cast: Salman Khan, Anil Kapoor, Jacqueline Fernandez, Bobby Deol, Daisy Shah, Saqib Salem
Rating: 2.5 stars
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
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