Seeds of Spring
Friday 25 April 2024
83 Dalston Lane, London (map)
Guest writer: Eleanor
Last Friday 25th April it was my absolute pleasure to volunteer for the first time at Mike’s Table. I have worked at Uncharted Wines alongside MT founder Louise for nearly two years, and having heard so much about these wonderful evenings – the creative menus rustled up from surplus food donations, the special moments shared between guests, and the overall joy and sense of community each night brings – I was keen to get involved.
As someone who has at times felt lonely and struggled to meet new people in London, I thought this was such a magnificent idea and the perfect way to bring people together. However, as often happens in our busy lives, weeks flew by and then weeks turned to months, and I still hadn’t volunteered.
With the start of a new year, I was eager to get more involved in my community and meet new people. What better way to do this than volunteer at Mike’s Table’s Seeds of Spring – an evening dedicated to new beginnings, growth and sowing the seeds of community.
About the event
Seeds of Spring was hosted at the ‘home’ of Mike’s Table, 83 Dalston Lane, an intimate, relaxed space where we welcomed 18 guests, some familiar faces and some, like me, new but all equally keen to spend a memorable evening in each other’s company.
In an unexpected turn of events, I was moved from volunteering front-of-house to the kitchen as another volunteer sadly couldn’t make it. As an avid home cook, I was more than happy to get stuck in and be led by our talented head chef Andi and regular volunteers Daniel and Simon. In remarkable time they had devised a delectable menu, and I was put on starter duty: a mezze plate.
As I got busy washing and chopping our fabulous front-of-house team, Louise, Meggie and Justine, was setting the table for a beautiful candle-lit dinner and it wasn’t long before we heard the first cheerful welcomes, embraces of friends old and new, and laughter spill through to the kitchen as guests began arriving.
As the gentle hum transformed to a lively buzz the pressure was on in the kitchen as service time approached. With Andi’s guidance, before I knew it, I had dished up eighteen mezze plates which our guests were soon happily munching on.
For main course the guests could choose between an escalope of chicken Holstein, or a gorgeous vegan curry prepared and donated by Smitta, an incredible chef and long-time friend of Andi, in advance of the event. After this we enjoyed a seasonal raffle of Easter Eggs and spring plants donated by some of our volunteers and regular guests – thank you so much for your generosity!
Finally came dessert and I seized the opportunity to sit down with the guests and enjoy Daniel’s delightful Lemon Drizzle Cake. I must admit I was a little nervous at first as I had been in the kitchen most of the evening and the guests had already connected and were enjoying lively conversations. Nonetheless I sat down on the middle table and within seconds was chatting with one of our paying guests, C. We soon discovered that we grew up in the same town and immediately connected.
As the evening started to wind down, five of us were left chatting; two regular guests L and P, two first-time paying guests and myself. I loved chatting to L about our shared interest in gardening and P’s cheeky energy and quick wit had us all roaring with laughter. What a fabulous way to end the evening! I’ll remember my first night at Mike’s Table with such fondness and I can’t wait for the next event in June.
As ever, a huge thank you to City Harvest for always providing us with an exciting variety of high-quality ingredients. The food is always within its use-by date and would otherwise be thrown away.
A special thank you to the wonderful Smitta, who donated a delicious chickpea and potato curry for the Seeds of Spring event. Guests could not have enjoyed it more!
Smitta and Andi - Two of our talented chefs who contributed to the Seeds of Spring event.
Menu
Welcome Drink:
Spring Sangria or Non-alcoholic Light & Stormy Mocktail (ginger, lime, and sparking water)
Starter:
Mezze Plate
Organic cherry tomato salad with mozzarella and rocket
Baba Ghanoush with flat bread
Turkish style braised leeks and heritage carrots
Main
Chickpea and potato curry with coconut basmati rice
OR
Escalope of chicken Holstein with roast cauliflower wedges and warm potato salad
Dessert
Pineapple Tarte Tatin and Lemon Drizzle cake with salted caramel cream and ginger crumb
Guest blog writer
This blog post was written by the wonderful Eleanor, who was a first-time volunteer at Seeds of Spring. Thank you!
The Team
Kitchen: Andi, Eleanor, Daniel, and Simon
Front of House: Louise, Meggie, and Justine
Our Partners
As ever, we couldn’t do it without you:
Carers Network Compassionate Neighbours Prisoners Abroad
New Art Studio HostNation Compass Collective
Many thanks to our Food & Drink Donors:
City Harvest Uncharted Wines
Kind words from our guests
"There aren’t many restaurants where you walk in and end up hugging everyone."
“I just want to say a big thank you to all. It was a great evening. Hospitality, atmosphere, food, entertainment - absolutely amazing.”
