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The Syrian Supper Club is a celebration of Syrian food with supper clubs around London and in Bristol. It is our response to the conflict in Syria. The idea is simple - gather people together, introduce them to a delicious part of Syria’s rich culture and do something good: raise money for those in need.
Since 2012, we have held over 250 Syrian Suppers and suppers have been held by others from Singapore to Washington D.C. and Australia. We have raised over £400,000 and cooked a whole heap of falafel. The money raised goes towards the aid projects, funded by our charity the Hands Up Foundation which has raised a total of over £4 million. With the contribution from our Syrian Supper Club we have been able to help over 100,000 Syrians with access to health services, education and prosthetic limbs for amputees. To give you an idea, each Syrian Supper raises enough money to fund a doctor's salary for one month.
See below for details on how to attend one of our Syrian Suppers or hold your own.
By joining the Syrian Kitchen Club you will receive a mouth-watering recipe from our chef friends each month, along with a playlist to cook along to. Your subscription price will help support Hands Up's vital health and education programmes.
Our Syrian Suppers take place in different locations across the UK and everyone is invited. Please click ‘Book Tickets’ below for dates and reservations. Make sure you book early – they sell like hot honey cakes on a cold day. To find out more about the brilliant volunteer teams behind each Syrian Supper Club click on the locations listed. Can't find a Supper Club near you? Hold your own.
We started the Syrian Supper Club in 2012 as a response to the escalating humanitarian crisis in Syria. Four of us (Johnnie, George, Louisa and Rose) decided to do something positive to remind our friends in Syria that they had not been forgotten; we held a Syrian inspired feast at our kitchen table to raise money. Two of us (Louisa and Rose) were lucky enough to live in Damascus for a while before the war. The Syrian Supper Club is inspired by our time there, the people we met and the food we ate.
Years later and the need not only continues but has grown. Since 2011 the lives of millions of Syrians have been shattered and it will take years more to repair the psychological and physical trauma they have suffered. The Syrian Supper Club has never been needed more. All monies raised go to our charity, the Hands Up Foundation, which focusses on funding sustainable projects in and around Syria. These projects deliver vital health and education services while simultaneously providing livelihoods and strengthening the stability of local communities. For more information, please see www.handsupfoundation.org.
Please contact us if you have any questions or would like to know more. For queries on the Syrian Supper Club or on Hands Up and our programme, write to us at [email protected].
If you’d like to hold a Syrian Supper or other fundraising bonanza under the banner of the Syrian Supper Club, please get in touch, we'd love to hear from you! Then we can chat about what you might need from us and what we'll need from you. In the meantime, check out the resources we have, with everything from sample menus to recipes and a full toolkit to get you going. Read our tips for setting up an online fundraising page here.
"As the Syrian Civil War began taking a deadly turn most foreigners fled. Describing a feeling of hopelessness Ms Lukas and her friends set about creating what would become Hands Up with three other Syria-lovers. It began with food - the Syrian Supper Club..."
The National - March 2019“The Syrian Supper Club is now a not-for-profit umbrella group that gives guidance for those who want to host their own charity dinner. It raised £65,000 for a variety of on-the-ground initiatives last year.”
Financial Times - October 2018“We eat, drink, talk, and have too much fun, late into the night. And by the end of the night, Damascus, and an optimistic future, feel just a little less far away.”
The Wharf - December 2018“Two years ago - almost to the day - I was invited to a Syrian Supper Club. If I remember rightly, it was raining, I didn't have an umbrella and I arrived very late and very sodden. But, as is often the case, copious cocktails and mountains of food swiftly turned the evening…”
House & Garden – November 2015“… alongside Johnnie Barnett and political illustrator George Butler, they established the Syrian Supper Club, to show their Syrian friends they hadn’t been forgotten.”
Vanity Fair – November 2015“Extra Mile: the 40 in finance who do the most for good causes – Johnnie Barnett: Want to raise two hundred grand for a good cause? Get cooking.”
Financial News – November 2015“Conscious eating: Tuck into a Syrian feast to raise money for refugees… Oranges, aubergines and pomegranates are regular fixtures on the menu of Syrian Suppers. The rest of the menu depends on which ingredients take the fancy of Ruth Quinlan, the chef at E5 Bakehouse.”
Evening Standard – September 2015“The E5 Bakehouse hosts a Syrian-themed Christmas supper club, with a Middle Eastern feast of stuffed vine leaves, mouth-watering fattoush salads and fig and walnut pastries. Glut to your heart’s content, as all proceeds will go towards supporting urgent humanitarian relief in the country.”
Vogue – November 2014“Syrian flavours recall a life in Damascus…”
The Guardian 2013 – April 2013
