INTERVIEWING LA SCARPETTA

Slow Food UK is incredibly proud to introduce and welcome La Scarpetta in its circle of supporters. La Scarpetta is a London-based supper club founded by Tess Korten and Eleanor Ripoll who are committed to build a community of people around sustainably sourced food using storytelling and narrative to build consciousness and collective engaging around food and its impacts on people and the environment.

1. Who is La Scarpetta? 

La Scarpetta is a London-based supper club with a social purpose. Our mission is to  bring people together, explore food as a tool to bridge divides, and create a positive impact on our communities and environment. La Scarpetta’s supper proceeds are directed to the School Garden Network programme, enabling school children to learn about, grow, and cook nutritious food.

2. How and why was La Scarpetta started?

La Scarpetta Supper Club was born out of our mutual passion for food and community. As we have been emerging from an arduous few years we’ve seen a collective social reckoning. People want to reconnect, bridge divides, focus on well-being, and mend injustices in our communities and on our planet. We, at La Scarpetta, want the same, and we believe that while enjoying delicious food, we can also have an impact.

3. Tell us a bit of what you do

At La Scarpetta we seek out farmers markets, vendors and suppliers to source seasonal, local, and responsible food. Our menus are crafted to showcase common food origins and cultures through colliding cuisines that otherwise, and historically, are predominantly understood through a lens of tension and conflict. The proceeds from La Scarpetta supports causes that align with our ethos of unearthing commonalities and fostering community. In this vein, La Scarpetta is partnered with Slow Food to fund their school gardening and cooking initiatives in South London. 

4. Can you tell us a peculiarity of your business and what people should look forward to when coming to La Scarpetta?

La Scarpetta Supper Club unifies people through food and brings conviviality to unique spaces across London. La Scarpetta looks deeply at the social dimension of food – through food origins, sustainability, politics, memory, and history – to inspire our menus on the theme of ‘colliding cuisines’. In a world which has become much too polarised, we aim to reset the narrative, shift prejudices, and actively help our local communities through our food. Join us for evernings of thought-provoking conversation, delicious global food, and fun!

5. What are some major challenges that you are facing as a sustainable food producer?

As a Supper Club that sources sustainable and local ingredients we often have to pass off a higher food cost to our guests so that we can ensure there is a decent margin for proceeds for our community partner, Slow Food. The high cost of local and sustainable ingredients we source is a microcosm of a larger problem in our food system. Often big-ag producers can avoid pricing produce at its true cost and rather deliver products at much lower costs due to government subsidies, economies of scale, monoculture practices and more. Whilst we seek out other ways of sourcing more affordable ingredients (through minimising and being creative with food waste, to supporting CSAs, to gleaning and more), we also recognize there are systemic challenges like those aforementioned that need to be tackled to ensure good and nutritious food is accessible for all.

6. Why did you join Slow Food?

Our food system at large is arriving at a crossroads…people are looking for food systems solutions that both foster solidarity and strengthen resilience — in communities and on our planet. La Scarpetta aligns with Slow Food’s mission, particularly their efforts to ensure food is accessible, nutritious, and good for the planet. Food is not only a tool to empower and educate, but also for conviviality and belonging. La Scarpetta and Slow Food share this approach to community building, and together we hope to bring a renewed sense of hope both to our neighbours, and communities globally.

7. How can people find you and support your work?

Find out more about our suppers on Instagram @lascarpetta_uk and on LinkedIn @lascarpettasupperclub. We are always on the lookout for new venues, partners, and suppliers, so please reach out if you or someone in your network is interested in collaborating!