THE END: AFTERSCHOOL SPECIAL - JUNE 12

Do you know what you put us through -- each and every one of you? How many countless trips to Sainsbury's, how many squandered Friday nights peeling potatoes and brining chicken, how many red food coloring-stained shirts, how many pounds waxed onto thighs, HOW MUCH MUST WE ENDURE? Well, apparently only one more. Our last Afterschool Special dinner is on Saturday, June 12. (Our potluck party is on June 15 @ the Haggerston)

I (Angela) am leaving our little enterprise, leaving it all behind for the California coast and eventually, Brooklyn (where Marlon will join me!). Both Marlon and I thoroughly enjoyed working on this project, and we do consider it a great success. Met some great people, learned how to bake a proper cake, and simultaneously, how to evade the law (oh, too many legal transgressions to count). We do hope you all manage to muster up the energy and funds to attend our last dinner because we'd love to have you. If not, we hope to see you at our British-themed underground restaurant in Brooklyn. uck, NOT!

Angela and Marlon

Afterschool Special - May 8

I apologize for not having posted these photos in a much more timely fashion but I took a little sojourn, traveled by car around the South of France with my mother, her boyfriend and some family friends.  I discovered the beauty and simplicity of the baguette but that's a whole other blog post in itself! And heya, they let me back into the UK -- WOO HOO

So as my departure from the UK becomes more imminent,  I am already getting a little nostalgic for my little Americana restaurant that could in big London town.  Things seem to be picking up, and if I were to stay longer I'm sure Marlon and I would have our hands full in no time.  Alas, nothing gold can stay...

ANYWAY,  something that becomes more apparent during these dinner clubs is that it's not only a way for me to force feed my cooking down other people's throats, but a really good opportunity to meet people you otherwise would probably never speak to in any other public setting (well, besides, perhaps, a dinner party).  This last week we had a great turnout of interesting and beautiful people, all involved in something creative and cool.  I want to thank Stephanie, the food blogger and digital PR girl foremost, because well, she has a food blog! And she will write good things.  And then I want to thank Marlon's friends/tutor from his Uni who at one point, were discussing paranormal metaphysics.  Oh and wanna thank Jean-Baptiste, my french friend from NY who just moved here from Damascus last month.  Round of applause, people

Also, this wouldn't be a complete ASS night without Marie, Marlon's other roomate, who, without fail, pops up with her mixed vodka drink and party ladies when the cake makes its appearance.  Sorry y'all had to sit on the floor!

So yea, new menu up in a matter of MINUTES.  Just waiting for the M-dog approval.  

Please book soon.  Only 4 more weekends left.

This is Marlon's other roomate Rhys. This is my hand.

This is my new and improved, fluffier Red Velvet Cake.  

A dripping masterpiece (intentional)

We had so many guests, we didn't know where to put them!

this is Marie, the other roomate whos main sustenance is bottled Smirnoff Ice

if i have to hear this album one more time....

May 8 - BOOK

Hey guys,

we've got a few spots next Sat. Same damn good menu set to change the week after May 8.

xo

Angela and Marlon

Afterschool Special - April 23

Hi guys,

Yet another phenomenal Afterschool Special week. I have to say, I'm really impressed by how smoothly everything went in the kitchen this weekend. You can prepare all week and get organized, or you can wait until the last minute to do everything, doesn't really matter... You can still never predict what's going to happen once the guests arrive. So Marlon and I were quite shocked when, at 7 pm, this time around, we were waiting for them with cocktails (instead of wishing they'd come 30 minutes later) and once everyone trickled in, food was served, plate after plate, without missing a beat. I felt very German.

This particular Afterschool Special on Friday was surprisingly American-heavy with a blend of marrieds with like, REAL jobs and also some bubbly, wanderlusting NYU girls studying abroad. We had some New Yorkers, Californians, a Texan, and some Canadians and a Kiwi (A Kiwi who thought Marlon and I were a couple!). The British are being underrepresented, I think that should be remedied. I feel like I always need to remind them " American food is GOOD, didn't you see Jamie Oliver's Road Trip across America?". Come on guys, step it up. But a sincere thank you to those who came, you were all great.

Dates for May still, please book!

x
Angela and Marlon

it's not a fish.

that is exactly as moist and flavorful as it looks.

this biscuits were as flaky and warm as they look.

Afterschool Special - April 17

If in ten years, between juggling my hugely successful restaurant, gym sessions (bc my metabolism will have inevitably become molasses slow at that point) and learning french and having children, I am asked what the most stressful moment of my entire existence was, I will still cite April 16, 2010 - Afterschool Special. I will remember the crippling anxiety and sense of doom that overcame me when, at 7 pm, the doorbell rang and Marlon and I, not yet ready, realized we had overbooked, undercooked, with not enough chairs nor table space and I had convinced myself the chicken was ruined by my new recipe.

Despite all this (I'm sorry if I'm offending past ASS guests) this bunch was probably my favorite (as a collective). They were talkative and open and cheery (the constant barrage of laughter I could hear from the kitchen kept my spirits up throughout the cooking ordeal). Everyone seemed supportive and genuinely interested in our dinner club. After the kitchen stress, Marlon and I retired to the dining room and had a much deserved chill-out with some cool people and indulged in some red velvet cake. I'm really proud of what we're doing and the food we serve, but I still am shocked when strangers come out of their way to try it. So thanks to all the friends of friends and the friends of friends who've recommended us and the friends who we'd forced to come bc of our perpetual nagging. Whoever you came as, we're all friends now!

Next week we are booked to the max. But May dates are up. Please book then. Afterschool Special will officially be over in 2 months, so don't miss out. We should also be altering the menu soon too.

x

Angela & Marlon