British staples, Moroccan feasts, and more in this cozy London flat
They met playing squash, they spent their free time throwing murder mystery dinner parties for friends, and now, they’re welcoming guests from around the globe into their colorful London home. From creative cocktails to communal plates, every aspect of Caroline and Tom’s dinners are filled with warmth and attention to detail. As home cooks with passions for hosting, they’re making the London food scene even more exciting.
Tell us about yourselves. How did you meet?
Caroline works in a hospital as part of the stroke research team, and Tom is an underwriter specializing in conveyancing. We met 10 years ago (almost to the day!) at York University Squash Club as freshers — we had both played squash before and ended up captaining our respective men’s and women’s teams throughout university and also now at our local club.
Why did you decide to become EatWith hosts?
We both enjoy cooking and hosting, and we often throw themed murder mystery parties including food. We enjoy meeting new and different people and it seemed a great way of doing that. Caroline thinks about food all the time, and is constantly cooking! We thought we should put it to good use.
Describe your hosting dynamic.
As hosts we both cook, but Caroline does more of the cooking preparation beforehand. Tom is always in charge of cocktails and we make sure we are both always available for conversation, as we find this is the most enjoyable part of the evening.
How do you like the London food scene/culture?
The London food culture is great. It’s so varied — many different cuisines are readily available at all times. I think it does influence how we cook, and we have found that recently everybody seems to think more about where their ingredients are from, and how to shop and eat more sustainably. We cook a lot of food from around the world, and enjoy spices…and I imagine like a lot of people, we are trying to eat less meat.
What do you think makes a great dinner party?
A great variety of people, flowing drinks and good conversation. We create a comfortable atmosphere and hope that everybody feels as at home as we do. Great food always helps too 😉
Do you have any food role models or inspirations?
I know its cliche but we love Jamie Oliver. I find his recipes are always full of flavour and he often does large dishes to share, which is how we cook as well.
Who would you want to EatWith on our site?
We want to eat with Laila in San Francisco! Her Moroccan dishes look immense. We would also like to eat with every London host — We have already been to an event with Silvia and with Jhenn, and we will try to go see everybody else as well. It’s great to support EatWith locally while it’s growing, and lovely to meet the other hosts.
Photography by Natasha Marshall.
