Heard about Bangarang yet? You will, because the exciting pop-up supper club has just burst onto the Oxfordshire food scene, and is coming to Chipping Norton later this month.
Focusing on wood fired dishes, Bangarang menus are exciting and refreshing, their sharing style ethos perfect for the communal feasting experience they’re so well known for.
Being held at a secret location just outside Chipping Norton on November 22nd and 23rd in collaboration with Wine Freedom, up to 100 guests a night are expected.
Focusing on wood fired dishes, Bangarang menus are exciting and refreshing, their sharing style ethos perfect for communal dining’ experience
But when you check out the offering, it’s easy to understand their popularity. Canapés include steak brioche bites and padron peppers, then their infamous coconut flatbreads (see pic), a dish of parsnips, pears, carrots, tarragon, blue cheese & honey, and a salad of chicory, pomegranate, lemon & green sauce for starters.
Move onto slow cooked lamb Al Asador & gremolata for mains with a cauliflower, yoghurt, chermoula & burnt pepper sauce, and some Paddock Farm pork, fennel & chili rotonda sausages. Sides include baby new potatoes, a dish of
orange, capers, jalapeno, olives & creme fraiche and a salad of oak leaf, lollo rosso & ruby gem, all placed on the communal tables and shared.
Now striking out on his own daniel is currently looking to open his own restaurant in the Cotswolds
For pudding indulge in an apple & blackberry oat crumble with cold double cream. Oh and there’s a welcoming drink to get you in the mood.
Bangarang is headed up by Daniel Miceli, who worked at Soho Farmhouse and The Little Bell before starting up Bangarang forest supper clubs at Soho. Now striking out on his own he is currently looking to open his own restaurant in the Cotswolds, but until then, wood-fired pop-up feasts it is.
So what can we expect from a Bangarang pop-up? “It’s not just about the menu, it’s about the location, the atmosphere, the amazing and friendly service and the conviviality. It’s about the surroundings – the sound, taste, look and feel, so we’ll have a special Bangarang sound track, candles, festoons and in incredible FOH super team who are all coming in to help. We want to create something really incredible,” Daniel explains.
“It’s not just about the food but the surroundings – the sound, taste, look and feel. We want to create something really incredible”
“We also put so much effort into the menus,” Daniel adds. “Take our coconut flatbreads, they are like naan breads on steroids and the Cotswold lamb will be slow cooked whole for eight hours and then slicesd, the meat shared between the tables. Or the cauliflower which comes with a coconut yoghurt, herby chermoula and a burnt pepper sauce, which is like our own hot sauce. I think of it as wood-fired soul food.
“So while everything is wood-fired, we aim to create an amazing atmosphere and give people the chance to meet by sharing food,” Daniel explains. “it’s where the magic will happen.”
Collaborating with Wine Freedom and Querubi olive oil, Daniel says he loves creating his own recipes and dishes and “just wants everyone to have a really good time.”
Bangarang has already held a sell out supper club at Straw Kitchen at Whichford Pottery recently, which was a huge success,
It’s a huge endeavour though having to install the full kitchen at the secret location, as well as decorating and staffing it, but Daniel is keen to get his name out there and display his skills in the kitchen.
“I can’t wait to show everyone what we can do because I’ve got so many ideas, so it’s really exciting,” he says.
‘I can’t wait to show everyone what we can do because I’ve got so many ideas’
So what does Bangarang mean? “It comes from the film Hook, and is quoted a lot by the lost boys in Neverland who say Bangarang when they have empty plates and suddenly they are full of food. Bangarang is basically about believing in your dreams your imagination and knowing that everything is possible,” Daniel explains.
Daniel, who hails from Liverpool, has always been interested in food, growing up in a household that cooked things like octopus when everyone else was eating fishfingers. “My friends all thought squid was disgusting,” he laughs, “but food was always a big deal in our house because of our Sicilian heritage, so it’s part of our culture.
“But having worked for some great people, I felt now was the right time to strike out on my own and open my own place, so I’m looking for the right venue at the moment,” the 32 year-old adds. “So it’s all pretty up-in-the-air at the moment, but it’s all good. I just need to make things happen now.”
The Bangarang secret Chipping Norton pop-up supper club is being held on Nov 22nd and 23rd. Tickets for the four course wood-fired feast cost £85 per person with a glass of fizz. Book at https://winefreedom.co.uk
