STARTING UP Caroline Sweetman @ Wolvercote Supper Club I’ve lived all over the world, and munched my way through all the food offered to me. I love everything about cooking: the planning and creativity involved in putting a menu together, the sounds and smells of a kitchen, cosy while rain beats down outside.

And then there’s the delight of hungry people arriving at my door to sit around the table and await the feast. I also thrive on a bit of excitement and adrenalin. So it seemed like a bit of a no-brainer to start North Oxford’s first pop-up home restaurant, Wolvercote Supper Club (wolvercotesupperclub.com). Pop-up home restaurants involve a keen cook throwing her (or his) heart into a menu of lovely things, and inviting people to book at place at the table.

Anyone’s welcome to book spaces at my table and enjoy the collective experience of sharing food, talk and laughter.

In August I began a blog with recipes and photos, got out there and talked to people, and the idea seemed to have legs.

A week ago, I hosted nine guests to eat dinner at my first event. Food included tomato tarts with anchoiade; lamb and quince tagine; Campari and pomegranate granita; and chocolate and hazelnut cake with sherry and raisin cream. I’m aiming to serve glorious food with strong flavours and fragrances, which looks beautiful on the (vintage) plates. I love Cape Malay food, with subtle spicing and sweet-sour flavours – glowing bowls of spiced, orange-scented pumpkin soup, scattered with edible purple flowers – and I often cook Middle Eastern food with its creamy aubergine pastes, charred flatbreads, fruit/meat combos, olives and thyme and spices.

Last week’s guests included four friends (all rooting for me and slightly open-mouthed about the bravado involved), together with five lovely new people, who’d found me and the club and been intrigued.

Pop-ups at home are a growing trend, with over 600 starting in the UK since 2009.

They originated in Cuba, as a way of earning income under the radar of The Man. But I’m doing this for love, not money... hence it’s possibly the best way ever to spend £22.50, for five courses with free cocktails.

This winter I’ll segue the spice and colours of hot climates into cold-weather menus: Georgian marinated chicken with warm plum sauce, chestnut and mint pesto with chestnut tagliatelle.

And you’ll find a vintage feel, too: 1950s harlequin glassware, plus Abigail’s Party-style Seventies cuisine from my mother’s heyday: I’ve inherited the best recipe for brown bread ice cream, and some fabulous embroidered tablecloths.

My next event’s on Saturday, November 2, and I’ll tell you how the club’s going in my next Oxford Mail diary piece next month.

Maybe I’ll see you at my table, too?

TRY IT To find out more see the website wolverscotesupperclub.com or email wolvercotesupperclub@live.co.uk