Amid Toronto’s bustling and often impersonal dining scene, one woman is creating a sensation by transforming her home into a unique “third space” for gourmet experiences and meaningful connections. I had the pleasure of sitting down with Elva Alushi, the dynamo behind Home by Elva The Supper Club, to uncover her inspiring story. Elva welcomes strangers into her home to share exquisite meals and experience an ambiance of warmth and sophistication.

Our interview was inspired after I attended one of her popup dinners in May, joining eight other guests for an evening of culinary delight and engaging conversation. Elva’s home, with its refined fin de siècle decor, set the stage for our nine-course gourmet plant-forward meal. It was as visually stunning as it was delicious.

The evening began with a divine gin and tonic cocktail infused with homemade lilac syrup. As we settled into her living room, the initial butterflies of meeting new people gave way to lively small talk about food, hobbies, and life.

Throughout the evening, Elva’s focus remained steadfastly on her guests and the food. She introduced each course with thoughtful insights and stories about her seasonal selections. Her meticulous preparation and plating of each dish were nothing short of remarkable. Each course arrived at the perfect time and temperature.

The diverse mix of guests included television creatives, a blockchain super-networker, an artist, and a few corporate professionals. The eclectic guest list enriched the overall experience, laying a foundation for engaging conversation throughout the entire event.

Elva grew up in Albania, loving the Mediterranean lifestyle of cooking and hosting. After graduating from the Ryerson School of Interior Design, Elva spent four years designing a super-yacht in South Africa. The project became the flagship for the America’s Cup yacht race in 2016. After working as an interior designer in Bermuda, Elva returned to Toronto in 2016 to explore becoming a restaurateur. From this passion for cooking and hosting, Elva created Home by Elva The Supper Club, Toronto, a private dining experience that brings strangers together in a communal dining scene often by word of mouth.

Through our interview, I explored Elva’s vision, the inspiration behind her Toronto supper club (Best Supper Club Toronto!), and her plans for the future.

Before we begin, Elva, I want to say that it warms my heart to have found a kindred spirit who shares our passion for building community over home-cooked meals. But you’ve gone a step beyond by inviting people you’ve never met into the intimacy of your stunning fin de siècle dining room. So, thank you, on behalf of all your past and future diners!

To start, can you describe what a supper club is? What makes Home by Elva a unique “third space” compared to a typical public dining experience in Toronto?

A supper club is an old concept that dates to the Prohibition era in the UK. Chefs wanted a way to express their creativity without the constraints of traditional restaurants and menus. So, they started hosting dinners in their homes. It was like a secret underground movement.

For me, I originally wanted to open a small restaurant called Home, where I would cook and serve everything myself, with no fixed menus. I envisioned a cozy space inspired by seasonality and local produce, with a daily menu. The aesthetic was to have books on the walls that guests could take and leave, making it an ever-evolving space. I also wanted to feature art from local Toronto artists that people could buy, adding an organic and dynamic element to the experience.

When I thought about how to bring this vision to life, I realized I could start in my own home. And that’s how Home by Elva was born. It’s a space where I can share my passion for cooking and hosting. And so I created this warm and intimate atmosphere that’s very different from typical public dining experiences.

That’s quite fantastic. At The Gourmet Host, we host dinner parties of our own, but we keep them to close family and friends. Occasionally, we charge for larger gatherings, but turning this into a full operation is quite impressive.

How do you curate the menu for each event, and in what ways do you make each one special?

Curating the menu for each event is quite a broad process because every menu is different, just as every night is unique and will never come around again. I start with an initial inspiration, which can come from anywhere.

For example, my first supper club featured Albanian cuisine. I’m Albanian and wanted to showcase dishes from my heritage since there are no Albanian restaurants in Toronto.

For a February event, I created an aphrodisiac menu for a singles-mingles night to honor Valentine’s Day. In spring, I designed an equinox menu with ingredients that were fresh and green, embodying the essence of the season.

Once I have the inspiration, I dive into my collection of cookbooks. I look up individual ingredients, like eggplant, in the index and explore all the recipes featuring that ingredient. This process allows me to craft a diverse and exciting menu for each event.

Excellent, so you create a range of recipes that might go together.

One of the challenges we face at The Gourmet Host is that there are a lot of good recipes. But assembling them into a cohesive menu with an appetizer, main course, and dessert can be tricky.

How do you curate the menu itself?

I don’t use recipes in the traditional sense. This is also why I don’t bake, because baking requires precise recipes. When it comes to cooking, I rely on inspiration. I view each recipe as a story or a journey, thinking about how each ingredient would like to be treated.

When it comes to the menu itself, I start from the top and the bottom then work my way to the middle. I make the whole experience tell a story.

I noticed last week your menu started with a drink accented with your homemade lilac simple syrup, and there was also a lilac accent in your dessert…

That’s exactly right! My menus all tie together, so the start and end were the same and it worked together.

Can you share some memorable stories of connections or friendships that have formed through your supper club? How has food inspired these friendships?

I started The Supper Club because I was already doing a lot of cooking for friends. Since I only started The Supper Club in November, there have only been a handful of events, but I’ve already witnessed some beautiful connections.

One of the most heartwarming moments is seeing guests who attend one event meet again at another event. Just recently, two such guests both returned because they were inspired by the same menu and were genuinely happy to reconnect and see each other again.

During the Valentine’s Day edition, I know of two people who went on a couple of dates after meeting at The Supper Club. If I could be responsible for a marriage, that would be wonderful!

A social super networker!

At the event I attended last week, I noticed you were in the kitchen throughout the dinner, coming out with each course and sharing fantastic stories about the seasonal dishes you crafted. Do you ever feel intrigued to join the dinner yourself? How do you balance being part of the conversation and managing the kitchen?

I do feel the urge to join the conversation sometimes, especially when I hear interesting questions or topics. It really depends on how well I know the group. After the Toronto Star article, I’ve had more strangers attend, like yourself, so I often choose to hold back. However, there are moments when I feel the need to pop in and add something to the discussion.

But mostly, I enjoy listening to the lively conversations from the kitchen. It’s rewarding to hear everyone connecting so well. Even when I do come to the table, I often must yell over the din because everyone is so busy enjoying themselves.

It’s a good problem to have!

I can attest to that as our table last week was full of conversation. It was bursting with compliments for each of the dishes that were exploding with flavor from the well selected seasonal ingredients.

Since launching Home by Elva, what are the biggest surprises you’ve encountered? Do you have any entertaining stories about overcoming unforeseen hurdles, and how do you plan for these now?

Home by Elva is my umbrella company—I’m also a real estate agent and interior designer. The idea for The Supper Club started as an extension of my work with homes, giving me a new way to meet people organically and connect over intimate dining experiences. People often comment on my unique space, so the topic of interior design frequently comes up.

But for The Supper Club itself, each event has become uniquely special. One of the biggest surprises has been how little control I have over the guest list, and I think it needs to be that way. It’s an organism of its own, evolving with each dinner with strangers Toronto. This unpredictability makes each night special and exciting. The way I plan for unforeseen hurdles now is by embracing the spontaneity and trusting the process.

Each challenge becomes an opportunity to adapt and enhance the experience for my guests.

Looking ahead, how do you see The Supper Club evolving? What are your plans for expanding or enhancing the experience?

I am bursting with ideas!

One of the things I do is host private events. People can hire me for an entire night and use my space for their private gatherings. So far, I’ve hosted birthdays, and now I’m expanding to private events outside my home, which is lovely. I have a women’s wellness retreat coming up, and a beach retreat in Prince Edward County, Ontario has invited me to host supper club events there, which is wonderful.

There are so many avenues for collaborations and connections, and I welcome them all.

Another idea I have for the summer is to organize picnics and outdoor events. I’m looking for a secret location on a beach or in a park. I live close to High Park, for example.

An interesting opportunity arose from my December event, where I had a seafood menu. I went to Anchor Fresh Fish Market in the Roncesvalles village to pick up a big box of oysters, clams, and scallops. But I didn’t realize how heavy everything would be. The lovely girl at the counter offered to lock up the store and help me carry everything to my house. She revealed she’s a singer and does private events as well.

That moment inspired me to think about hosting performers at The Supper Club, adding an entertainment aspect to dining with strangers.

That was one of our questions as well! Whether you were planning to host any sorts of performers like singers, belly dancers, magicians, or tarot card readers…

Absolutely! Especially with my space, I think it would be amazing to have a cello player or a harpist to enhance the atmosphere and ambiance. These are all goals I’m working towards, and I’m excited about the possibilities.

I would love to collaborate with different brands to create unique experiences as well. For example, I’m considering working with a truffle and caviar provider, to build a menu around a caviar tasting event.

The potential for creative and memorable evenings are endless!

And our readers will see in the photos we are sharing on the blog the incredible detail you have brought into your current space, which we are calling a fin de siècle décor.

Could you speak a little bit about your décor choices? What inspired them, and how do you describe the ambiance of your space?

I credit my partner for a lot of the inspiration behind our current décor and ambiance. Before we started dating, my style was more minimalist Scandinavian. But when I met him, he had this incredible collection of gilded mirrors and Venetian masks.

I was initially anxious about how to blend our styles. However, I truly credit him for expanding my design perspective, turning me into more of a maximalist.

I’ve always been a collector, especially of antiques, like the teacup you’re drinking from now. When designing the space, it was important that each piece had a story and contributed something unique.

Light played a crucial role too. For example, the sunroom, where we are now, gets most of the natural light. But the dining room, situated between the sunroom and the living room where both have the windows, felt like it needed to be dark and dramatic. So, I chose bold colors, added paneling and crown molding to create a grand atmosphere, and incorporated our collected antiques.

The design evolved organically, with the space itself guiding me on what it needed to be.

Just like your meals, the space kind of evolved based on the pieces you were adding, one piece at a time…

Yes, I do have an intuitive approach to everything I create.

One of the challenges we’ve faced at our dinner parties over the years is managing the planning, preparing, cooking, serving, entertaining, and cleaning all at the same time…

How do you handle being in the kitchen preparing the meals, ensuring they are served family style at the perfect temperature, entertaining, and then cleaning up afterward? It must be quite an ordeal!

One of the biggest challenges is my kitchen is quite small. I started The Supper Club during the winter, which allowed me to use the outdoors as a second fridge until March, which was very helpful.

Fortunately, we live in a triplex and our third-floor tenant recently moved out, so I’ve been able to use that fridge as well. This means a lot of running up and down stairs and constantly rearranging my existing fridge and kitchen elements.

When it comes to setting the table, I do a lot of practice runs. I place the platters on the table to figure out the best arrangement and ensure everything will fit and look good.

Each event requires a different amount of preparation. For example, the last event was plant-based, which took a lot of prep work. It all comes down to meticulous planning and practice runs.

Despite the challenges, I find ways to make it work and ensure everything runs smoothly.

How far in advance would you prepare for supper club diners… especially if the menu is seasonal. What is the process?

Let me take you through the whole process…

The menu is planned a couple of weeks ahead of time. Before I develop the menu, I talk to my suppliers and farmers at the local Sorauren Farmers’ Market to see what’s available and in season. For smaller items, I shop locally, particularly in Roncesvalles, at places like Alimentari Italian Grocery and The Meat Department butcher. I have a mental encyclopedia of what’s available because I shop regularly.

A few days before the event, I start procuring the ingredients. I follow a meticulous process for each menu, deciding what to prepare earlier and what to leave for the day of the event. For example, herbs need to be chopped fresh, the day of. For my Albanian supper club dinner, I made homemade phyllo dough, which is very labor-intensive and needs to be prepared a few hours ahead.

One of my favorite dishes to prepare is ribeye steak from my local butcher, Pavao Meats who offers 30-day dry-aged ribeye, because it’s relatively simple. I take it out of the fridge a few hours ahead of time to temper, dry it, then cook it with heavy butter basting. After letting it rest, it’s ready to serve.

Each menu is different and depends on the season and the ingredients available, so the preparation process varies accordingly.

A testament to your skill and preparation: I don’t think I heard a single dish clink in the kitchen during our plant-forward supper club dinner last week. The huge lion’s mane mushroom you brought out fresh for display was served cooked half an hour later, showcasing your skill and spontaneity in whipping up a recipe.

Thank you! While it might look spontaneous, everything is meticulously planned out. Even showing you the lion’s mane mushroom was part of the plan. It’s all about timing and preparation.

For example, at the Albanian supper club dinner, I presented the whole burek before cutting it up so guests could see all the elements. This level of planning ensures that everything runs smoothly, and the experience feels seamless for my guests.

This is fantastic! Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers to encourage them to knock on your door to attend your supper club, or even inspire them to start one of their own?

For those thinking about starting their own supper club, I’d say good luck—it’s quite the adventure! When I first started, I had no idea how quickly it would grow and how much work it would be to keep everything together. But it’s incredibly rewarding!

As for attending a Home by Elva event, I want to emphasize that it’s open to absolutely everyone!

After the Toronto Star article, there was a lot of attention on my most recent guest list, which happened to be millennials at the time, but it’s crucial to me that this experience is inclusive. I’ve had seniors ask if they can celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary here, and the answer is “absolutely yes!”.

I envision this growing far beyond what it is now, even potentially hiring staff to evolve it further. It’s important to me that I’m making connections and helping others do the same because, especially after the last few years, we’re so deprived of genuine conversation and connection.

I want everyone to feel they can come here and have a meaningful experience.

One of the driving forces behind The Gourmet Host is that we see food as an organizing activity for bringing diverse audiences together. And food lowers the barrier for finding common ground and building community. We see this as helping to repair our divided world.

That’s exactly right! Communal dining is the most ancient type of gathering. We have gathered around food for as long as humans have existed. It’s the most primal thing we can do, to gather around cooking and eating.

And there is something about being in someone’s home at a communal dining table that removes all barriers for finding common ground, even among total strangers.

Thank you so much, Elva, for sharing your incredible journey and the magic behind Home by Elva. Your passion for creating meaningful connections through food is truly inspiring. We can’t wait to see how The Supper Club continues to bring people together and evolve.

If you’re in Toronto or planning to visit, don’t miss the chance to attend a supper club event hosted by Elva. Whether you’re looking to meet new people, celebrate a special occasion, or simply enjoy a gourmet meal in a beautiful setting, the Home by Elva Supper Club offers an experience unlike any other.

Visit Elva’s The Supper Club website, or follow her on Instagram, to stay updated on upcoming events and secure your spot at the table for an unforgettable evening of food, conversation, and connection where you dine with strangers!

Bon appétit!