WHEN Annabel Oxford was made redundant last summer from her job in the training department of the primary care trust, she decided it was time for a change of career.

“I went on a meat course for a weekend to learn how to make charcuterie,”

she explains. “I’m still not sure whether I did it because telling my staff, who were also being made redundant, that I was going to make salamis made them laugh.”

Having learned how to make salamis and chorizos, Annabel faced another challenge.

“I wondered how I was going to feed people all these things I was making, and then I went to a supper club in Bristol which I loved, so I decided that’s what I’d do,” she said.

To date, Annabel has run four supper clubs, each serving 12 guests with seven courses, and has another four scheduled for this month and next. Following a research trip to Barcelona, a Spanish theme is promised for forthcoming menus.

“Although I don’t really know where the original idea for charcuterie came from, I do love food and my mother was a great cook,” says Annabel.

“I also have an allotment and I forage a lot, but the other thing I realised, as my youngest child prepares to leave home, was that I didn’t have to cook dinners for the children any more. I could cook what I liked.”

The first supper club was attended by friends, but word has spread with friends of friends now booking to enjoy the supper club experience.

“What will mark real success is a room full of strangers,” says Annabel.

Annabel’s next supper clubs are on January 18 and 26. To book, email Annabel at annabeloxford@btinternet.com.