Inspired by Anthony Bourdain, Chef Jorden Dolan Creates The Woodlands Supper Club — Pop-Up Dinners and a New Community

California native Chef Jorden Dolan owes her career to getting the late Anthony Bourdain’s megaseller Kitchen Confidential as a gift.

“I actually wanted to be an architect funnily enough, but I had already been working kitchens for a really long time,” Dolan tells PaperCity The Woodlands. “And then someone actually gave me a copy of Anthony Bourdain’s book. I read it when I was maybe like 17 or 18, and it just clicked for me.

“It was a very behind-the- scenes account of kitchens and I was like, ‘Oh, I’m supposed to be in the kitchen.’ ”

Dolan’s kitchen is now in The Woodlands, where she has cooked up The Woodlands Supper Club, which is fast becoming a monthly foodie must-attend attend.

“I really want to build a culinary community here,” she says. “That’s the one thing I think that I miss the most from California, that very tight knit community. Everyone’s so excited about all the food all the time, and everybody is sharing and collaborating and doing these pop-up dinners together.”

Pop-up dinners may be a staple in Houston and most major restaurant cities, but they are still largely new to The Woodlands. Which Dolan quickly discovered.

“I met with the venue owner, and I told him that it was a pop-up dinner,” she remembers. “And he was like, ‘What is that? What?’ And multiple people have been like, ‘Yeah, what? We don’t know what that means.’ And I was like, ‘Well, interesting, like, let me tell you. It’s where you go and you buy tickets to a dinner, and it’s only one night — and it’s in a different place. It’s a fixed menu.’ ”

Each month, Dolan scouts out a different area of The Woodlands for the latest edition of the Supper Club.

“Our first location was down at like near Rayford/Sawdust,” she says “We actually did a holiday party at the Premier Event rental company showroom. This year, I think all of our dinners are going to be in private homes. So they’re going to be either Airbnbs, or word of mouth for somebody who would be willing to host us. And these are small dinner parties, less than 20 people.

“I am cooking just literally, like the best of the best, whatever I can get my hands on at the market that week. Very seasonal.  The biggest pillar of my business has always been that we’re all organic. So every all the ingredients that we use are organic and non-toxic. We use pasture raised, wild seafood, organic produce.”

Every month has about a six course dinner, but how it’s served varies.

“Sometimes it’s all plated,” Dolan says. “Sometimes it’s family style. Sometimes the combination of the two, depending on how we’re feeling. I always include a wide variety of ingredients, so everyone with any dietary restrictions is always covered. In the winter time, you’re going to see more squashes, root vegetables, pomegranates, mandarins, that kind of thing.

“We also include wine pairings with that. So it’s all very high-end wines. So I don’t drink any wines that are not organic, or have any sulfites in them.”

That culinary community Dolan missed? She’s creating it at each Woodlands Supper Club event.

“Even though it’s a luxurious atmosphere, it’s very relaxed,” she says.”By the time the second course is started, everyone is chatting and sharing stories. We had people who were total strangers taking selfies with each other in front of the table.”

 The Woodlands Supper Club’s Head Chef

Dolan has been in The Woodlands for about three and a half years, but has been in catering with her company Savory Events since 2015 in California.

“I found a small trade school down in Monterey Bay that was a culinary arts trade school, and it was a one year certificate program, so that’s where I ended up going to school,” Dolan says. “And truth be told, I maybe use five percent of whatever I learned in the classroom. But the internships that we did during that school year, you know, we got to go and start doing these like Pebble Beach Food and Wine events.

“And so the the experience that we got, even just during that year, was what was truly worth it.”

After graduation, Dolan’s first job was at Marriott, and while there she participated in many of the major local culinary events. A chef from Pebble Beach Resorts saw her at an event and asked if she’d come to Pebble Beach to work. After a successful years-long career in Pebble Beach, Dolan struck out on her own.

“I didn’t necessarily know that I was going to start catering or private chefing, but then people started asking me, and so I ended up down that path,” she says.”I’ve been doing that full time for nine years now. I also do some contract work, so other companies hire me to do menu writing, consulting and event planning.”

And now foodies in The Woodlands have something to look forward to every month.

Woodlands Supper Club events typically fall on the third Friday of the month. This month’s Supper Club is set for next Friday, January 24 from 6 pm to 9 pm. Tickets are available on Eventbrite.