Pop-up kitchens return to Abergavenny

Popular one-off dining events feature at local Christmas fair

Llanover House will be the venue for the pop-up kitchen on 2 December. Image courtesy of Colin Madge. Featured image courtesy of Abergavenny Food Festival.

Adding a taste of luxury to local festivities, one of Abergavenny’s most esteemed chefs will welcome guests to his two pop-up kitchens next month.

Chef Franco Taruschio has collaborated with his daughter Pavinee to put together two one-off menus for the events, which will be held on 2 December at Llanover house and 10 December at Abergavenny Cricket club.

Next months festive dinners mark the return of Franco’s popular pop-up kitchen to Abergavenny’s renown food fairs, following similar events last Christmas and in September.

“They were so successful we just couldn’t take any more bookings,” said Franco’s wife, Ann, who is in charge of booking arrangements. She says that demand for tickets for this season’s pop-up kitchens has been equally high.

The stately home will play host to the first of Franco’s pop up kitchens on 2 December and the 40 guests can enjoy a generous portion of Llanover heritage with their four-course meal.

The specially devised menu features dishes that hail from the classic cookery book First Principles of Good Cookery, published in 1867 by the Rt Hon Lady Llanover herself. A re-print of the book was published 1991, and to mark the occasion Franco brought several of the recipes up to date.

This pop-up event is intended as “a celebration of Lady Llanover”, according to Ann Taruschio. She explained that while tickets for the event have sold out, it is worth registering interest in case a place becomes available last minute.

The second event features a unique menu combining elements of Thai and Italian cuisine, which according to Ann was created to celebrate the cultural heritage of her daughter, Pavinee.

Tickets for the pop-up kitchen at Abergavenny Cricket Club are still available by contacting Ann directly. For contact details and menus, or for further information about Abergavenny’s Christmas Food Fair, please visit their website.

Abergavenny, Christmas fair, food, pop-up kitchens, South Wales.