THE GREEN LIGHT

Meet the supper club sensation spotlighting Indonesian cusine

Every so often a chef comes along who sends a breath of fresh air into London’s restaurant scene, and on this occasion it’s Linda From Accounting (@linda_from_ accounting). Although, contrary to her Instagram handle, her name isn’t Linda and she most certainly doesn’t work in accounting. The 27-year-old’s real name is Rahel Stephanie, and she runs Spoons, a supper club series serving fragrant Indonesian dishes that celebrate her heritage. Tickets for her last event, an evening with street-food favourite Pino’s Warung, sold out in less than a minute. ‘I’m so shook and flattered,’ she tells me just after the fact. ‘I still can’t believe how so many people are keen to eat my food.’ Since starting Spoons two years ago she’s popped up at The Plimsoll, collaborated with Ling Ling’s and even appeared in a Flannels campaign sporting Givenchy. She is also determined to correct Western ideas of Indonesian cuisine (‘satay just means skewered in Indonesian, there’s a big misconception of equating it to peanut sauce’). ‘I’m passionate about showing people what Indonesian food really is, how amazing and diverse it is.’ And that she does, with dishes like bright green coconut-flavoured bugis mandi and eclectic, moreish plates of nasi campur, as well as signature riffs on classics such as es teler tiramisu, ‘inspired by an Indonesian shaved ice dessert of coconut, pandan, avocado and jackfruit’. So what’s next? ‘More supper clubs. I’ve got some really exciting ones planned through the year and I also want to continue hosting fundraising events for LGBTQ+ communities in Indonesia affected by Covid.’ Race you there.