old-school way again . The idea behind these dinners is to let talented chefs work their whisks in an affordable , relaxed setting . And since they 're often operating out of their own kitchens , without a license to serve the public , these cooks have to keep the locales , and their own identities , under wraps . Budget Travel : The utterly random dinner party `` The trend started in food-centric cities like San Francisco , but in the last year , groups have been popping up across the country , '' says Jenn Garbee , author of `` Secret Suppers , '' which spotlights some of the more than 80 clubs now up and running in the U.S. . One such is Guerrilla Cuisine , founded by an incognito cook in Charleston , South Carolina , who uses the alias Jimihatt and wears a ninja mask at his gatherings . As at many clubs , diners must submit their reservations weeks in advance on Jimihatt 's Web site and then wait for an e-mail with directions to the hush-hush locale . Based on his track record , you wo n't be disappointed : The bearded Jimihatt
-LRB- Budget Travel -RRB- -- Last October , more than 40 people followed signs depicting a skull and crossbones , with a knife and fork in place of the bones , to a secluded Bavarian-style hunting lodge 30 minutes north of St. Louis . An Entre dinner party was hosted in a Missouri hunting lodge . The attendees did n't have any idea where they were headed or what to expect . All they knew was that they were in for a five-course meal courtesy of John-Jack , an undercover chef who 'd invited each of them via a top-secret e-mail to the latest of what he calls his Entre dinner parties . Guests arrived to a bluegrass band jamming in a room decorated with deer antlers . As a fire crackled in the massive stone fireplace , they dined on wild-elk medallions , home-cured bacon , grapefruit confit , and butternut squash ice cream -- and toasted their good fortune with pumpkin ale from nearby microbrewery Schlafly . Welcome to the world of underground supper clubs . Getting a reservation requires a little detective work , but once in , you may never go back to eating out the