Joe McNamee: Pop-up food events are thriving, but are restaurants paying the price?

Joe McNamee explores the growing appeal of pop-up dining and why some restaurateurs see the trend as a threat

The Woodland Kitchen at Esk Mountain, where the nature restoration project hosts many of its pop-up meal events, including this summer's Taste the Wild series.

Regular readers will know I regularly flag pop-up dining events. Indeed, today’s column mentions the next outing of the always enjoyable Tiger Balm Club, chefs Mark Aherne and Bryan ‘Sunshine Primo’ Rudd’s immersive homages to South East Asian cuisines.

My personal experience of pop-ups has been largely positive: Often great food; unusual, even unique, venues; and a shared dining format that makes company equally compelling.