Sixteen dads gathered at Lopemede Farm in Oxfordshire for a unique supper club aimed at helping fathers navigate modern parenthood. The men, aged from late twenties to mid-forties, included project managers, a therapist, a farmer, a film set designer, and a drone expert. Their common goal: to explore what it means to be a dad in 2026.
Founder's Personal Journey
Mark Briant, a self-taught chef, created Dads at the Table after feeling 'knocked sideways' by the birth of his daughter Lucía in 2024. 'I had this very romantic view of what being a father was going to be like, all cuddles and giving my daughter the bottle and laughing, and actually, it was huge sleep deprivation,' Mark, 36, told Metro. 'My daughter was – and still is – very much a 'Mummy's girl'. She wouldn't take a bottle, she always had to be on the boob, and I felt like I wanted to contribute, but I couldn't really, and that was really hard for me.'
Mark and his wife Mar moved from London to Long Crendon during their first year as parents, seeking lower costs and family proximity. The lack of a local social circle intensified his isolation. 'I saw some dads in passing that were seemingly smashing it and you can't help but compare yourself,' he said. 'You can feel a bit alone in that.'
A Turning Point
During the early months, Mark heard a phrase that shifted his perspective: 'Baby needs mum, mum needs dad.' 'It's really cheesy, but it was like a switch flipped,' he said. 'I started focusing on “how do I look after my wife as well as I can?”' He threw himself into cooking, batch-cooking meals, preparing dinner nightly while Mar handled bedtime, and creating date night dinners. When Lucía began weaning at six months, he took the lead.
Speaking with male friends, Mark realized some lacked cooking skills. His idea, Dads at the Table, includes a monthly supper club and cooking classes covering freezer-friendly basics and recipes to support partners postpartum. 'For me a home cooked meal is one of the greatest acts of love you can show,' he said. 'It's one of the most useful, generous things a man can do at home.'
The Supper Club Experience
The first supper club featured whipped feta starter, lamb shoulder main, and pistachio tiramisu, all prepared by Mark and Mar. After a welcome drink, Mark encouraged attendees to 'talk a little bit deeper than just how bad the traffic is, or what the weather's like at the moment.' He wanted them to step out of their comfort zones while enjoying a relaxed evening.
Mark's fear of a stilted atmosphere proved unfounded. 'What I was happiest about was how quickly everybody just got stuck into it,' he said, still buzzing two weeks later. 'Lots of guys came by themselves, which is daunting, and hats off to them for doing that.'
One solo attendee was Roberts, husband of the article's author, who wanted to meet like-minded men and have a night off from parenting their two-year-old. 'There's been a lot of discourse around the disappearance of third spaces – with men in particular only existing at home or work – but Mark has managed to create something really special outside of that,' he said. 'It was cathartic to have a good moan about the trials and tribulations of looking after a toddler, the sleep and tantrums and everything else, but also, it was really nice to have moments where we didn't speak about the kids.'
Growing Demand
Mark's second supper club, with capacity increased to 19, sold out within two days. He has yet to set up an Instagram account; interest came from a local Facebook post, flyers, and word of mouth. The third club has a waiting list of 30, and Mark is gauging interest for cooking classes via online sign-up. His biggest challenge is scaling up to meet demand.
Initiatives like London's Pints and Ponytails and national campaign The Dad Shift suggest a broader trend. 'I think men, and then dads in particular, are going through a shift,' Mark said. 'We have changed our perception of what a man is expected to be, but we're still in quite a messy period of figuring out what that looks like. ... There's a lot of good men that are trying to figure it out quietly, in private, so when something really positive comes along, men are running to that as a beacon.'
