You will undoubtedly have noticed that the phrase "Pop-Up" has become more widely used of late. When I was a lad this was simply an extravagant way of illustrating a storybook in 3D now though it is just so much more. I have heard of all sorts of Pop Ups from bakeries to discos and beyond but the most common type of occasional event that the term has come to represent is the pop up restaurant. The story is one of interest to me as it reflects I think a simmering dissatisfaction with the norm – a desire for something different, that can defiantly be a force for good. Despite the success of the Pop-Up events we see as commonplace these days this is by no means a new idea.

Occasional dining events have been around forever. When I was a youngster the Church was always hosting events like this – a few quid for a full on three-course meal – although of course in those days it was far from trendy and always a daytime thing. I also remember cooking risotto, pasta and home-made ice cream in an old foundry on Old Street in east London, a long time before it was cool to do such things, which just goes to show a good idea can run and run.

There is something very special about bringing people together to eat and it's something mostly missing in your standard restaurant. It's the sense of togetherness that's so real, so human and so important here. We lead busy, compartmentalised lives these days, with most families even not sitting down for a shared meal together more than once or twice a month, let alone extended family, friends and neighbours. There is something more to this though, and that's the fact that when you do all go out as a big group of friends and family to a restaurant and eat together, you don't usually share the same meal. For me that's where communal dinning events and Pop Ups have the key advantage. When you do sit down as part of a group and share a meal that is the same for everyone you immediately have common ground – you are sharing an experience, you may not love it, you may not like it even, but that's ok. You have been fed, you have stopped, connected with the people around you and that in itself is a good thing, and good for your sense of wellbeing too.

Aside, though, from the humanist, hippy claptrap I find myself indulging in there are other more measurable positive effects of Pop Ups, particularly when they are all about the event, rather than just another platform for the chef's ego. More and more, we are seeing these Pop Up events providing a platform for connecting local producers with other local producers, and more than that, with their own communities. Pop Ups come in all different shapes and sizes and cater for most tastes and diets too.