‘Dine Different’ Last Supper Society brings culture to Sacramento’s fine dining scene
Last Supper Society co-founders, Byron Hughes and Ryan Royster are both Sacramento natives who moved in similar circles prior to joining forces in 2019.
The pair create culinary experiences and community through curated dining moments with multiple food courses, interesting settings, and guest fellowship.
With every event, Hughes and Royster ask themselves, what do they want people to get from a Last Supper Society function? The common thread was how to make dining an experience.
“We wanted to build community in these spaces and I think food unlocks that magic a little bit and then opens people up to share. When you use food as a cultural artifact, we’re giving a piece of ourselves to our guests and they’re giving us a piece of them and we’re creating this whole new space,” said Royster.
The two have always been creative. Royster has a background in producing and all the “behind-the-scenes” work, and Hughes, an executive chef with fine dining experience. has channeled his artistic lens through food for the past 11 years.
To the pair, it’s more than just fine dining.
When their ideas first met they began combining fine dining with Black culture, a juxtaposition of what you would normally expect at such dining experiences.
“Just the fact that I am a Black male, wearing an apron, cooking this food in this way, that’s like, already a juxtaposition in itself,” said Hughes. “Because in my entire experience in the industry, I’ve literally never seen one of me.”
They planned for almost a year before launching, when the height of the pandemic caused everything to shut down. Suddenly, strangers couldn’t meet each other for cultural exchanges.
Hughes and Royster returned to the drawing board. To them, the formula was simple: Make food an experience.
“I think creatively Byron and I come together and work well to create these concepts, and a lot of my role is, is trying to logistically figure out how to make them sustainable, and how to help bring Byron’s visions, these food experiences, to fruition,” said Royster.
The Last Supper Society introduced their virtual cooking show called “The Cook” In last year. Diners purchased tickets, were sent a “supper kit,” and the pair would meet and dine with patrons while recording live on YouTube.
Once COVID-19 restrictions began to lift, the team began hosting in-person dining events such as “Supper Time at Casino Mine Ranch” and “Dinner on the Delta.”
Hughes also serves as the executive chef at Tiger, where he and Royster partner to host “Disciple Dinners” — a two-hour, nine-course meal.
You can stay updated with Last Supper Society and their upcoming events by following their Instagram under the handle @lastsuppersociety , or on their website, www.lastsuppersociety.com. To be the first to get updates for the next event, you can join their text group at 916-249-3192.