Mam Sham on jacket potatoes with tuna, eating noises and chilli oil vaccines

Thea Everett

Deputy editor (audiences) Thea loves to be in the kitchen and has a particular interest in cooking on a budget and deep frying. She thinks Sri Lankan and Indian food is the food of the gods. She looks after the brand’s social channels and newsletter – and contributes features and recipes.

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This week’s Fridge Raid interview sees us dig deep with “CEOs, directors, managing partners and fair dukes” of supperclub sensation Mam Sham. Childhood friends Maria Georgiou and Rhiannon Butler bring together the joys of food and comedy in their high concept dining experiences, offering attendees a delicious meal and plenty of laughs – or in their words, “Good grub + lols”.

Working with top comedians like Jamali Maddix, Babatunde Aléshé and Rose Matafeo, Mam Sham have collaborated with some of London’s top chefs and food collectives such as Supa Ya Ramen, Black Axe Mangal, Four Legs and Taste Cadets. The events are now famous in London for being raucous and buzzy sell-outs, with no two nights the same, and all profits are donated to charities.

We caught up with Maria and Rhiannon to find out the scariest thing that’s ever happened to them in the kitchen – and the best thing they ate this week…

Mam Sham on jacket potatoes with tuna, eating noises and chilli oil vaccines

Pick ‘n’ mix

What was the last takeaway you ordered?
Afghan Kitchen in Angel, north London – make sure you add on the pickles.

What’s the scariest thing that’s ever happened to you in the kitchen?
The great rice fiasco circa 2020 – weirdly the cooker needed to be plugged in to work.

Do you use kitchen roll with abandon or do you ration it?
Like it’s going out of fashion.

What are your favourite social media accounts to follow?
Adventures in jelly – the name is on the tin, and it delivers.
Photographer Louise Hagger – for the gorgeous visuals.
Slutty Cheff – for the filth.
Writer and cook Melek Erdal @mels_place_east – love her recipes and writing!

Do you make groans of pleasure or do you eat in (stunned) silence?
Roaring groans of pleasure, screams in fact. We’re banned from most restaurants.

What is your cinema snack of choice?
The foam prawns and bananas with a chocolate mouse. They remind us of our 18th century childhood.

The main meal

When did you learn to cook?
We are still learning! We got into food early on with our mums encouraging us to fend for ourselves (how selfless).

"We got into food early on with our mums encouraging us to fend for ourselves (how selfless)"

What attitudes towards food did you grow up with?
That it’s the centrepiece to a party.

What’s your favourite dish that’s been on a Mam Sham supperclub menu?
Recently we did a course at our supperclub with Mambow & Ling Ling’s – they made tamarind oxtail, green sambal, herby radishes and cucumber. The course was inspired by comedy trio Crybabies, who did a sketch about turning into a Shakespeare-loving zombie – so we served chilli oil vaccines in syringes.

How does your job affect how you eat?
We’re very fortunate to be in a network filled with people filling us up, so we indulge way too often.

What’s your biggest obstacle when it comes to cooking?
Rhi can’t reach the counter and Maria’s head is in the extractor fan.

Our bite-sized week

What was the best thing you ate this week?
Sweet and sour squirrel fish at Lucky & Joy.

What was the most mundane meal you ate?
Nothing, mundane is a state of mind we don’t care to indulge in.

What was your treat of the week?
We reserve a day a week for our fav café (New River Café, no not that one, the one by Clissold Park) for our weekly jacket potato, tuna mayo feast, served with a stunningly chilled Ribena.

Where did you shop for food – and what did you buy?
It totally depends on where we are that day. Last week we were in Tottenham so we got our fruit and veg at Holcombe Market. 10/10 deal on the lychees.

And what did you do to relax?
Bangers, mash, cuppa tea, Eastenders, couple of biccies. BLISS.

Keep up to date with all things Mam Sham and find out about future events via their website.