Book-A-Table supper club · 11 April 2026

Butter: Japanese home cooking, Asako Yuzuki style

On 11 April 2026, Book-A-Table cooked Asako Yuzuki's Butter: a Japanese home-cooking spread of onigiri, teriyaki skewers, yamitsuki cabbage and udon, served under crimson drapes and paper fans to a full living room in Bengaluru.

The book: Butter by Asako Yuzuki
When: 11 April 2026
Where: The sisters' home, Bengaluru
Format: A Japanese spread with a moderated discussion

Guests sit in a circle of sofas and chairs beneath crimson drapes and hand-lettered Book-A-Table bunting — An evening of stories, drinks and butter-soft conversation

The bookWhy Butter

In Asako Yuzuki's Butter, translated by Polly Barton, Tokyo journalist Rika Machida tries to interview Manako Kajii, a gourmet cook convicted of killing lonely men. Kajii will only talk about food. The novel is loosely inspired by a real case, and its descriptions of butter rice, beef stew and cake are as famous as its plot.

A novel this hungry needed a table to match. We hung crimson muslin and hand-lettered bunting, fanned out red-and-white paper fans, and cooked a Japanese home spread with something on every chalkboard tag for vegetarians and meat-eaters alike.

At the tableHow the afternoon went

Macaroni passed round in newsprint paper cups.
Pink-frosted mini cupcakes with sugar pearls, for something sweet.
About twenty readers squeezed into the group photo at the end of the afternoon.

In the glassWelcome drinks, one green, one redGlasses of bright green and ruby red, handed out on a tray dressed with crocheted yellow flowers as guests arrived.More from the bar cart →

Japanese-inspired buffet of udon bowls, onigiri, skewers and cupcakes with chalkboard tags beside the Book-A-Table sign — The full spread, from udon to onigiri to teriyaki

Overhead view of cheesy, peppered macaroni served in vintage newspaper-print paper cups — Macaroni bundled in newsprint, ready to be passed around

Pink-frosted mini cupcakes topped with white sugar pearls on white trays over a teak table — Pink cupcakes with sugar pearls for something sweet

Tray of green and red drinks in glasses on a navy cloth dotted with crocheted yellow flowers — Welcome drinks on a tray of crocheted flowers

Smiling group of around twenty guests and hosts posing under red drapes and Book-A-Table banners — Strangers at noon, friends by the group photo

A guest laughs with eyes closed, holding a printed paper food wrap in a decorated living room — Pure joy over a little parcel of food

Afternoon light on guests gathered around a living room draped in crimson fabric, plates on the table — Settling in as the afternoon light fills the room

Close-up of glossy teriyaki mushroom skewers on bamboo sticks resting on a dark tray — Teriyaki mushroom skewers, lacquered and glistening

Questions about this supper

When was the Butter supper club?

Book-A-Table's Butter supper club, based on the book by Asako Yuzuki, took place on 11 April 2026 at the sisters' home in Bengaluru.

What was served at the Butter supper club?

Veg Onigiri, Udon Ramen, Yamitsuki Cabbage, Edamame, Teriyaki Mushroom Skewers, Teriyaki Chicken Skewers. A partial menu, read off the chalkboard tags in our photos.

Will there be another edition like this?

Each book is a one-off, but every edition is announced to the waitlist first. Join the list to hear about the next one.

Butter: Japanese home cooking, Asako Yuzuki style