When chef Ben Lippett and music promoter Louisa Lippett launched Pears For Lunch last December, it went off with a bang. Hosted at south east London Irish pub Skehans, the sell-out debut event saw Ben cooking a multi-course meal while Louisa roped in The Pogues to play a surprise set to shellshocked guests – all just weeks after the idea first came together. Naturally, videos of the event went viral, with Londoners eager to find out when the next event would be.
The impact was by design. “We purposely undersold it,” says Ben. “We wanted to make a big splash with the first event so people sat up and paid attention.”
The idea for the series – a celebration of the collaborative nature of chefs and musicians –stemmed from the couples’ shared passions. “Lou and I wanted to do something that brings together what we both do in our day jobs,” says Ben, Mob Kitchen alumnus and author whose cookbook How I Cook shot to the top of The Sunday Times bestseller list late last year. Louisa works in programming for Green Man festival, which saw Kneecap, CMAT, Wet Leg and Underworld take to the stage in 2025.
“There is a clear link between the two worlds,” Ben continues. “Whether it's food or music, whether you're going to dinner or out for a show, it’s always basically about throwing parties and it's something that we both really like. We didn't think that anyone had really effectively combined the two, or done it in an interesting way.”
Louisa agrees, mostly. “There are definitely people doing food and music together, but the music we like is not the kind that you would think necessarily goes with a sit-down meal experience. Usually it’s jazz, or maybe some kind of ambient DJ, but we want to put something on that’s a proper show.”
Their next night, on Sunday March 22, will see Pears For Lunch host a listening party for Manchester-based band The Orielles at Bar Levan in Peckham, in collaboration with chef and cookbook writer Helen Graham (ex-Bubala, Ottolenghi). Ben cryptically also mentions a “much bigger idea” that the pair is working on – “but we’re keeping that very close to the chest”.
Alongside headline moments, Louisa is keen for Pears For Lunch to be a platform for emerging musicians. “New music is my passion,” she says. “I really like shining a light on new people.” At the Skehans launch, she opened the night with south London folk musician Zach Thompson. “It was really nice to be able to put him on to a massive room of people supporting one of his favourite bands.”
The pair is aware that not all live music suits the atmosphere of a dining room. Instead, each event will be designed around the artist, the food and the space. “If you’ve got some kind of punk band, you don’t really want to be sitting down and having a three-course meal while you watch that,” Louisa says. “So it’s about being more flexible, and working with each band, each artist or each chef to tailor something to them. Every event will be very, very different.”
“It’s not necessarily about trying to book the biggest fish in the pond,” Ben continues. “It’s more about what’s going to be cool, and who we think is doing something interesting creatively.”
Working together, the couple say, has been unexpectedly complementary. “We bring out the good things in each other,” says Louisa. “Ben is very much like, ‘let’s go and do it now’, and I’m more like, ‘let’s wait a minute and think about it.’”
For now, the duo is keen to keep Pears For Lunch fairly petite. “First and foremost, we want to put something on that people are really going to enjoy,” Ben says.
Tickets for The Orielles collaboration with chef Helen Graham at Bar Levan on Sunday March 22 are on sale now through the Pears For Lunch Instagram page.
