IKEA Launches DIY Restaurant Where Guests Are the Chefs

Ikea’s latest dining innovation arrives in the United Kingdom next week. The Scandinavian purveyor of sleek home goods and Swedish meatballs is now in the business of letting guests cook for themselves at one store in the Shoreditch district of London, Fortune reports.

"The Dining Club" is a free DIY series that runs from September 10 through September 25. Customers can submit an online application to partake in the cook-for-yourself program and, if accepted, will take to the kitchen with a group of seven to 19 friends. The amateur cooks will prepare either lunch, brunch, or dinner under the watchful eyes of a head chef, according to the program’s website, and once the meal is complete, the dinner party begins.

For those who aren't so eager to cook for themselves, the pop-up experience also includes a cafe featuring the store’s famous meatballs, pulled salmon rolls, and smorgasbords, and Metro reports there will be a shop selling items found at The Dining Club. Thirty-eight free "food for thought" workshop sessions are on deck as well, though some are already sold out.

A similar concept previously popped up in Paris, but not at an actual Ikea store. Amateur chefs prepared three-course meals using the furniture outlet's cafeteria items, and proceeds went to charity.

• Ikea's New Restaurant Asks You to Build Your Own Meals [Fortune]
• Ikea is opening a pop-up restaurant in London and there will be meatballs [Metro]
• Ikea Plots Parisian Restaurant Pop-Up [E]
• All Ikea Coverage [E]