United by a shared love of food and entertaining, friends Cal Fernie and Tobi Fox founded Arlo Communal in 2020 — an intimate supper club experience created with the ambition of taking it around the world. That vision has since become a reality.
Now based in New York, the Aussie duo curate unique dining experiences that bring people together over seasonal menus and a shared table, building a global community grounded in connection, creativity and good food.
With autumn signalling a period of reset, we thought it was a fitting time to sit down with the pair to find out what daily rituals they rely on. Below, they also share their recipe for Peri Peri Chicken, a warming, balanced dish designed to share.
Quick-fire Q+A:
What time do you wake up?
Tobi: The alarm goes off at 8am each morning.
What’s the first thing you do?
Tobi: Play with the cats.
Early morning or late night?
Cal: Both are cool. I’d say late night though.
What’s one thing you do every day, without thinking? Indoors or outdoors?
Cal: Porridge. Indoors.
What’s something you’ve stopped doing recently?
Tobi: Worrying what the world thinks.
What feels essential right now?
Cal & Tobi: Creating more. Giving more.
What are you listening to at the moment?
Cal & Tobi: Gospel! My Search is Over: Friendship Baptist Church Mass Choir
Is there a smell that brings back a memory?
Tobi: Fresh thyme. I remember the crack of the thyme roasting with butter and garlic the first time I cooked a steak properly. It also takes me back to the south of France where thyme grows wild in the crevices of the pavement.
What do you do to reset?
Tobi: Fighting (MMA) and sleeping.
What do you turn to for inspiration?
Cal: Films and directors. Paul Thomas Anderson is a goodie.
Peri-Peri Chicken with Warm Pita, Garlic Labneh and Butter Lettuce
“Smoky, spicy, salty, sweet and sharp, this is a full table meal. Charred chicken drenched in punchy peri-peri, soft pita to scoop, cool labne and a crisp, lemon-y salad to balance it all.” - ARLO
Ingredients
● 1 whole chicken, halved
● 1 red bell pepper
● 1⁄2 bunch spring onions
● 2 French shallots
● 5 garlic cloves
● 2 bird’s eye chilies (red or green)
● 4 Fresno chilies
● 1⁄2 orange
● 1⁄2 lemon
● 4 bay leaves, stems removed
● 5 sprigs thyme, leaves picked
● 1 tsp coriander seeds
● 1 heaped tsp smoked paprika
● 1 heaped tsp dried oregano
● 1 tbsp good-quality vinegar (we used persimmon vinegar + a little pickled Thai chili
but white wine vinegar will do the trick)
● 1 tsp fish sauce
● 1 tsp sugar
● Extra-virgin olive oil (a generous glug)
For the finishing drippings
● 1 tsp finely chopped coriander
● 1 tsp finely chopped parsley
Method
1. Char the base
Blister the bell pepper, spring onions, shallots, chilies and the cut sides of the citrus in a
Gozney or under a very hot grill. You’re looking for deep char and softened flesh; smoky
edges, tender centres.
2. Blend the sauce
Peel most of the pepper skin away. Roughly chop everything and transfer to a food
processor. Add thyme, bay, spices, vinegar, fish sauce, sugar and a generous glug of olive oil.
Blitz for about 1 minute. It should look similar to a romesco sauce.
Taste. It should wake you up: spicy, smoky, salty, sweet and bright.
3. Roast the chicken
Coat the halved chicken generously with the sauce.
Roast at 200°C for 35 minutes (look for an internal temperature of 74°C), basting with extra sauce every 10 minutes.
Finish under a hot grill – or blast in a Gozney – for deep char and caramelised edges.
Rest before serving.
Ingredients
● 300g flour
● 180g water
● 15g olive oil
● 2g yeast
● 12g sugar
● 6g salt
Method
Best to start before the chicken. Mix all ingredients until smooth. Cover and proof for 1–3 hours, or until doubled in size.
Divide the dough into 6 even pieces. Round each piece and let rest for 15 minutes.
Roll each piece into 10cm rounds that are not so thin — thick enough to allow the pita to
puff beautifully.
Preheat the oven to 275°C with a baking stone inside. (If you prefer, you can cook on the
stovetop, but a pizza oven works best.)
Bake each pita for 1–2 minutes, until fully puffed and lightly golden.
Ingredients
Cool, sharp and fresh. This cuts through the richness of the chicken.
Ingredients
● 1 head butter lettuce
● 1⁄2 onion, quick pickled
● 1⁄2 fennel bulb, thinly sliced
● Pinch of salt
● Juice of 1⁄2 lemon
Quick Pickled Onion
Thinly slice onion (mandolin works best). Add a pinch of salt, a slightly larger pinch of sugar,
juice of 1⁄2 lemon and a splash of white wine vinegar. Massage and rest 30 minutes.
To assemble, gently toss lettuce, fennel and a handful of pickled onion with salt and lemon.
Ingredients
● 200g labneh
● 1 garlic clove, finely grated
● 1 tbsp extra-virgin olive oil
● 1 tsp lemon juice
● Salt and pepper
Mix and adjust seasoning to taste.
To Plate
Stir chopped coriander and parsley into the warm chicken drippings. Spoon onto the base of each plate.
Place the charred chicken on top.
Serve with warm pita, crisp salad and a generous spoon of garlic labneh on the side.
Eat with your hands.
