No.68 Project

photo by Chris Eichler

The List: Are You On It? – Chef’s Column

by Hosan Lee & Jill Richmond

The Number 68 Project is the latest pop-up dining experience to hit DC Area. Creators, Hosan Lee and Jill Richmond developed this Sunday night dinner series that matches up well-known mixologists, chefs and a cultural guests to create an evening of food, drink and heady conversation. Jill Richmond is currently a consultant with the World Bank Innovation Practice. She has over 10 years experience working within various legislative strengthening initiatives. Her true passion is in preserving a chef and mixologists prerogative in the kitchen and at the bar. Hosan Lee is a design entrepreneur who has made it her life mission to focus on creating human engagement systems. She is interested in building platforms that progress civility and allow people to connect with one another in meaningful and impactful ways.


When we started Number 68 Project in London, it was housed in a very eclectic, slightly eccentric East London converted warehouse. The initial function of Number 68 Project was to serve as a test kitchen, for chefs to play off of whimsical ideas and create design narrative menus which told a story. Visiting writers and performers were to take part in a literary salon. On several evenings, we were joined by award-winning short story writers and an Orange Prize-winning novelist, which were interpreted through the courses conceptually and literally.

When we introduced Number 68 Project to Washington DC, it was with a new mission: use food and drink as a vehicle to bring people together for the sake of meaningful dialogue around the dinner table. With the conversation led by nationally-recognized journalists, writers, authors, scientists, musicians, activists and artists, our evenings have also become a platform for the next generation of talent to showcase their culinary and mixology perspectives. Read More…

Number 68 Project: DC’s Cultural Dinner Series

by Lauren Lamb

A secret-society-like supper club from across the pond has recently landed in DC. The Number 68 Project started one year ago in a converted East London art studio/test kitchen as a way to gather people together to enjoy exceptional food and inspired conversation. A city full of politicos, literati and starry local chefs, the nation’s capital seemed like just the right place to continue the success of what was started in London. Read More…

Dining Out In DC Breaks The Mold

by Amanda

As a heavy spring rain streaked the window panes of a small brick building on 14th Street, 45 diners took their seats around candle-lit tables covered with white cloths and decorated with tangles of tree branches.

Through a progression of seven courses, a pair of well-respected culinary talents presented their creations. The service was polished, the setting was hip, and the meal, expertly prepared.

But this was no restaurant. It was one in a series of “cultural dinners” dubbed the No. 68 Project.

The brainchild of Jill Richmond and Hosan Lee, the Sunday night dinner series pairs up a chef and mixologist who work together to craft a menu that plays off a fortune cookie’s message. (Richmond and Lee broke open piles of cookies to find just the right fortunes.) Noteworthy cultural guests lead the night’s topical dialogue. Read More…

World Bank employee starts dining event in D.C. that includes smart conversation as focus

March 12th, 2011

By Hannah Seligson

The couple seated across from them wasn’t in as much agreement over their ratings, Wiser later recalled. “The wife’s number was really low, and the husband’s number was very high,” she said. Read More…

March 1st, 2011

I recently attended the February 27th Number 68 Project dinner at Fathom Creative. The Number 68 Project seeks to bridge together food, drink and conversation through a fine dining pop-up restaurant. This week’s dinner was centered around the idea that “Fear is the darkroom where negatives are developed.”

The 7 course meal was prepared by Chef Ed Witt of 701 in Washington, DC. Each course had a drink pairing concocted by mixologist Jared Boller of Julie Reiner’s Lani Kai in New York City. Both played off of the theme of fear by challenging the diners and drinkers to contemplate and conquer common fears. Read More…

February 28th, 2011

Closest Thing to Top Chef: Number 68 Project

DC Food-Loving Folk, by now, no doubt, you’ve heard about the Number 68 Project. It started with a Social Network-style invitation-only concept, but quickly developed into a marketing beast. We attended the first event, last Sunday, with chef Mike Isabella and mixologist Derek Brown providing cuisine and libations. The theme for our evening was “We cannot direct the wind, but we can adjust the sails: adaptability, optimism, perspective”. Read More…

Eat: No. 68 Project

February 24th, 2011

What: Answer existential questions (what’s your idea of earthly happiness?) for access to multicourse dinners ($155) prepared by local chefs and mixologists.
Why: Dinner is one part philosophy and one part gastronomy.
When: Sundays thru Apr. 17.
Where: Fathom Creative, 1333 14th St. NW. Request an invitation online at number68project.com.

February 18th, 2011

DC Weekend Edition

Food: No. 68 Project : A Discourse in Dining

Number 68 Project’s Washington DC Cultural Dinner Series is a conceptual fine dining popup restaurant that brings attention to some of life’s most important questions through the sensory appreciation of some of life’s most important pleasures – food, drink, art and inspired conversation.

It started in March 2010 as a way to gather people together in a converted East London art studio/test kitchen. That humble beginning quickly turned into nights of award-winning and rising star literati, musicians and artists mingling with entrepreneurs, technology executives and financiers, as chefs and sommeliers working in Michelin Star restaurants used the intimate evenings as an opportunity to execute on their more experimental tendencies. These 5-7 course dinners caught the attention of press from outlets such as BBC, The Times, Flavorpill, and Thrillist.

Chef Mike Isabella (Top Chef All-Stars) kicks off the series on Sunday, February 20.

February 18th, 2011

The Dish: Pop-Up Parties: The No. 68 Project brings together chefs, mixologists and speakers for one-night-only soirees.

By Nevin Martell

Pop-up restaurants have been fashionable in Europe and South America for several years and now they’re coming to the District. Hosan Lee and Jill Richmond of The No. 68 Project started throwing one-night-only dinner parties in London several years ago and felt that Washington was the logical starting point for their American efforts. “New York may be the cultural capitol of the world,” says Richmond. “But D.C. is the decision-making capitol of the world.”

At The No. 68 Project events, diners are treated to a once-in-a-lifetime collaboration between a chef, a mixologist and a cultural expert, who all work around a theme. Though not all of the events have been announced yet, the initial dates and collaborators have been fleshed out. The first dinner on February 20 sees Top Chef All-Stars contestant/Graffiato owner Mike Isabella paired with The Passenger’s Derek Brown and begs the question, “How do you adapt to life’s shifting forces?” The second event on February 27 sees Againn’s executive chef Wes Morton working with mixologist Jared Boller from NYC’s Lani Kai and asks diners “What are your biggest fears, and how do you respond?” Lee and Richmond say diners should expect tip-to-tail dining featuring leftfield ingredients, such as bone marrow and uni (Japanese sea urchin).

The No. 68 Project parties continue every Sunday at Fathom Creative in Logan Circle until April 17 and cost $155 per person.

Number 68 Project Brings Supper Club-Style Pop-Up To DC

By Amy McKeever

Monday, February 14, 2011

Sunday evening marks the launch of yet another DC pop-up, this time courtesy of the Number 68 Project. This experiential nine-week dinner series first launched last year in London, and features a weekly rotation of chefs, mixologists and cultural collaborators. Each night will have its own theme around which chefs and artists will frame the dining experience. Read More…