Pop-up picnic experience comes to London
Dîner en Blanc, the Parisian flash feast project, is coming to the UK for the first time, to a top secret location in London. The event was started 24 years ago by François Pasquier with just a handful of his friends; now the feasts cater for 1,000 people.
The Dîner en Blanc is set to be the hottest ticket in town, after 30,000 people applied to its launch event in America. Mystery and intrigue are the order of the day, as guests will have no idea where the feast is until only one hour before it starts. They will then be transported to the location by arranged public transport where the feast will begin.
The rules can be seen as complex - all guests must wear white, bring a picnic table (between 71 cm x 71 cm and 81 cm x 81 cm), foldable chairs in white, and sit with the men on one side and the women on the other. However, the organisers defend this by saying that their Dîner en Blanc parties are events with a difference, and hark back to a 'court-like' society.
One thing's for sure, you'll never have another night like this, as the party promises to be a 'truly magical event', with delights for all the senses. Once the night is over, guests are expected to clean up after themselves, and depart on public transport.
This, perhaps, is something that the London event will struggle with, as it's hard to imagine a crowd of rowdy Brits tidying up their rubbish and then quietly heading home. But the proof will be in the pudding come Thursday - make sure you're there to sample it.
Emily Bancroft
Tagged in Food & Drink Foodie Travel