Le Dîner en Blanc

By Eagle Street Yuppie | Posted in Eagle Street Yuppie | 26 July 2012 2:05PM

Did I ever mention that I am terrible at keeping secrets...? On Saturday 1st September, one of the most sought-after secret events is making its Australian premiere at an undisclosed location in Brisbane. And, trust me, it’s much more exciting than the G20 summit.

You may have seen mysterious pictures or heard whispers of Le Dîner en Blanc in other international cities. This pop-up ‘white dinner’ has been taking place annually in secret outdoor locations across twenty cosmopolitan cities around the world.

The concept is simple. People sign up on a waiting list to be invited to this exclusive, elegant and special pop-up dinner party. At the last minute, invitations are sent out to the guest list to gather at a number of transport hubs to be taken to the secret location on the evening.

Guests are asked to dress entirely in white and bring their own tables, chairs and gourmet picnic basket of food. If you like cutting corners like me, you can also choose to rent the tables and chairs and buy a picnic hamper. Et voila! A mass chic dinner party with thousands dressed all in white in a unique public space.

The concept originated in Paris some twenty odd years ago, when François Pasquier organised a dinner with his friends in the Bois du Boulogne, requesting that invitees dress in white so they could identify each other.

The stylish Parisians clearly took to the idea of an exclusive dinner party with a strict dress code, as Paris's Dîner en Blanc now assembles nearly 15,000 people each year. The French capital's most iconic sites have played host, and the 2012 Dîner en Blanc was held across three venues in the Château de Versailles, the Esplanade de Notre-Dame and the Place des Vosges.

Now, Brisbane is set to be the first Australian city to host Le Dîner en Blanc in a few weeks’ time.

To secure your invitation, sign up for the waiting list. Phase one invitees are friends of the organisers. Phase two are friends nominated by them. Phase three are invitees from the waiting list. As for the mysterious location, that’s a secret not even I know about.

TUL Note: Eagle Street Yuppie is The Urban List’s resident corporate fat cat - negotiating, with great stealth, the delicate ins-and-outs of our CBD pecking order. Be sure to peruse the Eagle Street Yuppie Blog for the best restaurants, bars, events, and retail haunts on offer; perfect for those chasing the Yuppie Dream in our fair city. If you deem life’s little luxuries as daily necessities... this twenty-something, discerning lawyer has got you covered.

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