Diner en Blanc New York IV 2014

Touted as the World’s Largest Dinner Party, Diner en Blanc manages to bring together thousands of friends and strangers all clad in white — at a secret location. All guests dress in white and bring their own gourmet cuisine, chairs, tables on which they spread white tablecloths, white napkins, china, crystal, and silverware. No plastic is allowed. The tables are elegantly decorated with candles, floral arrangements, and even candelabras. Then the festivities begin. See more after the pictures.

Diner en Blanc started in Paris in 1988. Francois Pasquier invited some of his friends to a small yet elegant pop-up picnic in Bois de Boulogne. They dressed in white to easily find each other. Diner en Blanc International was founded in 1998 when Francois Pasquier’s son, Aymeric Pasquier, moved to Montreal and decided to keep the tradition alive.

Now, 59 cities all over the world take part in this annual event. Locations include Paris, London, Copenhagen, Moscow, Vancouver, Toronto, Niagara-on-the-Lake, Montreal, Tokyo, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Brisbane, Nairobi, Cape Town, and Johannesburg. Participating U.S. cities include Atlanta, Atlantic City, Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati, New York, Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, New Orleans and Philadelphia. See here for all cities that participate. Hover over the navigation bar at the top to display the cities.

It’s hard to believe it’s already been a year since I last posted about Diner en Blanc. Almost a year has come and gone and Diner en Blanc New York IV, held in Manhattan’s Nelson Rockefeller Park, was a huge success. Our rendezvous was Kings Pharmacy on Reade and Hudson Streets. You can tell from the picture below, there was a pedestrian park with tables to hang out by before we left for the secret location.

Our dinner this year was totally droolworthy! Shrimp cocktail was our appetizer (not pictured.) The main course was cold lobster, mango and tomato salad, and my very own zucchini and corn salad, minus the zucchini. We started with perfect bellinis and poured red wine to enjoy with our meal.  It was colorful beyonds words, as pleasing to the eye, as it was to our tastebuds. Everything was Yummy! The dessert was from The Flaky Tart, an award winning bakery in Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey; fabulous macaroons topped with chocolate mousse and peanut butter shortbread cookies. All this and views of the Hudson River, too!