Pop- up dining dishes up intrigue
Exclusive French culinary event comes to Vancouver for the first time
White night of dining cloaked in secrecy.
Think of them as the flashiest mob. Forget cream or ivory hues: You will spot them by their head- to- toe whiter- than-white regalia — oh, and that matching table and chair they’ll be carrying, too.
This elegant throng of 1,200 may not know where they are going as yet, but they do know they’re handling tickets to one of Vancouver’s hottest events. At around 6 p. m. on Aug. 30, they will be meeting in packs of around a hundred at allotted stations downtown and following a similarly monochromatic leader to set up their place setting at the secret site of Dîner en Blanc.
The outdoor French culinary export is probably the most famous of the pop- up restaurants ( as well as stores, bakeries et al) that shine brightly as part of the zeitgeist for all things temporary before fading away just as rapidly.
For example, this summer in London, England, people gravitated toward the idea of René Redzepi, chef of Noma, Copenhagen’s vaunted restaurant, to engineer A Taste of Noma pop- up at Claridge’s hotel in London; a couple of years ago the Kate Spade design group brand notably set up a temporary igloo in NYC’s Bryant Park. Here in Vancouver, pop- ups are gaining traction, too: From a variety of underground and supper clubs such as Swallow Tail and temporary restaurants such as the Opus Hotel’s One Hundred Days ( now Cento Notti) to stores such as The Found & the Freed, which sells vintage knick- knacks.
The pop- up phenomenon is all about the experiential life, and this summer’s Dîner en Blanc is that writ large. A veritable once-in-a- lifetime opportunity to dine in public on one night only joining thousands who have joined the experience in 20 cities across five continents in the past 25 years. ( Vancouver’s certainly not the last to be invited to the party; Toronto also enjoys its inaugural dinner this year, although it has already charmed Montreal four times and Quebec City twice.)
“This fulfils a craving in humans to connect and be more social
despite all the screen life, we need to be face- to- face and have real, tactile, exciting experiences, too, in our life,” explains Dorian Banks, a Yaletown resident who successfully applied for a ticket through its website.
As a peripatetic entrepreneur, he nearly made it to other events held in Rwanda and Singapore. Now he finds himself set to attend with his partner, Tessa Sam, in his own backyard where people have paid from around $ 30 ( bringing your own picnic) to around $ 105 for pre- ordered wine and meal by Top Chef Canada winner Dale MacKay. All topped off with French entertainers, including Les Noces Gitanes.
It’s an event that has tickled Vancouverites: the 1,200 signed up within a few weeks for the event brought in by local branding and marketing group The Social Concierge. ( As for the current waiting list? It puts it at 4,000.)
The event’s exclusivity appeals to Banks, the founder of TikTok, the Vancouver- based mobile platform for deals.
“It’s simply not that accessible,” he adds. “It’s not something you can do all the time, any time you want. It’s a different and more grown- up experience which cannot be repeated.”
Bringing it to Vancouver was obvious, according to organizer Tyson Villeneuve. “We have a sophisticated food and wine scene, with one of the highest rates for restaurants per capita in North America, and this kicks it up a notch with an extravagant display,” he explains of the event that was 18 months in the creating. “It’s all about connecting during the event, and being French it’s all about the joie de vivre.”