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The all-white affair that is Le Dîner en Blanc is returning to NYC this fall, landing in an undisclosed location on September 19. Billed as the “World’s Largest Dinner Party,” the roaming event gathers 100,000 people around the globe, all clad in white, to celebrate an evening of gathering, food and revelry under the stars. This year, lucky New Yorkers attending the French-inspired picnic will be joined by an authority of the cuisine itself: the one and only Daniel Boulud. The acclaimed chef, restaurateur and cookbook author will be curating picnic baskets for the exclusive evening.
“Dîner en Blanc always brings a burst of French summer feasts to cities around the world in a celebration of friendship, fashion, and food,” said Boulud in a press release. “As a French New Yorker, I’m honored to prepare a festive picnic basket for this magical evening. It will certainly be the largest and chicest gathering of fête a la Francaise!”
Priced for $130 per person, the Épicerie Boulud Basket: Capucine includes plenty of nibbles, including green gazpacho and paté en croûte to lavash, hummus and baba ganoush spreads. The Roasted Chicken Salad serves as the main, and the basket includes two desserts: a raspberry shortcake with vanilla creme and poppy seeds and orange blossom madeleines. If your tastes lean towards vegetarian, you can order the Épicerie Boulud Basket: Tournesol. For $115, the basket includes all the fixins' listed up above, but swaps the chicken for the Vaduvan Cauliflower.
While reserving the food is not a requirement, the inclusion of the picnic baskets may just help lighten your load. You see, as luxe as the party puts on, Le Dîner en Blanc is incredibly DIY, calling back to the party's roots as an informal gathering of friends. Despite its now worldwide status, making cameos at 120 cities in over 40 countries around the world, the event is partially curated by its guests, as attendees are required to bring tables, chairs and food (if you don't end up choosing the catered option). If you’d rather not lug your foldout chairs on the subway, the New York party provides rented furniture with two tables and two chairs priced at $86. Don’t forget to pack the decor, as this year, diners are challenged to wear outfits and create tablescapes that fit the global theme: floral elegance. This is all on top of the entry fee, priced at $60.
As polarizing as the event may be, the pop-up dinner party has taken over some iconic locations in NYC. First arriving in the city back in 2011, the soiree commandeered the streets of the Meatpacking District in 2023, and last year, the party turned Union Square Park white as 3,000 people took over the square.
Registration opens soon. So make an account on their website so you can be notified when tickets go on sale and reserve one of Boulud's baskets for yourself.