Diner en Blanc: $100 ‘Dinner in White’ is BYO everything

Ballarat residents have the chance to attend a “cult-like” all-white event – but it’s BYO wine, BYO food, BYO table and chair and comes with a huge price-tag.

For $100, Ballarat residents have the chance to attend a frequently mocked and incredibly strict “posh picnic” in the company of an exclusive guest list.

But attendees should be warned – it is BYO everything, including wine, food, table and chair.

After its Australian debut in 2012, the global team behind Diner en Blanc will descend on the regional Victorian city for the first time on April 1 for their signature all-white, al fresco event.

A crisp $100 buys entry to the picnic, which will take place at an undisclosed location. Guests are asked to bring their own food and wine, their own table settings and centrepiece and even their own table and chairs.

Most of the essential items can be hired from the event organisers for an extra fee. Beer and hard liquor are strictly banned. Guests are asked to limit their booze consumption. Water, thankfully, is included in the price.

The Melbourne version of the incredibly strict event. Picture: Diner en Blanc

Perhaps the most bizarre part of the evening, though, is its strict dress code. Attendees must “dress elegantly and in all white (no ivory/cream/beige etc),” the event website says.

A lengthy disclaimer on the Diner en Blanc registration page lays out the strict rules.

“No T-shirts and tank tops, no sports shoes or sandals, no baseball caps, no shorts, no brown, black or colour shoes, [no] clothing other than white colour,” it reads.

Access to such an event, of course, is not open to all. For the chance to attend, prospective guests must be a member of Diner en Blanc or be sponsored by a member who attended last year. If that’s not possible, they’re asked to sign up to a waiting list and hope for the best.

Once confirmed, each guest’s participation becomes mandatory. They’re barred from leaving before the evening is over.

A list of rules for the event. Picture: Diner en Blanc

Sparklers time! Picture: Diner en Blanc

An itinerary for the picnic’s Melbourne counterpart, held in November, explained the sequence of events.

Guests would arrive at a secret location via chartered bus or public transport, it said. They would then set up their table and chairs, before wildly shaking a napkin in the air to indicate that they’re ready to eat. Next up is a sit-down meal, which they brought from home, followed by “sparklers time” (wildly waving sparklers in the air) and dancing. Finally, guests were to clean up and head home.

The Diner en Blanc website describes the event as a “mass chic picnic” involving “thousands of people, dressed all in white, and conducting themselves with the greatest decorum, elegance, and etiquette”.

“Le Diner en Blanc recalls the elegance and glamour of high French society, and guests engage one another, knowing that they are taking part in a truly magical event,” the event description said.

An itinerary for the almost entirely BYO event. Picture: Diner en Blanc

First held in Paris more than 30 years ago, Diner en Blanc began as a strictly word-of-mouth event. Today, though, the organisers have said their posh picnic caters almost exclusively to social media.

“Why would you want to go to this? I’m drawing a blanc,” one person joked on Twitter.

“For the Gram, baby,” another replied.

Other social media users poked fun at the “cult-like” event.

“I’m just disappointed I didn’t think of this,” one Reddit user wrote. “Getting Instagrammers to pay you $100 a pop to take their own picnic to the park? Genius.”

“And they all have to wear the exact same clothing. It’s basically a cult gathering at this point,” commented another.

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