Dinerenblanc, a multi-national dining event is coming to Savannah in October 2021. Very simply put, it’s a ‘chic’ gathering for dinner with hundreds of your closest friends. Here is a portion of my conversation with Stephanie Sprewell, who is one of the organizers of this first time in Savannah event.
JB: The concept is interesting. It’s a unique dinner that’s been going on for quite some time. Tell us a little about it.
Stephanie Sprewell: Dinerenblanc was founded in 1988. The first time it came to the United States was in 2011 or 2012 I believe in New York. Since then, it’s now in about 17 cities. 80 countries combined.
JB: Tell us what it is
Stephanie: It’s an elegant and extremely chic pop up picnic. What we do it right before the date, we announce the event. This is Savannah’s inaugural event. It will be October 16th. The location remains a secret until the day of the event.
JB: A secret dinner that you don’t find out where you are going to until you arrive at your trolley. Is that how you are getting people around?
Stephanie: That is correct.
JB: You say dinner. How does this work? Are you feeding people?
Stephanie: People are responsible for bringing their own food. However, we have partner caterers. So you can choose one of our caterers, or you can choose to bring your own food.
JB: The caterers…do you sign up in advance or do you buy food when you get there?
Stephanie: You can order food when you buy a ticket, yes. So then people normally ask where the money (price of the ticket) go? It goes to trolleys, security, the venue. It’s about $43 per person.
JB: But you can bring your own food, right?
Stephanie: Yes, you can bring your own food.
JB: What about drinks? BYOB?
Stephanie: I’m glad you asked. We are not allowed, because of Georgia law, we cannot do BYOB. We are only allowed wine or champagne. If you do want some, it must be purchased through our e-store. You can pick it up when you arrive at the event.
We have partnered with an events company who will rent you some of the tables and chairs if you’d like to set up there instead of bringing your own.
JB: You have attended one of these. What can people expect and what made you think you could bring this to Savannah?
Stephanie: The only way to describe the experience is magical. The elegance of everyone dressed in white. Not only dressed in white, but in gowns and fascinators. It’s a really chic event.
Savannah is my 2nd home. Before I thought of bringing it here, I just thought it’s the perfect place for it.
JB: How many people do you think will be a part of this?
Stephanie: About 800 guests. We have about 1800 on our list right now. People can register on our website. savannah.dinerenblanc.com. They can register for our wait list. You must be on the wait list in order to get an invitation. We have enough space to be properly spread out for 800 people.
TO HEAR our entire conversation with Stephanie click here for our Eat It and Like It Podcast.
