Diner en Blanc

A magical night happened in Toronto when a group of people all clad in elegant white were told to meet on the corner of Mill Street and Parliament on a Tuesday night in late September.  We were still lucky to have summer like weather as well pulled up in our white outfits and hats on our head in awe at the sea of people dressed to the nines waiting around to be told what the next steps were.  We knew we were apart of something special, you could feel the electricity and anticipation in the air. DEB TO slideshow
We were all lucky enough to be invited to a 'flash mob' picnic called Diner en Blanc.   The only instructions we were given in advance was to wear white, pay $25 and to be ready at 6pm with your own dish to serve, your own cutlery and if you wanted white table decorations.  However the rules were strict, you must be in elegant dress and must not cause a commotion or you would be asked to leave.  With that the official text came at 11am the day of the event to promptly meet in the outskirts of the Distillery District.  I was doubtful and I had a few friends bail on me because of the unknown and for some, it was not worth battling the rush hour traffic or are people supposed to wear white after labour day but I went with the flow as I knew the organizers Joel Solish (@foodie411) and Suresh Doss (@spotlightcity) - two esteemed foodies in the city were apart of this 'movement'.
Around 6:30 - we were led through the cobblestone pathways to the open air heart of the Historic Distillery District, where it had been transformed with white picket fences, tables with white linens, white flowers and a parade of folks dressed in white trickling in causing quite the spectacle.  
Spotted were white top hats, fascinators, and even a wedding dress!
To open dinner up - we were asked to wave our white napkins around while getting to know your table of strangers that haven't' met and explore the food made at the table.  We were treated to a complimentary pâté by Cava restaurant’s Chris McDonald, we also made sure we had our stock of red/ white and bubbly which was all available for purchase.
At our table, wee had a mixture of appetizers from my mango avocado salsa to cheese and crackers to a supply of Stockyards amazing deep fried chicken to decadent desserts with home made tiramisu (thank you @netata) and of course the bourbon walnut chocolate cake which was heavenly (thanks @laurenwolffpr).  But that was just our table, I had the chance to peruse the other tables and found some lady brûlée her 3 cheese mac and cheese which was decadent to a women who made a hearty stew out of sausage to my new found friends from the restaurant Palluci on Mount Pleasant/Eglinton with their truffled pasta and clams to a new box of delicious 'joysticks'  which were amazing bread sticks.  Amongst that I nibbled on delicious charcuterie boards, and yummy desserts - one cupcake with a mini macaroon on top was bought from the cake opera shoppe.  


A lovely way to signal the end of dinner - we lit up the evening with sparklers, it was absolute brilliant!
Dîner en Blanc started in Paris in 1988 as a reunion of friends who wore white to recognize each other in a park. However the 'flash mob diner' this year brought over 10,000.   New York attracted 1000 people, Toronto did a not so shabby job of 400!
Congratulations to the DEB team!