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Taste Of The Town: Diner en Blanc Makes First Appearance In Fort Lauderdale

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FORT LAUDERDALE (CBSMiami) – It's one of the most sought after secret dining events in history known as Le Diner en Blanc or dinner in white.

It grew from a small picnic in Paris 30 years ago to a global phenomenon.

Now, more than 130,000 foodies around the world have already embraced this unique gourmet picnic style event, where new and lasting friendships are made.

"You meet people in Diner en Blanc in one city where you have not met with the before and then you see them again, you schedule for next Diner en Blanc in another city and then you make another group of friends and this group goes to next Dinner en Blanc," explained Fort Lauderdale host Richey Miranda.

For the first time, Diner en Blanc is coming to a secret location in Fort Lauderdale in February.

The hosts gave CBS4's Lisa Petrillo a sneak peek at some of the dishes offered on one of the 5 course sharing menus that average around $150 dollars per couple.

Don't be fooled by where Petrillo shot this story. It is not the location where the February 16 Diner en Blanc will be.

Guests buy their tickets on line, chose their menus and find the Diner en Blanc bus nearest them.

"This bus takes you to a rendezvous point. When you get to the rendezvous point, you still don't where you're going and then you walk from that rendezvous point, you walk to the location and now your start setting up your table, yours chairs, your plates, your wine glasses, your champagne glasses and music is going on," Miranda explains.

The Fort Lauderdale event will host 800, in a sea of white.

"That why it's Diner en Blanc. The way of identifying everybody, because everybody didn't know each other, is dressing in white. Everything has to be in white," he said.

Over the course of the evening, guests experience all sorts of entertaining surprises. The dinner is built around friendships, new and old.

"So basically, Diner en Blanc is nourished by these new relationships that all gather around great wine, nice food and best company you could find," Miranda said.

The chef prepared all sorts of dishes as Petrillo samples, from a shrimp salad with roasted peppers to a spicy crab salad and an elegant pasta carbonara with chicken, and then things happen.

"The person next to you has a different menu, so you start sharing the food. The person in front of you who you don't know, says you want to try my wine? It's all about camaraderie, that's what it's all about," said Miranda.

Diner en Blanc Fort Lauderdale in on Saturday, February 16th.

The online the registration closes on Tuesday, February 5. For more info, click here.

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