Would you risk a night out DINING with
STR ANGERS? LEANNE CLANCEY
did, and here’s what she found.
I THOUGHT I KNEW the back streets of Fitzroy well.
I’ve walked these Melbourne streets countless times, but
tonight I’m taking detours and seeing things I’ve never seen
before – all because of a text message from a stranger.
It pinged on my phone at about midday, from an
unknown number. “Hi Leanne. We’re looking forward
to seeing you tonight,” it read. This was followed by a set
of precise instructions detailing where I needed to be at
6pm and how not to get lost, signed off with a cheeky
‘x’. It’s all feeling very blind date-ish. I like it.
I’ve booked myself in to a Private Dining Room (PDR)
dinner, a Melbourne culinary event series that the website
describes as an ‘underground dining adventure’. What this
actually means is that the venue is a private space (not
a restaurant). The location is kept secret until the last
minute, as are details of the night’s menu and seating
arrangements. Aside from the last-minute text message,
the briefing has been scant, which for some people might
be terrifying, but for me (someone who eats out for
a living and sees unoriginal culinary trends on high rotation),
it just makes the whole thing all the more interesting.
I totally get that, for some people, this might feel like
a risky way to part with a chunk of their hard-earned in
the hope of a good night out. What will I be eating?
What’s the place going to be like? What if the people
are hideous bores? What if the whole thing sucks?!
For PDR regulars, Maurice (a writer and sometime
comedian) and his wife, Fiona (a lawyer), being oblivious
to the nitty gritty details of a planned night out is all part
of the magic. “The first time we went we took people with
us, so it was more like a dinner party hosted by our friends
with some additional strangers thrown in,” Fiona explains.
Indeed, when I arrive at the venue – down a cobbled
laneway, toward the warm glow of fairy lights and sounds
of conversation and clinking glassware – it feels like I’ve
arrived at a cool friend’s house who’s thrown a big party
with a bunch of friends I just haven’t met yet. I’m loving it.strangers,
secrets and
seriously
good food
PHOTOGRAPHY: JANA LANGHORST