Social Eating: Paris’ Best Private Dining Clubs, Networks & Foodie Groups

September 22, 2011  by Bryan Pirolli

This could be your hostess (Very Swell, by Lost in Cheeseland)

Even the French say that Paris is a hard city to crack socially. This may have been true once upon a time, but with the recent wave of foodie groups and networks bringing adventurous diners together in secret and not-so-secret Parisian locations, however, there’s no reason anyone should be eating alone these days.  For every linguistic level and budget, there’s a way to meet the locals and experience authentic French cuisine.

All it takes is a few clicks:

Small, sophisticated bites at a Very Swell gathering (Lost in Cheeseland)

Super Marmite is a social site that puts the emphasis back on local cooking, literally.  Users browse the site to locate neighbors who have made extra portions of quiche lorraine or who have a few crème brulée in excess on their counters.  You can then purchase the servings (prices are indicated on the site), swing buy, say hello, and buy your homemade, locally produced French dinne

COlunching: Getting back to basics, COlunching started as a way for freelancers to escape their home offices for lunch and meet new people. Now the online network includes brunches and dinners in a number of international cities, allowing foodies and travelers to join eat and mingle in Paris, New York, and beyond.

Treats at the Super Marmite Improv Brunch (Super Marmite)

Voulez-Vous Diner: This site brings together French hosts and international travelers at – where else – the dinner table.  For 65 euros per person, guests can sign up to dine in the French home of their choice.  Simply browse the meals available and make a reservation. Continue Reading »

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Paris’ Arty Supperclub: Miss Lunch’s Loft Dining

December 5, 2009  by Genevieve Sandifer

Images courtesy of Miss Lunch

Supperclubs are nothing new. Whether the recent popularity they’re enjoying first started in London or Manhattan — where the hook was exclusivity and bragging rights about ‘discovering’ underground chefs in their lairs — or in the impossibly small kitchens of aspiring Brooklyn chefs and foodies is anyone’s guess.

What is certain, though, is that the move from chefs’ tables to chefs’ kitchens did not pass Paris by unnoticed. In many ways, the model is better suited to French dinner-party habits than it is to the fickle attention spans of New Yorkers, and it has enjoyed a fair amount of low-key success notably among foodie expats.

HiP Paris recently received an email from a certain Miss Lunch — a chef, artist, teacher, writer with a passion for incorporating her rich heritage into delicious, alternative culinary experiences. Trained at the Beaux Arts and a Paris resident for 15 years, she dabbles in art, cooking classes, cookbook writing and … semi-public dinner parties. Continue Reading »

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