Bicycle Dinners

Here at the Pop-Up City, we value food beyond its role as basic sustenance. Food is a vital element of cultures and social interactions. We have written about the pop-up food culture, from food trucks to pop-up restaurants. Some time ago, I discovered a charming new way to host a dinner party. And, no, it does not involve eating dinner while riding a bicycle.

The concept is similar to a potluck: the meal is divided into three courses and each guest is responsible for one of the courses. The locations of the guests’ homes are within distances that are comfortable for bicycling, which is how the guests transport themselves from course to course in a timely manner. The host of the bicycle dinner sends out invitations containing the location of the first course. After the first course, guests open a second envelope to reveal the location of their second course. This is repeated for the third course, after which all the guests bike to the host’s home for a post-dinner party.

A small village near Delft hosts bicycle dinners with over 40 guests! Each course is spread over multiple households, with an impressive after-party that goes well into the night. These bicycle dinners are so popular that a lengthy waiting list is required to manage all the expectant dinner guests!