Secret Supper Hosts Gourmet Pop-Up Dinners at Surprise Locations

The second I step through the doors of the Sagaponack Farm Distillery, I know this dinner will be special. I’m greeted with a stunning scene of floor-to-ceiling windows revealing a garden patio lined with string lights. Just beyond is the clear star of the show: one long table in the middle of a lush field, set with a white table cloth, pink flowers, and 40 chairs.

First things first, I order off the custom cocktail menu created for the evening (I go with The Farmer’s Daughter, made with the distillery’s own cucumber vodka, grapefruit, lime, chili flakes, and topped with a sweet pea tendril). Drink in hand, I head outside to better take in the scenery, but I only make it about five steps before a server with an hors d’oeuvres tray asks me if I’d like a wood-roasted oyster in a butter herb sauce. I greedily slurp one down and spot our chefs from local farm-to-table catering company Fyr & Salt busy at work in the back corner of the field.

These one-night-only pop-up dinners are part of a carefully orchestrated affair. A symphony of moving pieces that includes finding unique and beautiful settings across the United States (and even a few international destinations), working with local chefs and growers in each new destination, partnering with wine makers and vineyards like Rodney Strong, and, of course, selling tickets — all with the hopes that the laughter and chatter of strangers enjoying a good meal together will be the ultimate finale crescendo. And the maestro of it all is Secret Supper.

It’s been a journey for me to get here — in more ways than one. I’m fresh off a four-hour drive from Brooklyn to the Hamptons in stop-and-go traffic. But this dinner has been in the works for a little over a year, when I first started following Secret Supper on Instagram after hearing about the concept from a friend. Intrigued by the gorgeous photos of dinners hosted everywhere from the middle of the mountains to abandoned churches, I signed up for their emails and patiently waited for the once-a-year ticket drop. Since tickets often sell out in minutes, I made sure I clicked the link at exactly noon and was thrilled when I scored two for a nearby New York locale.

Started in 2015, the “secret” part of Secret Supper is that you only know a general region or nearby city when you buy your tickets — say, Midcoast Maine, Texas Hill Country, or, in my case, Long Island. Two months before, they share the closest town so that you can properly plan. Just 48 hours in advance you get the final address, and the full menu isn’t revealed until you’re seated at the table (though you can share allergies or dietary needs ahead of time). This not only helps build excitement and anticipation, but also ensures a group of likeminded attendees: foodies who enjoy their meals with a side of adventure.

After some timid table intros, the premise pays off at my dinner. As the wine flows, the lively conversation does, too. We delve into what we all do for work and where we are from over a fresh spring salad, swap travel adventure stories over asparagus risotto, and share new inside jokes when the wood-roasted pork loin shows up.

By the time we are finishing up our egg custard dessert, everyone is following each other on Instagram. As we toast over final nightcaps, we set calendar reminders to get tickets to another dinner next year.