A while back, I started throwing parties that many people claimed were the best they’d ever been to. In fact, one of the guys who said this makes his living producing and promoting parties for tens of thousands of people, some of which have become quite infamous.
So in this post I’ll explain how to execute one of my favorite unique dinner party ideas. For those of you doing the Rules of the Game missions, this is a great party to hold for your Day 30 Mission.
These evenings involve one unique ingredient. Something that some of you may have heard of because it’s been written about for a few years now: MIRACLE FRUIT.
First, a little background for those who haven’t tried it: Miracle Fruit is a horrible name that smacks of cheap marketing. However, it is an actual fruit: a red, thumbnail-sized berry that grows on the shrub-like plant Synsepalum dulcificum.
The Miracle Fruit phenomena has been around for a few years, so if you haven’t tried it yet, here’s how it works:
Chew a Miracle Fruit berry and, before swallowing, rub it around your tongue and taste buds for a minute or two. After eating you’ll find that many types of sour and bitter foods and beverages taste astonishingly sweet. This effect can last anywhere from ten minutes to two hours, depending on your genetics.
It’s like acid for your sense of taste. It’s also great for dieters with a sweet tooth, because afterward, a tomato explodes in your mouth like a candy filled with sweet liquid and a spoonful of yogurt tastes more like tiramisu.
Miracle Fruit comes in two forms: as a berry, which must be immediately frozen and only lasts 30 days, or as a tablet, which can last over a year. However, I recommend the frozen berries, because the sweetness actually tastes more fresh & crisp and your guests will find it cooler.
Okay, here’s where the party part comes in:
Invite your friends to a very special dinner party.
Have the guests sit in a large circle. Explain what Miracle Fruit is, tell them how to “eat” it for maximum effect (rolling it around the taste buds for a minute), then pass around the thawed berries in a bowl. You may have to reassure a paranoid friend or two that they won’t “trip” and it’s not a drug.
Then you’re going to serve a THIRTEEN-COURSE “MEAL.”
It isn’t expensive to buy any of these ingredients (except maybe the beer). You’ll also need lots of plastic spoons and small paper cups. It all takes less than an hour to pre-prepare.
It’s good to have a friend or a date help you during the party, so that while one person is serving a course, someone is in the kitchen preparing the next.
A lot of sites online recommend different foods and combinations, and I’ve experimented with many of them and found these foods–served in this order–get the most oohs and aahs from guests.
Pass around each course one at a time. Allow everyone to experience each food item before serving the next one.
COURSE ONE: Sour Cream
Serving size: One small spoonful per guest.
Yes, sour cream. Prepare by putting the sour cream container on a silver platter, surrounded by plastic spoons. Though you may be tempted to be “classy” and dispense with the container and put the sour cream on the spoons, don’t do this. It’s important that everyone sees that what they’re tasting is REALLY sour cream. Otherwise, they’re going to think it’s vanilla yogurt. Yes, it’s amazing.
COURSE TWO: Guinness Beer
Serving size: One bottle.
Directions: Urge everyone to just have a sip or two of the beer for now, so that they don’t wash away the Miracle Fruit coating their taste buds. And make sure that even those guests who don’t like stout beer give this a try: If they’ve done the Miracle Fruit properly, it’ll taste like a chocolate milkshake.
COURSE THREE: Fresh lemon
Serving size: One slice.
Directions: This one’s always a hit. Hand around a platter of lemon slices. They shouldn’t be thin wussy slices, but relatively thick slices. Everyone should eat it as if it’s an orange slice. This is the moment when anyone who isn’t amazed by the Miracle Fruit becomes a convert, because you literally can eat a lemon like it’s an orange.
COURSE FOUR: Goat cheese
Serving size: Small spoonful.
Directions: Platter with a log or block of goat cheese, surrounded by plastic spoons. A sort of palate cleanser of “sweet” cheese.
COURSE FIVE: Cherry tomatoes
Serving size: One tomato.
Directions: A bowl of cherry tomatoes, served with toothpicks for everyone to stick in one and eat. I don’t even like tomatoes, and couldn’t stop eating these. They literally explode with sweetness as soon as you bite into them.
COURSE SIX: Tequila
Serving Size: One shot.
Directions: Give everyone a shot of cheap tequila and a lemon slice. They should down the shot, then suck on the lemon.
INTERMISSION: Fruit check
Make sure everyone’s Miracle Fruit is still working. If not, top them off with another fruit. Or, what I usually do, is give them a miracle fruit pill as their second course. There’s always someone at every party who keeps wanting another pill every few minutes. This is also usually the kind of person who has an arrest or rehab in their future (or past).
COURSE SEVEN: Pineapple with Tabasco Sauce
Serving Size: One slice.
Directions: It’s easiest to just buy pre-sliced pineapple, but feel free to get the whole fruit if you want. Spread the cubes or slices of pineapple on a tray, then drizzle a little Tabasco sauce on each and stick in a toothpick. These fall under the category of things you wouldn’t normally eat unless you were on Miracle Fruit (or in Mexico).
COURSE EIGHT: Unsweetened yogurt
Serving size: Small spoonful.
Directions: Serve just like the sour cream, with the carton on a platter surrounded by plastic spoons. Let them know it’s unsweetened yogurt.
COURSE NINE: Balsamic vinegar
Serving Size: One shot.
Directions: This is the main attraction of the night. You are going to get your guests to drink balsamic vinegar. Should be sipped like fine wine.
COURSE TEN: Corona beer
Serving size: One bottle.
Directions: Cut a lemon or two into slices. Squeeze one in each person’s cold bottle of Corona, then drop the slice into the bottle. Ridiculously refreshing.
COURSE ELEVEN: Grapefruit
Serving size: One slice.
Directions: Either buy a grapefruit and scoop out the slices yourself, or just buy it pre-sliced and pre-packaged. Serve in a bowl with toothpicks for everyone to grab their slice. It’ll taste like it’s already drenched in sugar.
COURSE TWELVE: Lime juice
Serving size: One shot.
Directions: Purchase a container of lime juice, usually sold to mix in with alcoholic beverages. Serve everyone a shot to sip. Hopefully no one’s Miracle Fruit has worn off.
COURSE THIRTEEN: Fruit platter
Serving size: Varies.
Directions: Arrange watermelon slices, strawberries, orange slices, and other fruits on a platter, with sour cream in the middle as surrogate whipped cream for the strawberries. Place in the center of the table for everyone who still wants more flavor-tripping to experience. The rest of the alcohol may be consumed now.
If you or your friends haven’t done this yet, I highly recommend it. It truly fits the Game dictum of BEING the party, rather than trying to glom onto someone else’s fun.
Enjoy, and let me know how your flavor tripping night goes!