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Picnics Are Back

Claire Turrell

Freelance writer

The hottest table reservation is now outdoors. From Instagram-worthy settings in London's royal parks to tailgaters in the United States pulling out fancy tablecloths, cushions and flatware, picnics are no longer the domain of smooshed sandwiches and tepid flasks of tea. They're catered events.

Picnic companies are popping up around the globe to create food-based experiences for their guests. You'll now find Australian companies offering mystery picnics where the ingredients are gathered from gourmet stores en route, while in the United Kingdom you can arrange for your favorite song to be played as you walk toward a designer picnic setting at Regent's Park.

Jane Gillespie of the Luxury Picnic Company in London is one such entrepreneur who will provide a personalized soundtrack to win over her guests. With her co-founder Alicia de Freedericksz, who previously worked as a private chef for celebrities, Gillespie hosts luxury picnics in the royal parks of London that include floral arrangements, gin stations, Elle Decor-style furnishings and refined food.

During summer 2022, they organized 216 picnics. The Luxury Picnic Company

Gillespie, whose marketing business closed during the Covid-19 pandemic, came up with the idea of a luxury picnic company because the only way you could safely socialize during the pre-vaccine pandemic was outside. They launched in April 2020 to a rush of orders over social media, and the enthusiasm for the luxury picnic continued to rise. During summer 2022, they organized 216 picnics with dishes such as kimchi hotdogs and poke bowls with crispy papadum.

Some people are willing to fly to other countries to picnic. Gillespie, whose clients include Middle Eastern royalty and British celebrities, was recently asked to organize a picnic for a French billionaire and his guests who flew to London by private jet. The picnicker wanted personalized picnic baskets for each of his invitees, Panama hats for the men and fans for the women along with a rare Dom Pérignon to be served. The team had three days to pull the event together. "This was the most expensive picnic we've done," says Gillespie. "The invoice was £8,000 [over $10,000] for 12 people."

However, the Luxury Picnic Company's hampers start at a more wallet-friendly £35 (around $45) for two people, with treats such as truffle and rosemary focaccia, and berry and caramel tartelettes. "You would spend that money in a restaurant," says Gillespie. "This is just another way of doing it that is going to create a real memory."

Searches for picnic date ideas on Pinterest have increased 385 percent in the past year. The Luxury Picnic Company

Picnics have also caught the imagination of Generation Z, who, according to Pinterest, are now often choosing picnic dates over restaurants and movie nights. Searches for picnic date ideas have increased 385 percent in the past year. Pinterest and TikTok alike are swimming with scenes of rugs decorated with fresh flowers, candlesticks, grazing boards and glassware.

Kelly McPhillips, owner of Rhode Island Luxury Picnics, says her date night picnic is her best seller. "I've noticed couples struggle to find the time to prioritize each other with their busy schedules, and my services offer them time to connect without the hassle of planning anything," says McPhillips. "I often have partners book a picnic for their significant other as a surprise. It's a chance for couples to enjoy each other's company and allow them to pause the chaos of their day-to-day, even for just a few hours."

Today's picnics may focus on clean living and fresh air, but the word "picnic" has far more raucous beginnings. Rhode Island Luxury Picnics

Food psychologist Jess Kovler says it's no surprise that Gen Z singles are choosing picnics to impress a date. "You can showcase your style and originality to your partner," says Kovler, who specializes in the complex human relationship with food and is the chief psychologist at Well by Messer, a metabolic health and wellness center in New York City. "It's also a way to curate and create a unique shared experience. Each person brings an item to the date to share with the other."

Today's picnics may focus on clean living and fresh air, but the word "picnic" has far more raucous beginnings. The word pique-nique first appeared in a bawdy 17th-century French poem that featured a gluttonous character called Pique-Nique. Among French aristocracy, the term came to mean a dinner where everyone brought food and drink to share. In 1801, a group of Francophiles in London launched the Pic-Nic Society. To gain entry to the indoor party in rooms at Marylebone, London, you needed to bring a dish to add to the feast and six bottles of wine. The evening featured amateur dramatics, gambling and food. Even though the Prince of Wales was said to be among the 200 Pic-Nic Society members, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, an Irish-born politician and owner of London's Drury Lane theater, called it a threat to morality. The ruckus caught the attention of satirist James Gillray, who drew a cartoon featuring a portly looking Sheridan confronting onstage a bare-breasted Lady Buckinghamshire, Colonel Greville dressed as a lowly courtier and Lord Mount Edgecumbe trying to eat some of the picnic dishes tumbling off a table.

The saucy soirees also inspired Lord Byron. In his 1809 satirical poem "English Bards and Scotch Reviewers," the British Romantic wrote: "The midnight orgy, and the mazy dance, / The smile of beauty, and the flush of wine, / For fops, fools, gamesters, knaves and lords combine."

According to Polly Russell, a food historian and curator at the British Library, the society ended in 1850. While the club of revelers disbanded, the word "picnic" lived on.

Auto outing with picnic in New York's Hudson Highlands Bettmann via Getty Images

With industrialization and the growth of cities in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, an escape to the country became fashionable, and the picnic moved outside. Picnics were no longer about debauched parties, but healthy living. In the 1830s, city-dwelling Americans started to copy Europeans, throwing down their picnic rugs in parks to embrace the countryside vibe.

Nineteenth-century literature often featured picnics with rugs and wicker baskets by the riverside or, as in the case of Jane Austen's Emma, at the top of Box Hill in Surrey. The aim was to be carefree, but the menus were anything but. One example can be found in Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management, published in London around 1880; her picnic luncheon for 20 people featured lobster, roast fowl, veal pies, champagne and a gallon of strawberries.

"It's all very bucolic, and there were never any wasps," says food historian Annie Gray, who specializes in British food and dining from 1600 to the present and wrote The Official Downton Abbey Cookbook. "But of course, what lies behind this is that all of these people have servants."

Picnicking at Druid Hill Park, Baltimore, Maryland, 1956 Afro American Newspapers/Gado/Getty Images

The modern picnic, laying a blanket down on the ground and toting your food in a cooler, came in the late 1950s and 1960s with car tourism. But it was in the 1970s and 1980s in the U.K. And U.S. That the marketers took hold of the picnic. "You get an explosion of kits in the 1970s with cutlery that nestles together with plastic plates that you can strap into the picnic basket," says Gray. "They were the direct inheritor of those 1920s wicker picnic baskets, but the plastic Tupperware version."

The 1970s also marked the moment that homemade food took a back seat, says Gray. Working moms who were tight on time and didn't have partners picking up the slack were filling freezer bags with prepacked supermarket sandwiches. In 1977, Kentucky Fried Chicken went so far as to create a picnic pack that came with fried chicken for up to six people, salad, rolls, plates, forks, napkins and a tablecloth for $7.50.

"There's a move toward convenience foods," says Gray. "The emphasis ends up being on the occasion: We're outside eating, let's enjoy that novelty, rather than on the food being anything special."

Many countries have long used a picnic to mark an occasion, such as the Japanese tradition of picnicking under flowering trees during the centuries-old cherry blossom festivals, or the Finnish herring picnic on May Day. Now, these new companies want to spread the idea of a picnic as a special event.

One tastemaker in London who is looking to shake up the picnic is Max Halley. A chef known for elevating humble lunch classics at his cult-favorite sandwich shop, he has joined the wave of foodies making people rethink their picnic with Max's Picnic Book: An Ode to the Art of Picnicking. "I noticed that we might not have been thinking about picnics quite as much as we could have," says Halley. "It still seems to revolve around room temperature food and drinks."

Halley has shown that it only takes a little creativity to make a picnic gourmet. Well, creativity and a Thermos flask. "Using my trusty friend, I've had tortellini in brodo, piping-hot noodles, braised meats of all kinds, curry, balls of ice cream and ice-cold gin martinis at the top of a hill during a nice long walk," says Halley.

Santa Monica Picnic Co works with local photographers, florists, chocolatiers, cheesemakers and bakers to create the perfect picnic at sunset. Santa Monica Picnic Co

The renewed interest in the picnic and uptick in luxury picnics have helped boost smaller companies during the Covid-19 pandemic. Sam Ancona, founder of Santa Monica Picnic Co, who provides picnics for guests at the luxury hotel Shutters on the Beach, partners with other local entrepreneurs to increase his offerings and support other businesses. Ancona works with local photographers, florists, chocolatiers, cheesemakers and bakers to create that perfect picnic at sunset. "Supporting local business has been crucial in our growth over the last three years," says Ancona. "We get to work with hard-working small-business owners that share our same values and commitment to stellar service."

Since the pandemic began, picnickers have likely sought comfort in what they see as more tranquil times, Gray explains. "I think there is a huge level of nostalgia, especially at the moment," she says. "You see it whenever society gets a bit rocky. People start looking back to their childhoods and say, 'Gosh, wasn't it lovely?' regardless of whether it was or not."

What unites all picnics throughout the years is the element of delight—and the sense that no matter what you eat, serve or do, you can never go wrong. Even if you've forgotten the corkscrew or the salad dressing, or it starts to rain, as Mrs. Beeton said in the 1880s, this only serves "rather to increase the fun than diminish it."

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Filed Under: American History, British History, Business, Entertainment, European History, Food, Food History, leisure, London

The Rise Of The Luxury Picnic

The image of a picnic has remained relatively unchanged for decades: a gingham blanket here, a basket of snacks there, maybe spread out across a grassy knoll if you're lucky. Some advanced picnickers may upgrade with folding chairs or fancy cutlery, but either way, simplicity is the point: Just pack a sandwich and get outside. A picnic may not count as roughing it, but it's traditionally been one of the easiest and most low-key ways to enjoy the pleasures of the great outdoors.

Until now.

The past few years have seen the rise of a luxury picnic industry, mostly in response to the pandemic. They are designed to not only take the effort out of picnicking, but to transform the very concept of the picnic itself. Where once there may have been a soft blanket on bare grass, now there is a boho-chic tent festooned with plush rugs and throw pillows. Instead of relying on trees and birds to provide ambience, expect low tables with formal place settings, candlesticks, and flowers. There are heated bubble tents to enable winter picnics and fringed umbrellas to shield guests from the summer sun. And instead of your own packed lunch, upscale picnic companies offer charcuterie plates, brunch baskets, macaron towers, and sparkling wine served on ice.

When Michelle Ison founded Picnic and Peonies in Washington, D.C., in September 2020, she had seen a few companies offering prearranged luxury picnics, mostly on the West Coast. But the pandemic spurred her — and many others — into action. Ison, who had recently gotten engaged, was forced to cancel wedding-related events like a bachelorette party and bridal shower. She saw bespoke picnic operations as "a really cute, fun, and intimate way to safely celebrate special moments."

Then again, during the height of COVID lockdowns, you didn't need a special moment to want a prearranged, aesthetically pleasing picnic. With restaurants closed, Miriam Morales founded San Diego Picnics in 2020 "to offer people a special date night in a safe way," she says. Instead of spending money on a night out, couples could use it to feel fancy in the park.

In theory, picnics require food, which may or may not come with the luxury picnic package. PikNYC offers meat and cheese platters, customizable cookies, and cupcakes, though founder Annie Seddington says a majority of her clients choose to bring their own food, either from home or a favorite restaurant. Morales says she initially tried to pick up food from restaurants or serve more elaborate meals, but it ultimately proved too challenging. She eventually opted for charcuterie, which won't get cold by the time the whole scene is set up. Other companies push the boundaries of "picnic food" further, offering custom cakes, dessert carts, and experiential options like string quartets. Picnic and Peonies can provide s'mores or a chicken and waffles board, and Ison says they're working on whole seafood towers next.

Of course, part of the appeal of a luxury picnic is being seen having a luxury picnic, and these arrangements are all profoundly Instagrammable. Morales, who is also a photographer, says her company grew in part out of a desire to create beautiful settings for proposals or engagement shoots. And Seddington says the romance of the setup explains why 90 percent of her business comes from couples. "There's a very classic, romantic feeling to a picnic," she says. "When it's a customized event to surprise your loved one for an anniversary, proposal, birthday, or something along those lines, the gesture feels grand."

But when Instagram is flooded with similar-looking proposals, the intimacy of the gesture shrinks. Ison says she's begun landing larger clients, with one corporate picnic seating 300 people. At that point, is it even a picnic, or just an outdoor event with snacks?

While luxury picnics may feel like they're everywhere at the moment, the truth is that the conditions that once made them feel like a worthwhile indulgence have since changed. Restaurants have reopened; travel is less restricted. And the luxury picnic playing field has gotten more crowded (Google "luxury picnic [major city]" and see just how many options pop up). Cities have taken notice, cracking down on required permitting and sometimes introducing new rules. "I might not be able to do as many picnics," says Morales. "I've always wanted to follow city guidelines, and now they want us to get more permits."

The future of the industry remains to be seen. While a luxury picnic is still more affordable than many venue rentals, there are only so many people willing to fork over $100 an hour to, essentially, sit on the ground and eat a cheese plate. Which is why some of these companies are shifting and expanding. Both Morales and Ison want to offer premade picnic baskets so customers can have DIY picnics at a lower cost. Seddington says she sees "more curated events and more customized options" happening in the industry.

The next time you see a picnic that looks too good to be true, there may very well be a professional behind it. But just remember: You can always throw a PB&J and a sheet in a backpack and have yourself a perfect picnic, too.

Marylu E. Herrera (she/her) is a Chicago-based Chicana collage, print media, craft, and fiber artist. Her collage work has been featured in the Cut, the Los Angeles Times, Bitch Media, Eater, and Punch.

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Local Woman Creates Picnic Company To Help People Give The Gift Of Experiences Together

© Provided by Boston 25 News

Whether it's a birthday, a holiday, or a special event—finding that perfect gift can be difficult. A local woman learned that providing an experience, rather than having someone open a present, was more meaningful and created lasting memories. It forced her to create her own business—Seacoast Picnic Company and the idea all started--with a gift.

"This is definitely just a color, a vibrant picnic," said Emily Huxtable, owner of Seacoast Picnic Company.

From scenic Newcastle, New Hampshire, Emily talked about wanting those colors to pop in the imaginations of her clients at the Seacoast Picnic Company. Emily says building strong memories has been important to her, especially after her father passed unexpectedly when she was a child.

"It was very shocking, sudden, and unexpected and changed things very quickly," said Huxtable.

Emily's mother no longer asked for gifts on holidays, she instead wanted an experience.

"And over the years I realized that time is much more important than anything that you can give to someone material-wise," said Huxtable.

Meantime Emily's mom still gave her gifts—but the idea behind this picnic basket she received from her mother on Christmas of 2019 was to create ways to spend time with others.

"She would ask me if I'd used it, I felt terribly because I hadn't yet used it," said Huxtable. "And one day I kind of like sparked this idea of, wow, I could I could set picnics up for people, and that's what started the concept of Seacoast Picnic Company," said Huxtable.

With a marketing background, Emily posted her new business venture online, reached out to family and friends, and word started to spread.

"We do a lot of bachelorette parties, we do a lot of anniversaries, a lot of dates, birthdays," said Huxtable.

In just a short time, her luxury picnic company took off.

"I think just because it's different and it's unique and it's luxurious, but also fun and it just is a nice way to spend time with people that they care about and be outside and have a great time," said Huxtable.

Instead of having to lug everything down to the picnic, Emily has it already set up. And when guests are done, they can just get up and leave. She will clean it up, allowing guests to spend more time with friends and family.

"The surprise picnics are the best because they result in a lot of tears, which I think happy tears, of course, which has been really nice to see," said Huxtable.

Emily's success in helping create unforgettable memories has also landed her recognition—earning a New Hampshire's Best Award in 2022. She is now booking picnics through next year—and is even considering creating a picnic brand---all inspired by her mother and the gift of time spent together.

"She's blown away, but also not surprised, I think, because she's always encouraged me and told me that whatever I put my mind to, I've always been able to accomplish," said Huxtable. "But that's easy when you have someone like her behind you."

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