I’m sitting in Morehead Planetarium’s fulldome theater in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, twirling a strand of pappardelle as I watch our galaxy race by overhead.
Brazenly eating inside the theater would normally be grounds for a stern reprimand, if not removal. But here I am, indulging in an eight-course dinner inspired by all sorts of interstellar wonders: a beautiful egg yolk nestled in the pasta like the sun in the middle of the solar system, a delicata squash cut into rings and topped with black garlic, depicting Saturn.
Jacob Boehm, owner of Snap Pea Creative Dining, has hosted over eighty-five of these wildly creative dinners around the Raleigh-Durham area—inside the Magic Wings Butterfly House, on top of an office building, in the Haw River, and most recently, on stage during a Cirque du Soleil–inspired show at the Carolina Theatre. Each menu is meticulously crafted to tell a story that reflects its environment, and over 90 percent of the ingredients come from local farmers.
Culinary pop-ups aren’t anything new, but Boehm’s over-the-top formula is so winning that tickets typically sell out within thirty seconds of being announced. But what you’re buying, you don’t really know. The location and menu are a secret. Diners only learn their destination the day before the event, and they don’t know what’s for dinner until they arrive.
“One of the things that makes Snap Pea pop-ups so exciting is the fact that we live in a world where we can know everything in advance,” Boehm says. “These dinners offer an opportunity to relinquish control for one evening, and there’s something magical and beautiful about that.”
Boehm hinted that another epic pop-up is on the horizon for March, and while the theme is of course hush-hush, he revealed that his dream locations include dinner on the runway at an airport or under the lights of one of the South’s famed sports stadiums.
Your best shot at snagging a ticket is to sign up for Snap Pea’s newsletter and to follow their Instagram account for updates, though you’ll need to strike at the stroke of noon the day tickets are released to nab one.
And if you’re not in the Triangle area, he shared four tips for making dinner-party magic at home.
Make sure your menu isn’t working against you.
All too often, Boehm says, hosts struggle with timing. Coordinating every meal component is hard—and can mean you spend more time in the kitchen than with your guests.
“The easy shortcut is to make things that can either be mostly prepped in advance or kind of slow-cook and be ready whenever,” he says. Making beef bourguignon and a platter of roasted vegetables will be just as delicious as sole meunière, he says, but you’d be stuck frying fish filets until the last minute if you choose the latter.
Put your guests to work.
It may go against your instincts, but ask your guests to help. “The first guests that arrive, I’m going to enlist in the kitchen,” Boehm says. “They’re going to feel awkward showing up first, so by saying, ‘Hey, will you strip this kale or peel this garlic?’ they’re going to feel like they’re part of everything and you get a little bit of help.”
Be specific with your drink offering.
Asking a guest “can I get you a drink?” can be overwhelming, Boehm says. Instead, offer a specific option, like a glass of bubbly or the specialty cocktail you’re making. “Make it easy for folks so they don’t have to be in that limbo decision-making period,’” he says, noting that if guests want something different, they’ll ask.
Look for ways to surprise and delight.
Part of what makes Boehm’s pop-ups so magical is the element of surprise. And while you may not be able to invite guests to an unknown location, you can still look for ways to keep them on their toes.
You might try serving a dish in an unexpected way, as Boehm did when his partner asked for spaghetti and meatballs on her birthday. He found a massive four-foot-wide bowl to serve the pasta, transforming something somewhat “humdrum” into a bit of a spectacle. Or, keep dessert a surprise and go for a big reveal after dinner.
