St Valentine's Day, it’s all well and good with its roses and fancy cards – that is unless you’re single and your version of V Day resembles Bridget Jones swigging wine and singing All by Myself rather than Tom Hanks and Megan Ryan on the top of the Empire State Building.
Determined as you may well be after that third glass of wine to banish Bridget from your life, the question remains for many: Where do you meet that special person?
You may have exhausted the traditional spots – the pub, a hobby, online dating and even the Getting in Touch pages of Irish Country Living – but sometimes we need a little help in life and that is where Liz Doyle, the founder of the Fine Dining Club, comes in.
Liz Doyle Fine Dining Club
Unlike a traditional matchmaker where you are given a fact file on your match and sent out into the scary world of dating alone, this is the simple concept of enjoying a group dinner in the hope that one of the 10 members of the opposite sex takes your fancy.
Liz is even there to pour the wine and keep the conversation flowing so there are no awkward silences.
“I actually got the idea when I moved back to Belfast 11 years ago. I had spent a few years working in London and New York but had decided to come home and was keen to meet someone.”
Interestingly, Liz worked as a lawyer for Goldman Sachs and later Lehman Brothers and was there on that faithful day in 2007 when it all collapsed. This certainly made for a conversation starter, but where to start that chat was the question.
“Myself and a few friends decided to organise a dinner party as a bit of a laugh. It was 32 people in a private restaurant and the only parameter was that you were single.
"It was quite a random collection of people, friends I met at yoga, others I knew from going out walking, and it was a great night, lots of fun. It was a really easy way to chat to people of the opposite sex.”
Such was the success of that initial evening that Liz started getting calls asking when the next one was taking place. And the next.
“The penny didn’t drop for a while that there was a real business opportunity here but when it did, it suddenly became glaringly obvious.
"The demand was there, the concept was good and there was nothing quite like it out there.”
Liz officially registered the company about six years ago and has had hundreds of diners on her books since then.
Such has been the success of the Fine Dining Club that there has been eight weddings, five babies, one engagement and six long-terms couples, that she knows of.
The format itself is quite unique but another element that Liz says makes the Fine Dining Club stand out from the rest is the fact that she has a strict screening process before she accepts someone as a member.
If, for example, I meet a 70-year-old man, claiming to be 57 and in search of a 35-year-old, well he isn’t going to meet that person at my dinners
“I know there could be business mentors reading this, screaming at me to accept anybody who wants to pay the fee but I just don’t do that.”
So who doesn’t meet the standard for Liz’s dinner?
“Recently I met a man who wanted to join but he had only been separated three months. He hadn’t even a place to live yet, he was sleeping on a friend’s couch and, to be quite honest, he was still reeling from the separation. I told him to come back in six months when he might be a little more ready.
"I also turn away people who are difficult and rude. If they are like that with me, how will they be with my clients who have put themselves out there to meet someone? And I also don’t sign up people who have unrealistic expectations.
"If, for example, I meet a 70-year-old man, claiming to be 57 and in search of a 35-year-old, well he isn’t going to meet that person at my dinners.”
Liz Doyle Fine Dining Club
It’s not easy to turn away eager individuals, especially those who are willing to pay the joining fee of €3,000. That’s a lot of money, we say, in shock.
“It's actually very cheap for a dating service,” Liz says. “The most expensive dating service in Ireland is €15,000 and they will introduce you to five dates.
"The next is €10,000 and then €5,000 and they introduce you to between five and 10. Our service is €3,000 and you could attend three or four dinners and meet 15 or 20 potential matches.”
So lets say we pass the strict screening process and pay the big fee, what’s next?
“Then we try to get you to a dinner as soon as possible.” The dinners are run in Dublin and Belfast and Liz is expanding to London soon but people from across the country, from Donegal to Cork, travel to them.
You could sit down at 8.30pm and not leave the table until nearly midnight, so people do get a chance to really chat to each other
“We usually have a private dining room and we’ve hosted them in gorgeous restaurants such as the Shelbourne, Dax and Pearl Brasserie. People arrive on the night and we have a drinks reception to kick things off. Lots of our diners can be nervous, especially men, but this helps to ease the nerves, especially when you realise everyone is in a similar situation. Then there are place settings for everyone, as I have pinpointed in advance who I think might get on well together.”
After each course, the men rotate so everyone sits next to three people of the opposite sex over the course of the evening, but Liz says it is nothing like speed dating.
“You could sit down at 8.30pm and not leave the table until nearly midnight, so people do get a chance to really chat to each other. Because there is also a group dynamic, it means far less pressure and awkward silences.”
Is it obvious from the start who will be off on a date afterwards?
“It can be quite surprising actually. Some nights are fantastic – great banter where the group as a whole gets on like a house on fire, drink like fish and then head off to the pub. And then you find afterwards that there were only a few dates.
"Other nights, the craic isn’t as mighty and people are heading home at 11.30pm and yet there could be loads of dates. It’s hard to tell, but the night isn’t always an indicator of what’s to come. A bad night for me would be seven or eight dates afterwards.
"If there are 24 men and women sitting around the table, I’d like to see a lot more dates than that.
So did Liz ever get a date herself?
“I did,” she laughs, “with a lovely farmer. We were together for about a year. It didn’t quite work out but you have to put yourself out there.”
St Valentine's Day, it’s all well and good with its roses and fancy cards – that is unless you’re single and your version of V Day resembles Bridget Jones swigging wine and singing All by Myself rather than Tom Hanks and Megan Ryan on the top of the Empire State Building.
Determined as you may well be after that third glass of wine to banish Bridget from your life, the question remains for many: Where do you meet that special person?
You may have exhausted the traditional spots – the pub, a hobby, online dating and even the Getting in Touch pages of Irish Country Living – but sometimes we need a little help in life and that is where Liz Doyle, the founder of the Fine Dining Club, comes in.
Liz Doyle Fine Dining Club
Unlike a traditional matchmaker where you are given a fact file on your match and sent out into the scary world of dating alone, this is the simple concept of enjoying a group dinner in the hope that one of the 10 members of the opposite sex takes your fancy.
Liz is even there to pour the wine and keep the conversation flowing so there are no awkward silences.
“I actually got the idea when I moved back to Belfast 11 years ago. I had spent a few years working in London and New York but had decided to come home and was keen to meet someone.”
Interestingly, Liz worked as a lawyer for Goldman Sachs and later Lehman Brothers and was there on that faithful day in 2007 when it all collapsed. This certainly made for a conversation starter, but where to start that chat was the question.
“Myself and a few friends decided to organise a dinner party as a bit of a laugh. It was 32 people in a private restaurant and the only parameter was that you were single.
"It was quite a random collection of people, friends I met at yoga, others I knew from going out walking, and it was a great night, lots of fun. It was a really easy way to chat to people of the opposite sex.”
Such was the success of that initial evening that Liz started getting calls asking when the next one was taking place. And the next.
“The penny didn’t drop for a while that there was a real business opportunity here but when it did, it suddenly became glaringly obvious.
"The demand was there, the concept was good and there was nothing quite like it out there.”
Liz officially registered the company about six years ago and has had hundreds of diners on her books since then.
Such has been the success of the Fine Dining Club that there has been eight weddings, five babies, one engagement and six long-terms couples, that she knows of.
The format itself is quite unique but another element that Liz says makes the Fine Dining Club stand out from the rest is the fact that she has a strict screening process before she accepts someone as a member.
If, for example, I meet a 70-year-old man, claiming to be 57 and in search of a 35-year-old, well he isn’t going to meet that person at my dinners
“I know there could be business mentors reading this, screaming at me to accept anybody who wants to pay the fee but I just don’t do that.”
So who doesn’t meet the standard for Liz’s dinner?
“Recently I met a man who wanted to join but he had only been separated three months. He hadn’t even a place to live yet, he was sleeping on a friend’s couch and, to be quite honest, he was still reeling from the separation. I told him to come back in six months when he might be a little more ready.
"I also turn away people who are difficult and rude. If they are like that with me, how will they be with my clients who have put themselves out there to meet someone? And I also don’t sign up people who have unrealistic expectations.
"If, for example, I meet a 70-year-old man, claiming to be 57 and in search of a 35-year-old, well he isn’t going to meet that person at my dinners.”
Liz Doyle Fine Dining Club
It’s not easy to turn away eager individuals, especially those who are willing to pay the joining fee of €3,000. That’s a lot of money, we say, in shock.
“It's actually very cheap for a dating service,” Liz says. “The most expensive dating service in Ireland is €15,000 and they will introduce you to five dates.
"The next is €10,000 and then €5,000 and they introduce you to between five and 10. Our service is €3,000 and you could attend three or four dinners and meet 15 or 20 potential matches.”
So lets say we pass the strict screening process and pay the big fee, what’s next?
“Then we try to get you to a dinner as soon as possible.” The dinners are run in Dublin and Belfast and Liz is expanding to London soon but people from across the country, from Donegal to Cork, travel to them.
You could sit down at 8.30pm and not leave the table until nearly midnight, so people do get a chance to really chat to each other
“We usually have a private dining room and we’ve hosted them in gorgeous restaurants such as the Shelbourne, Dax and Pearl Brasserie. People arrive on the night and we have a drinks reception to kick things off. Lots of our diners can be nervous, especially men, but this helps to ease the nerves, especially when you realise everyone is in a similar situation. Then there are place settings for everyone, as I have pinpointed in advance who I think might get on well together.”
After each course, the men rotate so everyone sits next to three people of the opposite sex over the course of the evening, but Liz says it is nothing like speed dating.
“You could sit down at 8.30pm and not leave the table until nearly midnight, so people do get a chance to really chat to each other. Because there is also a group dynamic, it means far less pressure and awkward silences.”
Is it obvious from the start who will be off on a date afterwards?
“It can be quite surprising actually. Some nights are fantastic – great banter where the group as a whole gets on like a house on fire, drink like fish and then head off to the pub. And then you find afterwards that there were only a few dates.
"Other nights, the craic isn’t as mighty and people are heading home at 11.30pm and yet there could be loads of dates. It’s hard to tell, but the night isn’t always an indicator of what’s to come. A bad night for me would be seven or eight dates afterwards.
"If there are 24 men and women sitting around the table, I’d like to see a lot more dates than that.
So did Liz ever get a date herself?
“I did,” she laughs, “with a lovely farmer. We were together for about a year. It didn’t quite work out but you have to put yourself out there.”
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