World’s Highest Open-Air Formal Dinner Party | Dining Table Set 25,000 Feet in the Air!

By Kanchuka B A
October 2, 2024
10:27 GMT-0830
World’s Highest Dinner Party

Adventurous records have gone to the lengths of formal dining experiences. In 2005, Bear Grylls, David Hempleman-Adams, and Lieutenant Commander Alan Veal pulled off the wildest stunt of the highest open-air formal dinner. They had a dinner party at an altitude of 25,000 feet and set a world record. Grylls conducted this adventurous feat in aid of The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award Scheme and launched the 50th anniversary of the Awards. After finishing the meal, both Alan Veal and Grylls skydived back down to earth in formal evening wear. Let’s have a closer look at the story.

A Daring Dinner Party in the Sky

Grylls’s Open-Air Formal Dinner was also an attempt to break the Champagne Mumm Altitude Challenge. However, their record raised money for the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award scheme and The Prince’s Trust. David, Alan Veal, and Grylls used a specially-designed large hot air balloon, that is 180,000 cubic feet in size. Special oxygen systems and ropes for climbing were fitted to the balloon. As you may well guess, no detail could be left unconsidered if it were going to work.

Highest Open-Air Formal Dinner
Highest Formal Dinner Party | Image source: outdoors.com

Moreover, their dinner table was not set on safe ground. But was 40 feet beneath the hot air balloon basket. In such a position, the challenge became all the more thrilling and dangerous.

A Meal Like No Other

Commander Alan Veal took the balloon to a height of 24,262ft. At 25,000 feet, Bear Grylls and Alan Veal had to climb down from the balloon basket in preparation for the table. They were clothed in tuxedos, oxygen masks, among other protection against extreme cold. Without giving them oxygen, they could not have survived at this altitude. After approaching the table hanging in the air, they sat down to a three-course meal. Their dinner was asparagus tips, duck à l’orange, and fruit terrine.

Because of the -50°C temperatures, they took with them special containers to keep their food warm. Complementing the cold was the low oxygen level. Still, they managed to have a meal considering these factors and succeeded in overcoming them. At the end of their meal, to make it even more memorable, Grylls and Veal skydived back to Earth, while David Hempleman-Adams safely landed the balloon.

The Purpose Behind The Highest Open-Air Formal Dinner

While it is fun hosting a formal dinner at 25,000 feet, there was a deeper reason behind this challenge. They wanted to raise money and awareness for two great charities: The Duke of Edinburgh’s Award and The Prince’s Trust. Both organizations help young people develop skills so valuable, offer education, and show them how to find opportunities for personal growth.

Bear Grylls is, of course, quite the adventurous spirit and thought that this dinner was a great way to incorporate adventure into charity. Setting a world record also managed to raise much awareness for the charities; hence, their efforts supported young people in need.

Overcoming Challenges at 25,000 Feet

Hosting a formal dinner at 25,000 feet wasn’t easy. First, the adventurers had to endure extreme cold; it drops to -50°C at that height. For survival, they had to wear oxygen masks and special thermal clothes underneath their formal attire. Without all these precautions, they would have faced life-threatening risks linked to frostbite or hypoxia-a condition low oxygen levels cause.

Apart from the cold, the adventurers had a need to be safe. For instance, Grylls once lost his oxygen mask hanging upside down from the dining table. Thankfully, he recovered within a second, re-attached the mask, and kept up with the meal. Every second at that altitude was risky, but they completed the challenge due to effective preparation and teamwork.

Also, another big task was keeping food warm at 25,000 feet. Cold air would have frozen their meals in an instant. But the special containers they made use of kept the dishes at the right temperature. They also secured plates and cutlery to the table so that they do not fly away in high-altitude winds. With such great planning, they had been able to enjoy their meal while defying the extreme conditions.

The Previous Record of The Highest Open-Air Formal Dinner

Before Grylls and his team took over with this great record, the record for the highest formal dinner was held by adventurer Henry Shelford. In 2004, Shelford hosted a dinner 22,326 feet up a Tibetan mountain. It was quite an event to begin with: he and his crew had to put up with altitude sickness, cold temperatures, and physical strain associated with climbing a mountain. They could enjoy their meal while giving the body a good exercise.

Highest Open-Air Formal Dinner
Adventurers Bear Grylls, 30, and Lieutenant Commander Alan Veal, 34, dine on asparagus spears followed by poached salmon and a terrine of summer fruits, all served in specially designed warm boxes, at nearly 24,262 feet. Associated Press | Courtesy MPL International Ltd

However, Bear Grylls and his team wanted to take this challenge to the next level. Instead of hosting their dinner on solid ground, they dined while they were suspended in the air beneath a hot air balloon. The addition of this twist made their attempt far more dangerous. The combination of altitude and dining in the air set their record apart from Shelford’s.

Highest Open-Air Formal Dinner
Bear Grylls’s Wild, Record-Setting Feats | Image source: outdoors.com

The logistics of the feat of eating in mid-air were, indeed, merely an add-on to an already accomplished miracle. Shelford had his dinner on a mountain, but Grylls and his team hung in the air at 25,000 feet, using special gear and careful planning. Their brave and creative effort made their record one of the most unique achievements in adventure history.

Highest Open-Air Dinner and its Lasting Legacy

This dinner has become an inspiration to many adventurers and thrill-seekers around the world. Indeed, as far as record-breaking is concerned, human ingenuity knows no limits. The accompanying elements of risk, elegance, and charity added more significant meaning to the event. Further, besides pushing the edge of human possibility, adventurers used such feats to raise awareness for causes considered important.

Coventry Scouts groups have a visit from Bear Grylls | Image source: Wikipedia
Highest Open-Air Formal Dinner
Grylls in front of an Alaska Air National Guard, 210th Rescue Squadron HH-60 Pave Hawk helicopter before heading out to Spencer Glacier to film Man vs. Wild | Image source: Wikipedia

Bear Grylls has sure learned how to push himself to the limit, and this time he managed to mix adventure with a greater motive. The love to break records in support of charity keeps him going and becomes an inspiration to others. This dinner party is one of the many records by Grylls but still one of his most daring and memorable ones.

Why People Love Extreme Records

This also points to the recorded highest open-air formal dinner, because people are fascinated by extreme records-be it scaling the highest mountains, crossing dangerous seas, or dining in the sky. Records of this kind foment dreams of others to think big and take up a challenge.

Records, especially extreme ones, are a reflection of strength, creativity, and determination put into trying to achieve them. Indeed, the ultimate achievement of perfection in planning for every minute detail that went into this open-air formal dinner-from safety equipment to food-makes for some achievement.

Conclusion

This set a new bar to dinner parties and adventurous records altogether. Bear Grylls, David Hempleman-Adams, and Alan Veal combined elements of elegance with harsh weather conditions and charity to create this event. Dining at 25,000 feet they broke not only a world record but also brought awareness to causes that helped young people.

This dinner party, which was so unimaginably incredible, still fired the imaginations of adventurers from every part of the globe. It proved that with a proper plan, courage, and spirit, everything is achievable-even the most ambitious dream of all. Adventure, danger, and elegance-this story will continue inspiring many for generations to come.

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