I was a 'dinner whore': Confessions of a fashionista who cruised Craigslist and OKCupid for dates just so she could get free meals



Man-eater: New York fashion blogger Brittny Pierre has revealed that she went on more than 60 dates with men she met online for the sole purpose of getting a free dinner

New York fashion blogger Brittny Pierre is not ashamed to admit that she had gone out on dozens of dates with men for the sole purpose of getting a square meal.

Pierre, who has been writing for Village Voice Media and a hip hop website, made the confession in a piece written in the first person that appeared on the feminist blog XOJane this week.

The woman detailed how she would meet her 'victims' on the dating site OKCupid and through Craigslist, and would go out for dinner three times a week with different men, allowing them to foot the bill every time.

Pierre explained that it all started when she arrived in New York about two years ago as a broke recent college graduate following in the footsteps of the fictional fashionista Carrie Bradshaw from the HBO series Sex and the City.

She had an internship lined up with Vibe Magazine beginning in September, but no income to keep her afloat.

A friend suggested that Pierre sign up to the site OKCupid to get into the dating scene, which inspired the budding fashion writer to use the online portal to eat well without opening her wallet.

Early on, Pierre decided that she could not afford to only date men she actually liked.

'I just had to go full throttle and just see who was willing to take me out,' Pierre wrote. 'A meal is a meal!'

Pierre also harnessed the power of Craigslist, answering personals ads that seemed 'somewhat sane.'

Playing on her potential targets' inflated sense of self, Pierre created an ad on the site saying that she was looking for her future Ryan Gosling.

Trolling for 'victims': Pierre created a profile on the dating site OKCupid and would go out with anyone who invited her for dinner

Horror stories: Pierre went on plenty of bad dates, like one suitor with a serious foot fetish and another who flirted with every woman in the restaurant

'The amount of men who think they’re Ryan Gosling in New York City is alarmingly high,' Pierre noted.

Her modus operandi was chatting with a would-be ‘meal ticket’ online in the hopes that he would offer to take her out on a date to a restaurant of her choice, which Pierre said would happen 90 per cent of the time.

By October 2011, Pierre was struggling to keep track of all the men she had met on the different sites and fitting them in her schedule.

Flattery works: Pierre created an ad on Craigslist saying that she was looking for her future Ryan Gosling (pictured) in a bid to stroke her suitors' ego

'It was quickly turning into a full-time job with benefits of steak dinner and crème brulee desserts,' Pierre recalled.

At times, the free meals came at a steep price.

Pierre described a string of horrible dates, like the man with an extreme foot fetish who, when asked by a waiter if they wanted to order dessert, answered with, 'Yes, her toes.'

Another suitor couldn't speak a word of English, forcing Pierre to dust off her rusty Spanish, while a third flirted with every woman in sight while on a date with her.

'I made sure on that date to order the most expensive dish on the menu,' Pierre recalled. 'Even though I hate seafood, I got lobster and ordered dessert and it was the best meal of my life!'

But eventually Pierre ran into the same problem that any serial dater encounters sooner or later: she started mixing up her suitors, until one day she found herself on a rendezvous with two men.

After going out on some 60 dates and speaking to nearly 100 men, Pierre decided to shut down her operation. When she came clean to her friends about her money-saving scheme, the women in her circle praised her, while the men berated her for taking advantage of unsuspecting suitors.

A manager at a high-end Manhattan restaurant where Pierre got a job as a hostess even called her a low-rate prostitute after learning about her escapades. But Pierre had no regrets.

Reformed 'dinner whore': The phenomenon of women going out on dates with men to get free meals was popularized in 2006 by food blogger Brook Parkhurst, pictured here with her husband

'Looking back, I truly didn't see the harm in my actions,' Pierre concluded. 'I met a wide variety of men and honed my acting and interviewing skills while chowing down on some awesome steak dinners.'

The writer said that she still has her OKCupid account, but now she uses it exclusively to find true romance.

Pierre's experience is not unique. In 2006, the concept of 'dinner whore' was popularized after the publication of an article in the New York Post about Brooke Parkhurst, then-26-year-old food blogger who confessed to running up a combined tab of $30,000 after going on more than 200 dinner dates.

The phenomenon gave rise to what has become known as the ‘dinner whore avenger’ - a man who is not afraid to publicly call out a woman seeking to use him for a free meal.