Posted on 01/11/2006 2:08:35 PM PST by Millee
For Londoners it will be the ultimate blind date.
A French entrepreneur is opening a new restaurant where diners are served by blind waiters and eat their meal in pitch darkness.
Chefs used to creating flamboyant dishes that are a feast for the eye may mock - and indeed some already have.
But Edouard de Broglie is convinced he is on to a winner with Dans Le Noir (In The Dark) which opens in London next month.
Exporting a formula he launched in Paris with his first dining-in-the-dark restaurant, de Broglie believes it is a perfect way to savour food by just using the taste buds.
He is currently hiring 10 blind people as waiters who will lead diners into the darkened room for a blind tasting with a difference.
Customers are guided in from a normally lit bar where they pick what they will eat. In Paris, 80 per cent of the clients opt for the surprise menu.
"A lot of people make huge mistakes in the dark. They confuse tuna and veal," De Broglie said.
Project manager for the London restaurant is Nicolas Chartier who said: "The experience is a bit daunting when you first approach it.
"But the waiters are there to reassure customers. They are the best people in the dark. This is their world. They are very confident in it."
But what of the clients? Will the London restaurant manage to break down traditional British reserve?
De Broglie is convinced Les Anglais will abandon their stiff upper lips.
"In darkness you don't have any etiquette. It is very difficult not to talk to your neighbour in the dark. The atmosphere is very convivial," he said.
For the thousands who have visited the Paris restaurant in the last 18 months, the experience has offered valuable insight into the world of the blind.
"If you cannot understand such a handicap, this breaks down barriers. Putting yourself in the hands of a blind person for two hours raises your awareness of disability," he said.
But what does it feel like to eat in the dark as you grope for your knife and fork and try not to knock your wine glass over?
"The world felt both infinite and claustrophobic," decided Britain's Independent on Sunday.
"Our taste buds were aroused but they were confused. After an hour and a half, we were desperate to return to the people and colours outside."
Humans are so stupid. A life so short and they waste their time on stupidity like this.
I don't think I have the sense of adventure to even try it. I can just see me breaking my leg trying to get to the restroom!
This is one of the STUPIDEST ideas I have ever heard.
How will teh blind waiters know which food order is theirs?
How will they be able to serve the sizzling fajitas?
I don't think I could do that.
I have to see what I'm putting in my mouth.
(Mmmm... bad choice of words)
I would only go to a restaurant that hires deaf waiters and makes the patrons wear sound reduction headphones.
"Can I take your order?"
"What did you say?"
"We don't serve chicken flambay!"
"The cats in the way? What the hell is going on here?"
"WHat?"
LOL...just one more reason you would never find me there! I like wine...
Blind Serving Blind in Pitch Darkness - Welcome to Cafe Liberal!
Thanks but no thanks. While I really feel for those who are blind and have no choice but to go through life with this handicap; I want to see what I'm eating, especially if *I* didn't prepare it.
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