Dark dining

Dark dining takes place in a dark restaurant, where the customers do not see the food they are eating. The basic concept is that the removal of vision enhances the other senses and increases gastronomic pleasure. Since 1999 such restaurants have opened in many parts of the world.

The first experience of dark restaurant took place in Paris, set up by Michel Reilhac and was called "Le gout du noir". This program started in 1997 and was followed by the opening of a temporary restaurant in the "Montorgeuil" district in Paris during the summer 1999. This program became in 2003 "Dans le Noir ?" founded by Edouard de Broglie, a French entrepreneur in cooperation with the blind foundation Paul Guinot. It became the first international chain of restaurant in the dark. The first permanent restaurant was Blindekuh (Blind man's buff in German), in Zurich, Switzerland. It was opened in september 1999 by a blind clergyman, Jorge Spielmann, who wished to convey the experience of blindness to sighted customers. Spielmann says the idea came after guests who had dined blindfolded at his own home reported greater enjoyment of their meal through the senses of taste and smell. But the idea was existing in fact before.

The opening of Blindekuh in 1999 was followed during the next few years by other dark restaurants in cities in Europe and North America and Asia. In 2008 there were around six and by 2014 there were claimed to be "dozens [of] restaurants around the world". THe only international multi-restaurant chains is Dans le Noir? in Europe, Russia and Pacific,.Opaque is the only chain operation in the USA after Dans le Noir ? left New York.

In most cases the restaurant area is kept in complete darkness, with all sources of light eliminated, including mobile phones and cameras. In other venues the customers are blindfolded instead. Before entering, customers choose their meal, often selecting from among several generic menus rather than specific items. Allen’s (2012) review reported that for many customers, eating in the dark can be "an unsettling experience", in particular the physical process of feeding oneself; even though the menu may be adapted to allow for "the diner's limited ability to aim a knife and fork".

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Wikipedia