It’s fair to say the hospitality industry has grown in weird and wonderful directions in the past few years. A part of it has been the different types of unusual restaurants that have opened up around the world. I have been researching into these unique restaurants and will be sharing a bit about them on my blog.
The first unusual experience is the trend about dining in the dark. The dining in the dark movement started in France 1993 at a demonstration. This event was about blind and visually disabled people guiding sighted individuals in how to interact using their other senses and in this environment the blind people were the experts at it. This is what led to restaurants opening up with the same concept in mind. This was a positive move towards the visually disabled community as it improved their social positions. This also helped the sighted community to understand and see life in the blind people’s perception. Most restaurants that follow this idea have staff that are blind or visually impaired which shows off the wide range of skills and their capabilities in that certain environment to the sighted individuals. This idea also shows the opportunities available to the visually impaired people and it also improves their self-confidence. The whole idea started off in France but has now moved across the globe including Germany, Italy and America. Opaque is one of the many “dining in the dark” restaurants based in Los Angeles. They also have two other branches in San Francisco and New York. As you arrive in these types of restaurants you are asked to pick your dishes which usually come in a set menu. This is done before you are seated at your table which is the opposite of what you would get at a normal restaurant. The idea of this is so that after you have picked your dishes, you are no longer allowed to use your sight as one of your senses for the rest of your dining experience. Therefore all your other senses such as hearing, smell, touch and taste are heightened because of this. This whole experience could make the diners nervous at first but it is a complete new experience which some people would enjoy.
