I have been trying to think of a more catchy title for this blog post for the last couple of hours, but there is simply no other way to put my experience into words than “dining in the dark.” The whole concept of dining in the dark might be new to some, although this has been around for decades as early as 1999. According to handy wikipedia, the first restaurant to ever provide dark dining to people was built in Zurich, Switzerland by a blind clergyman. On the other hand, my firsthand knowledge about dining in the dark is somewhat recent. After watching the movie “About Time” which starred my Rachel McAdams and Domhell Gleeson, I have been keen on trying this interesting twist in dining myself.
I have had to cancel my booking at Dans Le Noir in London last New year’s day. There were lots of things we wanted to do then and I was just too tired after climbing the 528steps of St. Paul’s Cathedral. We just ended up ordering Korean food delivery for supper. My husband and I finally had the chance to go for it this month on our post-valentine’s date. So on that rainy date night, we entered Dans Le Noir and were greeted by our host in the receiving area. She gave us a rundown of the basic rules of dining in the dark. She then handed our keys for our locker where we were supposed to put our coats, bags, mobile phones, etc. Basically the idea is to make sure you have got nothing on you that can produce light before you enter the main dining halls. It is best that you bring nothing else with you inside because you would not really want to drop any of your personal belongings in the dark dining area.
Our host then proceeded to explain to us the menu of the restaurant. We were then asked to choose from four main menus. You cannot know what you are going to have until the very end. You only get to choose whether you want to have vegetarian, meat, seafood or be surprised by the Chef. The restaurant offers different price points for the set menu depending on how many courses and/or drinks you would like to have. The host also notes if you have any particular requests or food allergies that they should be aware of.
My husband and I opted for the three-course meal which included a starter, a main dish and a dessert. We then ordered for separate drinks. My husband chose the Red menu for meat eaters and (being a gastronome) I bravely chose the White menu for Chef’s surprise. After all the orders were in place, our host kindly asked if we would want to go for a quick bladder break before we enter the dining area. After which all anticipation and excitement were heightened as we were finally ushered onto the entrance of the dark halls. At the entrance we were introduced to our tall and cheerful guide named Jack. Jack as all the other waiters/food servers at Dans Le Noir is blind. The only qualified food servers at restaurants like Dans Le Noir are the blind people. They are the only ones with senses that could make them capable of moving around in the dining halls. Because they do not bear sense of sight, all their other senses like touch, smell and hearing enable them to “visualise” in their minds the actual lay-out of the restaurant. After the initial pleasantries, Jack reminded us again that we must not be carrying anything with us that can produce light. He then asked that ladies should go in first the followed by gentlemen. So with Jack’s back to me, he asked me to put my hand on his shoulder and then he asked my husband to do the same to me.
Pitch-black!!! The moment you step into the main dining area, complete darkness greets you. No cheating here. There is not glimmer of light in the room. A feeling of thrill gushes through me as Jack continues to speak to us while leading us effortlessly to our table. Then I started to notice all my other senses trying to adapt due to my temporary induced blindness. I was doing my best to isolate Jack’s voice from the rest of the simultaneous revelry going on in the room so that I can know where we are at. I was speaking a lot louder than I usually do so that Jack can hear me, asking him to just walk as slow as he can because he is tall (with long legs) and I walk with small steps. At the same time, I was making sure I could still feel my husband’s hand on my shoulder because I did not want to leave him trailing behind us. Soon enough Jack asked me to put my hand on his hand. Although I cannot see, he is definitely facing me this time. I waved my hand in mid-air trying to find Jack’s hand and held it the second I touched it. Jack then instructed my husband to stay where he was and that Jack will be with him shortly. Jack guided me onto my seat and then he did the same for my husband. Once seated, I could already feel that there was a couple seated next to us on our right. Based from where the couple’s voices were coming from, I assumed that the lady was seated near me and the gentleman seated near my husband (who was seated across to me). Jack then gave us a description of how our table was set. I slowly reached out my hand onto the table. I familiarised myself with the placement of the cutlery, table napkin, and drinking glass then went on to re-arrange them for my own convenience. Jack then reiterated our orders to us and confirmed again about any food allergies we may have. He also told us that should we need any assistance with anything all we had to do was shout out his name. The cardinal rule when dining in the dark is to remain seated at all times. Although the main dining area is monitored by infrared cameras, everybody is obliged to obey this policy for safety.
The feels!!! As my husband and I waited for our food, we chatted away in our louuud voices. It is a good thing that we could speak in our native language and need not ‘censor’ our conversation. Dining in the dark meant that we could actually hear all conversations going on in the room (oh well, at least convos of people near to us like the couple beside us who we assume were there on their first date => ). Hence as shown in the movie “About Time,” dining in the dark can be honest-to-goodness blind dating. From another table, people started singing the birthday song to one of their companions. Then all of the people quickly sang along. After which, there was clapping and one chap shouted out “Now blow out your candles!!!” The overall atmosphere of the place was really festive, from the melodious “Coming through…coming through” of the waiters walking around with food to the continuous bantering and merrymaking of friends, families, colleagues and lovers. You could hear people shouting and teasing each other with “Keep your hands off me!” or “Don’t touch me there!” => Now back to my date, my sweet husband asked me to meet his hand halfway across the table with mine. He said he wanted be sure i was really sat in front of him. Haha! And as we prepare for our food, hubby placed his table napkin on his lap and I tucked mine under the collar of my shirt like a baby’s bib.
The food!!! We did not have to wait for long before our starters were served to us. My husband finished off his starter and was very pleased with it. He kept on saying it really tasted good but could not offer much detailed description of it. The experience as expected then turned funny and messy for me. As I reached for my cutlery to eat my starters, I immediately felt that I was doing something wrong. When I had my first bite of my starter, I knew it was some kind of sushi and I had actually cut it in half! My first sushi crumbled. This remains a proper dining restaurant after all minus the lights. So dropping my dining etiquette and in true dining-in-the-dark manner, I went on to finish my starters using my bare hands. My guess was that I had two kinds of sushi which both really tasted good and something else. I was telling my husband that ‘something else’ felt like and tasted like very soft guava with some gorgonzola cheese. At the same time, my assumed ‘guava seeds’ felt a little bit softer than usual. Thereafter, our main dishes were served. Jack was trying to illustrate to us how our plates looked. He told us that our plates are divided into three sections, each section containing a different kind of food. My husband then started digging into his mains. He did not find anything overtly special about his dish, stating only that he was having some beef, pork and poultry. He was clearly still very impressed with the starter that he had. By this time I decided to keep my eyes closed and just focus on each bite. My eyes were getting a bit tired from trying to adjust to the darkness. My pupils were probably dilating for too long. My guesses for the mains that I had: a peculiar-tasting meat in mango sauce, some poultry with rosemary in red wine sauce, and scallops in a cornmeal base. Lastly, our desserts were served. We had the same desserts. My husband does not have a sweet tooth so I would just put here my guesses. I thought we had some sugary fig, poached pear and small slice of berry shortcake. The food was great. The strange experience of not being able to see what you are eating elevates your sense of taste. Not only do you intricately distinguish the flavours like salty, sugary, bitter, sour and spicy, but also the texture, temperature, aroma, consistency and shape of the food.
The reveal!!! After the hearty meal, Jack lead us all the way out to the main entrance. We thanked Jack for being so good to us and for making us feel safe that we were able to enjoy the whole experience. Before settling our bill, we were handed out the menus that we have chosen. Just because I would not want to spoil the experience for others, lets just say my guesses were 75% correct about the food that I had. And in no particular order whatsoever, my husband and I had some kangaroo, ostrich and zebra that night. Yes, zebra! Omg. The beautifully plated dishes below are samples of dishes served at Dans Le Noir. The thing is you cannot see them while you are savouring them.
The verdict!!! Is it worth paying 50-100 quid to dine in the dark, ergo spill your drink, eat with your bare hands, shout out to your date and touch him in the dark, have your dress messy, be bumped by person seated next to you, etc.? If you have the money to spare, if you want to try something new, if you consider food as an experience, and for whatever reason you may have, my answer remains YES. The experience is both exhilarating and humbling. For any foodie, it is taking your food journey a notch higher. Then again the experience could simply humble you as you get to feel how it is like to see nothing. It is not just dining in the dark. It is the entire experience that you are paying for. Would I go back there again with my husband to date? To be honest, probably not. We would like to try other food experiences in the future. But we would gladly go back and dine in the dark again together with other friends and family.
‘Til our next gastronomic adventure!
Singkititay ♥
SUSPENDED THOUGHTS. 