Dining in the dark? Light out, taste up!
What is Dark dining?
Dark dining dates back to 1997 in Paris. The basic concept is that the removal of vision enhances the other senses and increases gastronomic pleasure. Participants have their meal with all sources of light eliminated, including mobile phones and cameras. Consequently, they enjoy the food relying on their senses of smelling, tasting, hearing and touching.
Experience
The event Dining in the dark was hosted by the D.I.V.E student club at the University of Texas at Austin. This was my first time having my dinner in complete darkness. It sounds insane, but it was an enjoyable experience. I will elaborate on the entire experience and bring out my point of view to talk about why I think it was a successful event.
(1) Waiting Area
First of all, all the participants were asked to stay in the waiting area. It was a casual place that allowed people to chat freely, to talk more about our event expectations, and to sanitize our hands.
Subsequently, we were asked to make a line for the servers, so that each of us could take our place individually. At that point, I didn’t know why we couldn’t have a seat based on our preference, but as soon as I entered the dining area, I suddenly realized that ‘Dining in the dark’ meant eating in complete darkness, so much you could not even see the seats and tables. Each of the tables had a luminous flower sticker to mark the front of the table, and this was very helpful, so that I was able to put my meal directly on my table to avoid any accidents. It was a stunning opening for my experience. And, I totally realized that this was going to be so much excitement and fun for that night.
(2) Dining Time
In order to give you a complete picture of the experience, I want to bring up more details for you.
First of all, all of the participants started their meal at the same time. Secondly, all of the participants did not know what food was served that night, and the only information we had is that the total cost was $13 and included 5 vegetarian courses. Lastly, we should keep our mobiles away so as to not affect the dining experience.
Learning to eat in the dark was my first impactful experience. When I forked my first bite into my mouth, I didn’t expect that the food was way bigger than I thought it would be. I immediately realized that this might be an inconvenience to encounter in the dark, so I ate the rest of my food gently and carefully. Also, I would say that using the utensils in the dark was a sort of skill! You might be aware of placing your utensils on the table- it was not fun to drop your utensil in the dark (It would turn your dining experience into a treasure hunting game).
When I got my course in the dark, the first thing I would do is to smell it and guess what it was. During the time when I was waiting for everyone to get their course, some of the participants started a conversation about guessing the color of the food. Some people might say “I think this smells like pink, maybe it is a kind of berries or fruit.” Others might say “I think it is orange because it smells light and sour.” Wherever you heard someone precisely speak out the word that matched your imagination, it aroused a sense of achievement that you had completed a mission and opened a new gate in a game. On the other hand, when others spoke out a word that was completely different from what you had, you doubted that everyone might have a different course in this session. Regardless of guessing right or wrong, the dinner was about having fun through conversation.
(3) Light up: A time to share your experience
After the full dining was completed, the hosting team turned on the light and brought all the participants together to share their experiences. There were some impressive sharing as one:
- Most of the participants felt that food became more delicious when eating without seeing.
- The picky eaters would be more willing to put the food into their mouth and try it without hesitation.
- It was much easier to eat using your hands in the dark. However, things turned out differently when you had to eat greek pasta with your hands. I’m the only one who used the utensils for all the courses, but I heard from others who ate their pasta with their hands said that the sticky and soft texture was something they found unforgettable during the experience.
- Before the last course was served, everyone heard the microwave turn on. Participants could easily hear the ‘beep beep’ sounds repeatedly happening in the room. Subsequently, all the servers brought our last course to the table and reminded us to eat it carefully. Most of the participants expected that it was something hot, but guess what? The dessert was mochi ice cream. In this case, the sense of sound was another factor to complete our imagination of the food in the dark.
Honestly, the quality of the food exceeded my expectation. It was beyond my imagination that eating without a sense of sight could be enjoyable. Even though I had just simple courses such as a cup of berries or a serving of hummus onion bread, I would say that all 5 courses tasted much better in the dark.
Participatory Culture
According to Professor Henry Jenkins’s publication “Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture: Media Education for the 21st Century” I believe the dark dining experience reached a point of success. He defined the participatory culture as one:
1. With relatively low barriers for engagement.
2. With strong support for creating and sharing one’s creations with others.
3. With some type of informal mentorship whereby what is known by the most experienced is passed along to novices.
4. Where members believe that their contributions matter.
5. Where members feel some degree of social connection with one another.
I feel the experience was unforgettable because I had time to talk and share my feelings with others during the meal and later discussion. The low barrier of engagement provides an opportunity for everyone to create an extraordinary guest experience. Just like traveling with a tour group, each of the experiences is disparate because it is composed of different people. Moreover, I am an introvert, so socializing with people sitting next to me will never happen in my real life; however, I realized I was more comfortable chatting with others in the dark. The unique story is the most entertaining characteristic of an immersive experience, and the social connection with others is another novel experience.
I loved having the time to sit down and have a conversation with the hosting team. It was fun to hear something behind the scenes because it revealed how things were interpreted differently between the customers and the host. In addition, the conversation was in a friendly atmosphere, and the participants were not afraid to speak out their true feelings and were free to contribute their suggestions.
Overall, having dinner in the dark was not as boring as I thought it would be. In fact, I feel more engaged in the event and felt satisfied to eat socially in the dark.
Conclusion
I can see so many opportunities with the dark dining concept. First, it provides a brand new experience for introverts and picky eaters. Second, the concept redefines taste by the composition of sound, smell and touch. Finally, it delivers a socially engaging environment for customers.
All in all, dining in the dark is an experience beyond simply eating because it embodies the combination of eating, exploring and socializing. And it might write a new chapter for the immersive restaurant experience.
