Montreal's O.Noir Restaurant
It is often said: First You Eat With Your Eyes
Sep 21, 2006 Jacqueline Church
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James Thurber said "Seeing is deceiving. It's eating that's believing."
O.Noir, a new restaurant in Montreal seeks to spread that gospel. It offers dinner in the dark. Not low, ambient light. Total darkness. No candles, no cell phones, even glowing watches are removed.
The concept originated in Zurich. There Jorge Spielman, a blind pastor, is said to have blindfolded his dinner guests to enable them to experience dining without sight. He began a project in 1999 aimed at teaching the sighted what the experience of being blind is like also providing jobs for blind people.
Light, concealed
The Montreal restaurant, O.Noir, follows this relatively new culinary experiment and supports visually impaired people in two ways. It donates proceeds to agencies serving visually impaired people and it employs visually impaired wait staff. This alone is laudable as unemployment among visually impaired population is estimated at 70%.
When total darkness requires diners to enjoy their meal in total darkness, two things happen. Diners gain an appreciation of their other senses and the role of all the senses in the experience of eating. With sight removed, new levels of sensuousness can be achieved. The second thing that happens through the experience, is immersion (for the time span of one meal, at least) in the world blind people inhabit every minute, every day. Empathy, it is hoped, will follow.
The food and the experience are said to be well worth a visit. What I give form to in daylight is only one per cent of what I have seen in darkness. MC Escher
Joy, revealed
Becoming fully aware the way a child is when everything is a new experience. This is a difficult state to achieve as an adult. Religious leaders, philosophers, poets and pushers have promised that elusive state and touted its rewards. The challenge of the undertaking is proven by the sheer number of solutions offered.
We are overloaded with sensory stimuli. We become jaded. We cease to experience things in fresh ways. It's been my contention that achieving this breakthrough of fresh awareness is part of what drives iconoclastic Spanish chef Ferran Adria. I shared my impressions of his work and philosophies in my other blog,Bourdain Encounters Adria, Discovers More.
While one can never know what is inside another's head, it seems clear to me that Chef Adria is often miscast as a gadfly gleefully provoking the establishment by deconstructing traditional foods and bringing technology into the kitchen. My view is that he is driven by the desire to help our adult (or jaded, or sophisticated, or dulled; pick one) palates enjoy a fresh experience. The debates rage on, others pick up on hot concepts. Soon everyone serves a deconstructed this or foam of that. Who knows what will come of it all, I've heard Adria give fairly coy answers when asked about imitators. I think he wants us to have that child-like experience and is curious and playful in his nature. Whether others can succeed in that is unclear to me, and I think, to him.
Most recently Adria himself is offering bites of espresso in the form a spoonful of solid coffee. Èspesso is a play on the Italian word "spesso", meaning thick. Lavazza the 111-year old Italian coffee company is offering Espesso in three Chicago stores for $2.49 a serving.
So, for the price of your usual latte, you can experience your morning eye-opener with fresh eyes.
I remember a meal at Auberge du Soleil in Napa Valley with friends Nathaniel and Anne. We took in a most gorgeous sunset overlooking the valley and then moved into the dining room and began our meal. Somewhere between appetizers and entrees, the entire restaurant lost power. It's quite entertaining to see how people cope with such circumstances. Some customers left. Others simply ordered up more wine and settled in for the adventure.
A generator was called into service in the kitchen (I can only imagine!) and candles were added to tables. The rest of the meal was consumed at a more leisurely pace by very dim light. Surely, not the same experience as O.Noir offers, but it did create a memorable evening. Even with candlelight, we were forced by circumstances to adapt to an evening utterly unanticipated.
- What was your most memorable dining revelation? A preparation or a meal that had you taste something familiar in a new way?
- For an interesting read on a first person experience, join the discussion, and see also this great food blogger's experience.
- If you're interested in learning more about regional Cuisines of Spain see my review of Teresa Barrenechea's wonderful cookbook.
- Dark dining is not the same as blind baking but both can be a delight.
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