| O Noir Restaurant Review by Jessica |
 |
|
Blind Dining
An Insight Into the Other Four Senses
By: Jessica Hemmerich
I had butterflies in my tummy. I stuck my finger in my butter. I actually tasted my wine and appreciated the aroma fresh baked bread. I was aware of the smell of spices in the air. I ate mashed potatoes with my fingers and no one noticed. I ate eggplant and asparagus, two things my parent’s have been trying to force down my throat for as long as I can remember. At least, I think I ate them. I did all this because for two hours of my life, I couldn’t see a thing.
Blind Dining
An Insight Into the Other Four Senses
By: Jessica Hemmerich
I had butterflies in my tummy. I stuck my finger in my butter. I actually tasted my wine and appreciated the aroma fresh baked bread. I was aware of the smell of spices in the air. I ate mashed potatoes with my fingers and no one noticed. I ate eggplant and asparagus, two things my parent’s have been trying to force down my throat for as long as I can remember. At least, I think I ate them. I did all this because for two hours of my life, I couldn’t see a thing.
They say that when one of the senses falls short, the other four are heightened. This is the idea behind blind dining. Owner of the new O Noir restaurant, Moe Alameddine, says, “we don’t really eat with our eyes.” So he disregarded them altogether. O Noir is located on St-Catherine West at the corner of Guy. You walk in, notice the dimly-lit bar and apart from the heavy black velvet curtain, everything appears to be normal. However, don’t let yourself be deceived. Don’t let your eyes fool you, this is no traditional restaurant.
When I first found myself at the same dimly-lit bar, I was asked to choose what I would be eating that night: appetizer, main course and desert. My palms were already sweaty and my heart was already pounding so I decided to stick to the basics in everything that I had control over. I avoided the “surprise” dishes and ordered grilled Portobello mushrooms, chicken breast and chocolate-raspberry mousse. Then, the man behind the bar summoned our guide with his walkie-talkie. No sooner had I selected my wine, a woman wearing dark sunglasses appeared before me. She explained to me that she was going to be my eyes for the duration of my meal despite the fact that she had no use of her own. She was blind. She led me passed the mysterious velvet curtain, passed another identical curtain and into, as far as I could tell, the main dining area. All that was distinguishable was the two red exit signs at the extremities of the room. Everything else was pitch black and everything would stay pitch black. I could not see my own hand in front of my face. My waitress explained to me that in front of me there was placemat. I felt for the placemat. On the left were the forks and on the right was the knife. In the middle was a napkin which would prove to be extremely useful throughout the evening. She told me to put my wine glass above the placemat and that whenever she came to bring or take away a plate I was to take hold of my glass to discourage any accidents. She then left me to my own whims in the complete obscurity.
I had come to interview Mr. Alameddine hours before my meal. He had told me about the first time he experienced blind dining, in Zurich. He said, “The first three minutes I was terrified. It was very scary.” I had already come to relate to that. Now that my pulse had returned to normal though, I began to notice the other thing he had said. “You hear people joking, making fun and enjoying their meals.” Without the use of my eyesight, I had no other choice but to rely on my other senses. I wasn’t alone in the dark and scary room. I could hear couples intimately discussing amongst each other, friends come to experience something new. For the first time in my life, I appreciated the smell and taste of my wine as something other than an alcohol that will get me drunk. Even the bread that my waitress brought me tasted so good, once I had finally managed to get the butter on it.
When my meal finally arrived, I was dying to taste it. It smelt so good. After a couple of trials where my fork connected to nothing but the plate and a couple of disappointing empty forks arriving at my mouth, I finally got a grab. Never have I liked chicken that much. I hate asparagus and I hate eggplant, but I apparently don’t hate it that much when my vision is impaired. It got pretty frustrating not being able to eat because I didn’t know where to stab my fork, so I made the educated decision to eat with my hands. Not only was I able to gobble down my food quicker without that annoying fork-scratching-plate noise, but the best part was no one noticed.
I finished my meal fearing that I had evidence of messy eating all over my clothing, face and hands. I called for my guide and she led me passed the curtains. The dimly-lit bar did not seem so dimly-lit anymore. The brightness pierced through my adapted-to-darkness eyes like a stick pierces through a shish kabob. It hurt. After I had gotten over the initial shock, I made sure I wasn’t a complete mess and said goodbye to my waitress understanding a bit more about her lifestyle and impressed at the fact that she did not run into anything, drop anything or make any mess. If it were me in her place, I would have turned the restaurant upside down.
O Noir is not the first restaurant of its kind. Mr. Alameddine first experienced it in Switzerland but then discovered imitations of it in England and in France. He decided that it was “a good and creative concept for Montreal.” He tried to model his Montreal version after the Paris one which he describes as “more hip, […] more fun.” All of Mr. Alameddine’s waiters and waitresses are 50-90% visually impaired. %5 of O Noir’s profits go to organizations that help the visually impaired such as Horizon Travail and Nazareth Louis Braille. Both of these organizations helped Mr. Alameddine in obtaining qualified staff as well as training them and devising a system that would help them go from table to table and back and forth to the kitchen. “If you train them […] they can do the job like anyone […] It’s a very good challenge for them. […] They just need a little attention in the beginning,” said Mr. Alameddine of his staff. “Why not give them a chance to do the job?” When asked what he hopes this restaurant concept will accomplish, Mr. Alameddine replied, “I hope this project will break the ice for other restaurants to see how these people can do the job.” As I have personally experienced they really do a wonderful job. Although they are impaired with the absence of one of their senses, they compensate with the others and perform just as well, and in some cases better, than anyone who is fortunate enough to have their five senses. They really gave me an insight into their everyday struggles and their everyday benefits that few have learned to fully appreciate. For more information about O Noir, visit their website at www.onoir.com.
|
|
| |
|
|
Average Score: 4
Votes: 9
|
|
