This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2011, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
If, as gourmands say, "eye appeal is half the meal," what happens if you can't see the food you're eating?
Salt Lake City's Tin Angel Cafe is letting customers discover the answer by letting them dine in the dark.
On Oct. 28, 29 and 30, the downtown restaurant will offer its annual four-course Halloween "Black Out" dinner. During one course, customers are blindfolded and served a highly-flavorful bite of finger food.
"People rely so much on their sight when eating," said Kestrel Liedtke, co-owner of the downtown restaurant. "When you cut off one of your senses, the others become more in tune."
Husband and chef Jerry Liedtke got the idea while working in Torino, Italy, for the 2006 Winter Olympics. He heard fellow chefs talking about a "dark dining" restaurant, then a popular trend in Europe.
"They ate all these weird things, molecular gastronomy stuff, and I thought it sounded fun and exciting," he said.
The dark dining trend arrived in the United States shortly after, with specialized restaurants opening in Los Angeles, San Francisco and New York. Chefs in other cities followed suit, offering one-time events for daring diners.
Depending on the location, diners are either blindfolded or they eat in a completely darkened room with servers wearing night-vision goggles. Filmmakers even poked fun at the experience in the 2010 comedy "When In Rome" when the main characters, played by actors Kristen Bell and Josh Duhamel, go on a disastrous date in a dark restaurant.
Liedtke decided to offer his "Black Out" experience when he opened the Tin Angel three years ago. Besides Halloween, he offers dark dinners on New Year's Eve and Valentine's Day.
An entire "Black Out" dinner would be tricky to pull off in his tiny restaurant, he said, and he fears it might also get tiresome for diners. So he settled on just one "black out" course.
He avoids serving foods that might be considered "too weird," such as eyeballs or calf brains. But he does create daring items, usually served on a toothpick for easy eating. He likes to combine opposing ingredients — think sweet, salty and spicy — that have unique textures. One example was a marshmallow wrapped in a thinly sliced cured Italian ham and sprinkled with a pungent West African pepper.
On another occasion, guests received smoked salmon, dipped in white chocolate and rolled in Pop Rocks candy.
One of Liedtke's favorite creations included Brie cheese, chocolate, cinnamon and a port wine reduction.
"It tasted like a cinnamon bear," he said, noting that the trick is to "make it tasty, but you want the flavor sensation to zing you around a bit."
Individual eaters approach the experience differently. "Some people are scared, others are excited," he said. "Some people want to smell it first, others just go for it."
Diners will try to guess what they are eating, but usually they have no idea what they just put in their mouth.
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Scary fun at 'Black Out' dinner
Where • Tin Angel Cafe 365 W. 400 South, Salt Lake City
When • Friday, Saturday and Monday, Oct. 28, 29 and 31
What • Guests are blindfolded during one course.
Cost • $40 for four-course dinner. Add optional wine pairings for $66.60.
Info • Reservations accepted starting at 5 p.m. Call 801-328-4155.
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Going dark — at home
Here are some do's and don'ts to follow when planning a dining-in-the-dark party at home.
Do
Have guests bring a spa/meditation mask to the party. Or buy inexpensive bandanas or dark-colored fabric at a local craft/fabric store.
Dim the lights if you're afraid guests will peek.
Select foods that have bold flavors, textures and smells.
Serve easy to eat, non-messy foods that can be eaten with fingers or toothpicks. (It's difficult to stab something with a fork when you can't see.)
Keep the food hidden in the refrigerator or oven until your guests are seated and blindfolded.
To avoid accidents, help each blindfolded guest by guiding their hands to the plate and/or food item.
Ask everyone to guess what they are eating before they remove their blindfolds.
Save some of the mystery item so guests can see what they ate.
Don't
Don't go overboard and plan a whole meal in the dark, as it might get tiresome. Instead, get the party going by serving just an appetizer in the dark. Or create suspense with a dark dessert course.
Don't serve anything too disgusting, such as calf brains or eyeballs.
Don't prepare the mystery course right before guests arrive. They might be able to smell what you've been cooking.
Don't serve something that's easily recognizable by its shape.
Don't serve food that needs to be cut. —
Going dark — at home
Here are some do's and don'ts to follow when planning a dining-in-the-dark party at home.
Do
Have guests bring a spa/meditation mask to the party. Or buy inexpensive bandanas or dark-colored fabric at a local craft/fabric store.
Dim the lights if you're afraid guests will peek.
Select foods that have bold flavors, textures and smells.
Serve easy to eat, non-messy foods that can be eaten with fingers or toothpicks. (It's difficult to stab something with a fork when you can't see.)
Keep the food hidden in the refrigerator or oven until your guests are seated and blindfolded.
To avoid accidents, help each blindfolded guest by guiding their hands to the plate and/or food item.
Ask everyone to guess what they are eating before they remove their blindfolds.
Save some of the mystery item so guests can see what they ate.
Don't
Don't go overboard and plan a whole meal in the dark, as it might get tiresome. Instead, get the party going by serving just an appetizer in the dark. Or create suspense with a dark dessert course.
Don't serve anything too disgusting, such as calf brains or eyeballs.
Don't prepare the mystery course right before guests arrive. They might be able to smell what you've been cooking.
Don't serve something that's easily recognizable by its shape.
Don't serve food that needs to be cut. —
Scary fun at 'Black Out' dinner
Where • Tin Angel Cafe 365 W. 400 South, Salt Lake City
When • Friday, Saturday and Monday, Oct. 28, 29 and 31
What • Guests are blindfolded during one course.
Cost • $40 for four-course dinner. Add optional wine pairings for $66.60.
Info • Reservations accepted starting at 5 p.m. Call 801-328-4155.