Oryx Rotana Doha hosted an unique dinner for around people in their ball room last week. ‘Blindfolded: Dinner in the Dark’ was held in support of Orbis Flying Eye Hospital.
The guests were all blindfolded and escorted by hotel officials to their table for a three-course gourmet meal.
As guests were not able to see, they all started chatting with the strangers sitting next to them and were heard discussing food, work and movies.
Oryx Rotana is open to hold these kind of events for various companies and other groups. This will be a great team building exercise as everyone ends up talking a lot to escape the sudden darkness which has enveloped you.
The idea behind the Dinner in the Dark evening is that by eating without sight, all the other senses are heightened, bringing the different tastes, textures and smells to the forefront. Diners were blindfolded and served a variety of high quality food, with an emphasis on using basic, distinctive and enjoyable flavours.
The dinner aimed also at both spreading the eye-care message and raising awareness for Orbis. All participants at the dinner were blindfolded and escorted to their tables where they struggled to eat while the event’s MC asked them to share their thoughts about temporarily ‘losing’ their sight.
Blindfolded diners found they could not control their utensils and quickly began using their hands to eat! By the end of the evening, everyone truly understood the troubles and difficulties blind people must face every day.
“Taste and see the goodness of giving. Your gift will positively change the life of a blind/visually impaired person,” remarked Oryx Rotana General Manager. “I invite everyone to experience and learn about the challenges faced by the blind. It was indeed a fun, educational and memorable evening,” he added.
“Reactions to Dining in the Dark are truly powerful because people often don’t realize the daily obstacles of living with low to no vision,” said Allan Thompson – Director of External Relations in Orbis,
“We’re here to remind people that by restoring sight we are also restoring opportunity,” added Thompson.
The Peninsula
