A peek at interactive dining.
It is still perfectly acceptable to offer just great dishes, served impeccably from the very best ingredients.
But if you wanted to tap into the Gen Y&X craving for an unforgettable experience beyond a simple sitdown dinner, then you can always lean into something a little more interactive too.
The premise of tech-led interactive dining is nothing new, of course…
One of the trailblazers of this scene is Le Petit Chef, dreamed up back in 2011 by two visual artists working on a project map for a client. Though the client declined the concept in the end, it gave the artists an idea. And Le Petit Chef opened its petites portes.
If you’ve somehow never heard of this little cook, then take a look at this video because truly, it has to be seen to be believed.
But creating a character, an origin story and having incredibly talented ‘skullmappers’ at your disposal is not a requirement to making the concept of interactive dining work - it can take many forms.
Let’s explore a few:
Another of the early adopters was this award-winning pan-Asian restaurant in Soho, London.
Opening in 2008, they’ve been pioneers in tech-first interactivity. Tables come equipped with mood-setting projections, retro games, a live chef-cam and yes, even ordering capabilities years before we knew how important that was going to be.
From Fort Lauderdale comes a multisensory experience that takes guests on journeys across the globe or even into outer space , blending 5-star chefs and technology that speaks to all five senses.
A new, true social media sensation, this highly-rated interactive dining extravaganza only launched earlier this year and has since racked up rave reviews, a multitude of Tiktok appearances and thousands of Instagram followers.
Currently, in the expansion stage, they are even looking for opportunities to pop up at luxury hotels around the world. Now there’s a thought!
Todd English’ Interactive Food Hall
Todd English is a global sensation with restaurants and food halls spanning from Dubai to NYC.
But things are about to get a little (read: a lot) bigger. Unnamed as yet, his upcoming Connecticut food hall is about as bang on trend as you can get.
Here’s what we know so far, courtesy of Restaurant Hospitality:
‘The 80,000-square-foot food hall will combine elements of traditional dining with Web 3.0 digital interactivity, art exhibits and a food science museum and educational centre…
The food hall will also have the ability through flexible space usage and technology, to change experiences daily, transforming a sports bar airing games during March Madness into a five-dimensional art exhibit that will house the Van Gogh dining experience.
“We feel that technology is crucial, and we will also be using new tech to produce our food [at the food hall],” English said, adding that the space will also have elements of Web3 like the metaverse and NFTs. “We will have a lab and explore the foods of the future too.”
If you’ve been keeping abreast of our latest articles, you’ll know that food science, Web 3, and Restaurant NFTs will be joining forces with eatertainment and experiential to bring us the dining of the future so this one stands to be incredibly exciting, not to mention bang on trend.
For more reading on other types of experiential dining, check out our blog ‘Flights of Fantasy - How high-concept experiential dining can take the guest experience to new heights.’
Would you give tech-led interactivity a go in your space or are you looking to keep it classic? Tell us over on @wired.fnd
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