黑暗中用餐：一生（至少）一次的體驗

Dining in the Dark: A Once-in-a-Lifetime Experience

自從1999年在瑞士出現第一家黑暗餐廳後，如今世界各大城市都可以看到類似形式的餐廳或活動。然而沒有視覺對飲食經驗的影響到底是什麼？黑暗中用餐可以讓食物更加美味嗎？或者真能產生什麼新奇的感官體驗？黑暗體驗可以改變我們對盲人的刻板印象嗎？還是能夠從中得到什麼特別人生領悟？本研究針對歐美亞三大洲15家黑暗餐廳，透過餐廳官方網頁、媒體評論、IG貼文、Google map和Tripadvisor評價和留言、網路旅遊部落格等，以及研究者本人的實地參與觀察，來探討飲食如何成為當下社會困境的解決途徑，並藉此想像人類未來生活的可能樣貌。研究結果發現，黑暗中用餐不見得能讓餐點變得更美味，也不容易改變我們對盲人的想法。整個用餐過程中最吸引人的部分，應該是用餐者與他人在黑暗互動中，共同製造和維持情境意義。在紛擾忙碌的現代生活中，黑暗也能讓我們專注於當下，重新省察平時存而不論的事物，對事物的可能樣貌更為包容。

Since the first dark restaurant opened in Switzerland in 1999, similar restaurants and events can now be found in major cities around the world. But does dining in the dark make food more delicious? Can it give us a better understanding of the lives of the blind? What is the impact of not having sight on our diet and our relationships? Are there any particularly valuable experiences to be gained in the dark dining room? This study focuses on 15 dark restaurants in Europe, America and Asia, and addresses the above questions through information drawn from sources such as the official websites of the restaurants, media reviews, IG posts, Google maps and Tripadvisor reviews and comments, and online travel blogs, as well as field participation observations, to explore how dining in the dark can become a solution to some social bewilderment, and what it can tell us about the future life of human beings. The results show that dining in the dark does not necessarily make a meal tastier, nor does it easily change the way we think about blind people. The most engaging part of the entire meal process should be the co-creating and maintaining contextual meaning through interactions with others in the dark. In this bustling modern era, darkness may also allow us to focus on the present moment, to re-examine things that are normally bracketed, and to be more open to how things should be.