Restaurants / New Openings
The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes opens in Bristol
A bell rings. A shout goes up. “Service, please!”
It’s a scene repeated in restaurants across the world, but this particular restaurant on Silver Street in the city centre is different; with all 14 of its chefs and waiting staff diagnosed with dementia
For one month, The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes is taking over what is usually The Kitchen, with Josh Eggleton of the Pony & Trap, Salt & Malt and Root overseeing operations and the results being broadcast in a five-part series on Channel 4 in March 2019.
is needed now More than ever
The idea has been inspired by a pop-up restaurant that opened in Tokyo last year, with the aim of changing how dementia is viewed by following the journeys of participants, who have spent the last month with Josh learning the tricks of the hospitality trade.
The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes is open until December 12
“Where are you going?” somebody gently asks one waiter midway during the first service at the restaurant as he walks the wrong way with a pile of dirty plates, heading towards members of the production team behind the scenes rather than back to the kitchen.
CPL Productions, the makers of Old People’s Home for Four-Year-Olds, have pulled off a clever trick, hiding their cameras behind one-way mirrors.
It means that the restaurant really does feel authentic, other than for the bright television lights hanging from the ceiling.
Eggleton patrolled the room during Friday’s lunchtime service, ensuring everything was running smoothly before taking a seat on table eight opposite a familiar face, actor Hugh Bonneville, a supporter of Alzheimer’s Society; with more celebrity diners promised over the next few weeks.
“A dementia diagnosis doesn’t, and shouldn’t mean the end of a career,” says Channel 4’s head of features and formats, Sarah Lazenby.
“This poignant and timely project aims to open the eyes of employers to the importance of keeping those who live with dementia in work by boosting their confidence and independence.”
Mistakes are bound to be made, but then that’s the point and exactly why this restaurant is called what it is.
See for yourself, with The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes open to the public until December 12. To book your table, call 07749 883 545 or email [email protected]
Read more: How businesses can address dementia
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