Innovation Meets Gastronomy

Today, dining experiences aren't just about the food at a restaurant, but everything that comes along―the ambience, entertainment and interactive elements.

- MINI RIBEIRO

Engaging with Le Petit Chef, the world’s smallest chef, while enjoying a multicourse meal, where technology is used to create a virtual interactive story, diners at Grand Hyatt Goa and Shangri-La Eros New Delhi, indulge in a multi-sensory dining experience. The Lazy Goose, Nerul, Goa offers a fun, crabhunting experience, where a guided boat trip with a local fisherman, precedes a diner’s meal and upon heading back, you can have the chef, cook the catch. While at Carnival by Trèsind, Mumbai, a magician and mentalist, adds a touch of carnival, performing tricks with guests—unlocking phones using psychological techniques. This becomes the draw, apart from the exceptional cuisine and cocktail offerings of course.

Restaurants are connecting with their diners by capturing their imagination and attention to stay relevant and differentiate them in an increasingly crowded market. Innovation may be key to a dining experience, but is interpreted differently by restaurants: Immersive, entertaining, sensorial, tech-enhanced, and culinary storytelling. Entertainment invariably elevates a dining experience. Rohit Khattar, Founder & Chairman, EHV International, concurs, “Food and entertainment go hand in hand and if one can make it more compelling by adding entertainment to a dining experience, there’s nothing wrong with it.”

Highlighting a growing trend in restaurants where, dining and entertainment go hand in hand, Hussain Shahzad, Executive Chef, Hunger Inc. Hospitality, concurs, “It’s not about a dinner and a show, ‘the dinner is the show’. People want more than just a meal; they want an engaging experience. Interactive dining and combining great food with a lively atmosphere, is a way to do this.”