It is a widely accepted fact that the loss of any one of your senses will result in the heightening of your remaining senses.

This was the central premise behind the ‘Dinner in the Dark’ recently held at the Marine Hotel in Hermanus in conjunction with the Institute for the Blind, Creation Wines and Curro School Hermanus as headline sponsors.

The evening started off in the bar-lounge with Creation Wines’ WhalePOD Rosé 2013 as a welcoming drink. This gave the guests a chance to mingle. Then all the guests were blindfolded and led, hand on shoulder, in single file to the dining room by students of the Curro School in Hermanus. Hennie Mentz, former principal of the Pioneer School and serving headmaster of Curro School Hermanus was the driving force behind the event, and introduced Pioneer School ex-student and keynote speaker ‘Blind man with Vision’ Hein Wagner.

PHOTO: Hermanus Times

Despite being born totally blind, Hein has achieved more than most people his age. It all started when he taught himself to ride a bike in one afternoon – an incredible accomplishment for a young blind boy, and it culminated in him breaking the land-speed record for the blind twice, travelling at over 320 km/h. He has bungee-jumped and was the first blind man to complete the gruelling Cape Epic cycle race. His next project is no less ambitious – to pilot a Boeing 747 from London to Cape Town and raise £1 000 000.

But back to the dinner. For the main course, the lights were dimmed and blindfolds donned – this was ‘dinner in the dark’! Navigating the corridor to the dining room blindfolded actually proved to be less of a challenge than the meal itself. With a few tips from Hein we took careful note of the aromas coming off the plate, and gently probed with our forks to ascertain where the food was positioned on the plate.

PHOTO: Hermanus Times