Well it’s better than eating with a mask on, isn’t it?
It’s still very unclear how dining at restaurants and bars will look like once the lockdown eases and we’re allowed to return to our favourite haunts, but one designer thinks it could involve a series of plastic pods dangling from the ceiling. In a stroke of ingenuity, French designer Cristophe Gernigon unveiled his Plex’Eat device that would allow customers to dine in safety. The Plex’Eat is a clear, cone-shaped, plexiglass device suspended from the ceiling that encases diners in individual pods while dining in a restaurant. And we reckon it could be just what London needs! [Featured image: @aurelienmorissard]
The pods are composed of two plexiglass pieces that have an opening at the top — so you can still carry on a conversation with your dining partner, as well as a convex opening in the back so entering isn’t too much of a hassle. The devices would work toward limiting the spread of the virus, and would thus allow for restaurants to utilize more space. Additionally, their design allows them to be disassembled and disinfected with ease.
“Though we would have preferred not to arrive at this point, it is now better to imagine alternative, designed, elegant and aesthetic solutions that will guarantee social distancing regulations,” said Gernigon. The designer debuted his culinary invention at H.A.N.D. restaurant in Paris, owned by Mathieu Manzoni. Restaurants in Paris reopened this week for outdoor dining only, and while restrictions in France are beginning to relax, restaurant owners are still conscientious of upholding social distancing.
On the implementation of Plex’Eat glasses, Manzoni called them a “pretty, more poetic” solution to in-house dining. The Plex’Eat devices have had preorders from Japan, Canada, and the US – but given London’s obsession with dining inside stylish plastic containers, surely we’ll see them in the UK before long?