Interview with Leroy Zhong of Bon Soir – Dark Dining

With the competition to gain The Ultimate Start-Up Space by Martell VSOP still underway, we catch up with the top 10 finalists of the challenge to find out more about their ideas and the drive behind them. First, we got Leroy Zhong of “Bon Soir – Dark Dining” to share his thoughts.

(For a quick overview of the prizes the ultimate winner stands to gain, read this.)

Describe your idea and how you think it stands out from all the finalists.

Our idea for the shop space is to have a fine-dining restaurant with a completely pitch-dark environment. The visually handicapped will be hired as professional servers and guides, and they will get a chance to be on the front line of the service industry. “Bon Soir – Dark Dining” stands in its own league by having a subtle focus on food appreciation; Clarke Quay is after all a place for wining and dining.

The concept will present a strong “wow” factor that’s going to be the talk of the town, drawing curious diners. People will be here for the experience, and unknowingly, they’ll be savoring fine quality cuisine without the distraction of watches, cell phones etc.

The differentiation in “Bon Soir – Dark Dining” will bring a lot of first-timers; the emphasis on our food palate will ensure sustainability as good food is what brings customers back.

[View their 60-second video submission for TUSS.]

How did you come up with this idea? Did you already have this idea before hearing about this competition?

We lingered with the thought of coming up with a themed restaurant before the competition. Given more thought, and the experience in my family’s business in F&B, I recognized the importance and priority of good food for an F&B set-up’s sustainability.

Therefore taking away all visual distractions and prejudices of food presentation became the natural way to go about a themed restaurant with the right focus.

Why do you think you should win the top prize for The Ultimate Start-Up Space?

First of all, we have impact.

The competitive landscape in Singapore is unique. There are 5 million people living on a small area here and this might seem like a B2C opportunities-galore. But don’t forget, for every demand, there are 3 businesses competing for it. Therefore finding a unique selling point (USP) in the Singapore market has become more important than any other market.

“Bon Soir – Dark Dining” aims to do exactly that, and we are careful in avoiding stepping over the thin line to appear as an absurd concept, by being diligently different. That is, to subtly align to the right priorities in food quality and business turnover in the F&B industry, and yet presenting a huge draw to customers with our USP.