Paris - A romantic dinner for two. The
wine is excellent, the food delicious. It's almost like the good
old days. Except for the giant, see-through lampshades on your
heads.
For restaurant owners worrying how they can welcome back
customers but keep them safe from Covid-19, a French designer
has created a cylinder of transparent plastic that hangs from a
cable on the ceiling, much like a lampshade. A scoop cut out of
the back allows diner to sit and stand up without having to bend
over double.
Christophe Gernigon, who invented the device, called the
Plex'Eat, said the designs already on the market looked like
booths in prison visiting rooms, so were not inviting for
customers.
"I wanted to make it more glamorous, more pretty," he said.
His design will go into production next week, and he said he had
received interest from France, Belgium, Canada, Japan and
Argentina.
France is starting to relax some of the restrictions it
imposed to curb the spread of the coronavirus outbreak. Shops
and hairdressers have re-opened, and some children are back at
school.
But the government has yet to give the green light for the
re-opening of restaurant and bars because they pose particular
problems for disease control.
Picture: Christophe Gernigon.
Diners cannot eat while wearing a surgical mask, and if
tables were removed to ensure customers are a safe distance from
each other, many owners say they would not be able to make
enough money to cover their costs.
Mathieu Manzoni, owner of the H.A.N.D restaurant that serves
American-style food not far from Paris' Louvre museum, invited
Gernigon to the restaurant this week to hear his pitch. Manzoni
said he was planning to place an order.
"Will people like it? I can’t say but I want to believe that
it can add something because I find it fun," he said in his
restaurant, which is open for takeaway orders only.