This gun's for hire...

Not so much dancing in the dark, as dining in the dark. In the ongoing run of tin-arse proportions, Anna and I recently won a table for four at the 'Dining in the Dark' evening to be held at one of Auckland's best restaurants Clooney - and selling on TradeMe for over $600. Our tickets arrived as the blindfolds we were due to wear for the dinner and we invited Tom & Rae to join us for what was an awesome night.

We arrived on the night in the midst on NZ celebrity - the usual Auckland exhibition of Shortland Street actors, designers, and newsreaders. Alas, our entrance was not as sought after, as the photographer decided to skip asking us to strike a pose (nor did we make it onto the Close Up feature - see chapter four). Picking up champagne on the way through to our table, we were quickly served up a canape of - raw tuna and cured salmon, topped with a wasabi foam and caviar. Suspicion that we had invited only invited Rae so that we could drink her wine and eat her seafood are unfair, though we took full advantage!

We were then briefed that the lights we about to go out and that we were to don our blindfolds. We were also told that we were to be served up five courses, each accompanied by a different wine - to be told what the dish was after we had finished.

Though we all picked that the first dish served up was seafood, it was Anna who first to pick it was scallops. But none of this picked the foie gras. Though Rae - who had a non-seafood dish - out did us all...claiming that she had a potato risotto, only to be told it was a pear souffle! All accompanied by a Riesling.

Second course was a bit easier, ravioli filled with goats cheese. Though none of us picked the anchovy butter sauce - especially Rae, who supposedly doesn't like seafood. We certainly didn't pick the wine - a Pinot Noir...though as a white Pinot Noir, this wasn't surprising.

Next up was the most unusual dish of the night - it had us all stump. Beef was an early call, though I was putting my money on some kind of kidney or liver - which ended up being kind of close. Though I was well off with my dim sum dumpling call. It turned out to be lobster and veal sweetbreads! With artichoke, white asparagus and hazelnuts. The lobsters was obviously somewhat wasted on us, but it was a good way to introduced to sweetbreads. The easiest part of this course to pick was the wine - a Chardonnay.

Fourth course was pretty amazing. Anna showed off - picking early the venison on cauliflower puree, with cherries and cocoa flakes in a licorice sauce. Well, everything but the licorice. Served with a Pinot Noir - a normal one this time - this course was absolutely delicious.

The last course - a chocolate dish - was a bit easier to pick, especially with Tim Tams Classic Dark being a sponsor of the event. Though none of us picked that it was Sherry and not Port that accompanied it.

Our assumption that each dish would be presented in a form easy to eat blindfolded was very wrong, as each dish was set out on a plate and required deft use of both knife and fork. It was hard not to take a peak now and then to watch others chasing their food around the plate. Rae took nearly 5 minutes to stick it to one bit of asparagus. It also took a while to get used to conversation blind-folded, as you kind of projected your voice at a few decibels than what was probably required. Even going to the toilet required sticking your hand up to be led by the staff - though wisely blindfolds were removed once you got there.

The food overall was simply superb, and if we had paid $150 each to attend, I wouldn't have been disappointed. The experience of eating blind was also very cool. Interesting, rather than heightening the rest of your senses, they actually seemed subdued. I guess meaning that seeing your food is important to the overall taste you get from the food.