The atmosphere of your restaurant is an important part of the dining experience of your guests. The atmosphere includes everything from color, furniture, decoration, music, lighting and table lighting. The table lighting is an important element in the overall interior design of your catering business, but does it also have an influence on how we experience the food?
Man has, generally speaking, 5 senses: tasting, smelling, feeling, hearing and seeing. Those who have been able to experience blind eating once know how important it is to see the food. Watching gives a very important added value to our dining experience. Lighting largely determines this experience of looking.
The lighting plays an important role in the ambience determination. For example, a romantic restaurant will mute the light and play with the atmosphere that plays table lights in the hospitality industry, such as candles and oil lights. The friendly, pleasant, romantic atmosphere encourages guests to take a glass of wine or dessert. In a fast food restaurant the lamps are very bright, to encourage the guests to eat quickly and to leave the restaurant again quickly.
The ideal lighting for your catering business can therefore be determined by two factors:
- Natural lighting from outside through windows. This is daylight, but also the light in the evening that comes from the moon, the stars and the city lights.
- Lamps, pendant lights and wall lamps. These make the space lively. You can play with the ratio between lights and the natural illumination from outside.
- Table Lights determine to a large extent the atmosphere you want to give. For example, You can choose candles, oil lights, LED lights or a small light that is on the table.
The choice you make in terms of lighting should reflect the atmosphere that you would like to have in your catering business. Open, inviting, cosy, warm, romantic, trendy, airy, cheerful, friendly, no-nonsense or relaxing? Choose and select the matching lighting.
Illumination from underneath or lighting from above?
The way in which you place the lighting, sets to a large extent the atmosphere that is put. Lighting from underneath, such as candles and other table lights, is often more flattering that light from above.
This is because table lights make the face more beautiful. Think for example of an atmospheric candle or oil lamp. This gives the same warm, cozy effect as a campfire. Illumination from the top gives you shadows and makes a person look tired. On a romantic date you want to look your best. Restaurants should use this given and use more table lighting in their lighting plan.
Natural table lighting in the hospitality industry
Also do not forget the power of natural light compared to lamps. The most atmospheric places have many candles and chandeliers, but also use the light which comes through large windows. Even in the evening, a restaurant can be cosy with the many light that goes indoors from the moon, stars and the city through the large windows. This creates an unforgettable atmosphere; Candle-lit dinner.
So when you determine the interior of your restaurant, it is very wise to make a good working light plan. Light should be the basis for the rest of the interior design. In the light plan, the light is included from the windows to the inside during the day and evening, but also the lamps, the position of the lamps and the table lights in your catering business.
Does light affect the experience of your meal?
Of course, the light can affect the mood and the experience of your guests, but it also influences what we choose to eat. Light influences the way we eat and what we eat. In a well-lit room, the chance is 16% to 24% greater that we choose healthier dishes by a higher level of alertness.
That sounds pretty logical, right? With dimmed lighting We feel more comfortable, so we may take our (healthy) eating habits more with a grain of salt. In bright light we think more strategically about what we order, which often results in a healthier choice.
Light is also an important factor in the state of mind of your guests, which influences the mental state and the emotions that your guests experience in your catering facilities. In a too dark restaurant your guests can lose their alertness and feel tired. In a restaurant that is too enlightened, however, guests feel less at ease and may want to go home quicker. The solution is therefore in a plan that has been well thought through.
Let your light shine over the table lights in the hospitality industry
The table lighting in the hospitality industry is certainly an important element in the overall atmosphere in your catering and the experience of your guests. It will set the tone, affect menu choices and makes or breaks the success of an Instagram photo. Therefore, lighting should be an important part of the total concept of your café, bar or restaurant.
The food and drink is certainly more important, but also what this should alleviate.