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In a bid to acquaint TV viewers with the contributions people with dementia can make, the United Kingdom’s Channel Four has launched a miniseries that staffs a restaurant with 14 volunteers all living with some form of dementia.
“The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes” was created in collaboration with Alzheimer’s Society UK and was inspired by Japan’s Restaurant of Mistaken Orders, a pop-up restaurant first launched in 2017.
In November 2018, The Restaurant That Makes Mistakes took over the first floor of The Station, a youth center in Bristol. The restaurant was in operation for five weeks and served a variety of celebrity guests among its diners.
The participants were aged 23 to 67 at the time of shooting, and all have been diagnosed with conditions that cause dementia, including Pick’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, vascular dementia and Parkinson’s disease. (Jordan Adams, the 23-year-old, has tested positive for the gene behind Pick’s disease and joined the project to understand early-onset dementia before he experiences the symptoms.)
They worked under the direction of Michelin-starred chef Josh Eggleston, who grew up in South Bristol.
“A dementia diagnosis doesn’t, and shouldn’t mean the end of a career, said Channel 4’s Head of Features and Formats Sarah Lazenby in a statement.
“This poignant and timely project aims to open the eyes of employers to the importance of keeping those who live with dementia in work by boosting their confidence and independence.”
