Early Monday afternoon I read an article with a headline that reads “First poo-themed dessert café set to open in Canada.” The Independent’s use of “first” sort of implies that Canadians are all breathing a sigh of relief that it finally exists, but did any of them actually ask for this? Are “poo-themed dessert cafes” years away from being a staple of every metropolitan retail district, or will Poop Café Dessert Bar be the last?
Owner Lien Nguyen, who came up with the idea after visiting a “toilet-themed restaurant” in Taiwan (there are also ones in “Russia, South Korea, the Philippines, China, Japan and Indonesia”), seems to think the cafe is something just about everyone wants.
She told The Independent:
“It’s funny to put food and poop together; it’s a great comparison. It stayed in my mind for a long time. As soon as I finished school, I said, ‘OK, I’m going to bring the restaurant to Toronto.’”
And though I won’t deny that poop is funny, Nguyen’s assertion that it retains its humor alongside food is something I’m less willing to co-sign. I don’t want to think about how my food will look on its way out when I’m in the process of shoveling it in, and I don’t want to go to a restaurant where everyone is taking giggly selfies while eating what looks like poop while I’m trying to do the same.
Is this restaurant just one more pathetic example of what happens to dining experiences when shareability factor is as important as nutrition information, or will it be here to stay? Tell me: do you wanna eat the poop?