According to Events Manager Kate Stephan, they’ve had far more applications from women than men at this stage, so she’s encouraging any male singletons not to “leave it to the last minute” and put their name down for the blind date dinner.
“It does take a lot of courage to apply for something like this… but we really want everyone to know that it’s super easy-going – there’s nothing stressful,” Kate said.
The idea for the TV-show-inspired dinner first came from Samphire Head Chef Lee Smith who is a fan of the Channel 4 programme and wanted to bring it to the restaurant, formerly known as Ormer.
Pictured: The idea to bring ‘First Dates’ to the Jersey restaurant was the Head Chef’s idea because he’s a fan of the TV-show. (Samphire)
The restaurant say that they decided to bring back the event for a second year because they had such great feedback from the diners. Of the 12 couples they matched up, Kate explained, three continued dating, and a further few pairs carried on meeting up as friends.
Now, they’re hoping to have the same success with this year’s dinner.
Kate explained the application process to Express: “Basically people have to fill out an online application which gives us basic information about what kind of person they are overall… the applications close on the 11 February, at which point we’ll be matching people.”
When asked about the matchmaking criteria, Kate says that applicants have to fill in a questionnaire about themselves as well as “information about their dream date and what kind of person they’re looking for.”
On the application form, the hopeful daters are asked about everything from their height to their taste in music and movies as well as having to choose whether they’d prefer to go for a walk on the beach or a drink at the pub.
Pictured: The hopeful diners will be matched up with their blind dates based on their hobbies and interests. (Samphire)
After the deadline, the applicants will be contacted and informed if they’ve been matched up with someone else ahead of the dinner on 18 February.
Kate said that she’s aware that first dates can be nerve-wracking or even “awkward” at times, but that organisers have put measures in place to make the evening go as smoothly as possible.
For example, diners will “all pre-pay for their meal beforehand so that excludes any awkward pay issues at the end” to avoid daters negotiating whether or not to go ‘Dutch’.
Pictured: The dates will pre-pay for their three-course meal at Samphire ahead of the evening. (Samphire)
“It makes it a bit less stressful and awkward for the dates!” Kate added.
Additionally, all diners have the option of having a ‘safe word’ which they can use to leave the date early if they’re feeling uncomfortable.
“Everyone in the restaurant on that night is in the same situation so it’s not as daunting as people think and our team is so great with recognising people’s situations and having a bit of banter with them if they’re a bit nervous or helping out with the conversation if it’s getting a bit stuck…
“…we’re really there to assist them throughout the whole evening as best we can as well as giving them some time to get to know one another,” Kate said.