explainer by Craig Silverman
HIGH-END DINING
Fine dining has reached new heights. As of next month, Dinner in the Sky Canada will offer Montrealers the chance to enjoy a meal while suspended 150 feet in the air.

EXPLAINER TAKES TO THE SKY.

Jean-Francois Grenier owns Altitude Concepts, a Montreal events company, and he's also now the owner of Dinner in the Sky Canada.His new venture started in December when he heard about a Brussels-based company that had devised a way to offer people the chance to enjoy a meal or cocktails while sitting on a platform suspended 150 feet in the air. He knew he wanted to bring it to Canada. "I called on a Friday and on Tuesday I was in Brussels," he says. "I knew immediately that Canadian companies are ready for this. It's a new way of hosting VIPs or an event." He's now the exclusive licensee for Canada and will begin offering the service to local companies on Aug. 27. His company will also operate in Toronto and Vancouver. "The food tastes better with altitude," he says, noting that there is the "charm of being up there, having this amazing view and waving at birds passing under you." Grenier has invested "seven figures" to get the operation up and running.
This is the specially designed platform that makes Dinner in the Sky possible. Developed in Brussels, it weighs between 7 and 8 tons when filled with 22 guests and up to five staff members, including a chef. Guests are strapped into their seats using a belt similar to those worn by F1 drivers. The platform has been used in many parts of Europe and was designed by a team led. by an engineer with experience building bungee jumping facilities. Grenier says they have far exceeded all necessary safety requirements. Once the guests are given a one-hour prep session and then strapped in, the platform is lifted by a 120-tonne crane. It takes about a minute to reach the necessary height, and guests usually stay in the air for 60 minutes. (There are no bathrooms on board so people are asked to use the facilities beforehand.) Grenier says he's received interest from golf tournaments that would like to enable VIPs to enjoy a meal suspended above the 18th hole. When his company demonstrated the platform in Toronto a couple of weeks ago, "people broke out in spontaneous applause," according to Grenier.