Meet Sam Farhadi: The Soul of Dans le Noir ? Madrid

"Do what you feel because in the end, if you want to do it and you make a mistake, you can learn from it."

Saman Farhadi is the head waiter at Dans le Noir ? Madrid, a waiter-guide, and, as those who have visited the restaurant know, the life of the party.

Sam was born in Iran in 1987. He came to Spain at the age of 12 with his older brother for an eye surgery after an accident left him blind. Since then, he has chosen the Spanish capital as his official home, feeling comfortable and at ease here; "I don't feel like I'm far from my homeland because we have many things in common."

He joined ONCE after fighting to receive the same support as any other Spanish minor under 18. He expresses that this is one of the things he is most proud of, as it helped create opportunities for other blind foreigners in Spain.

In his first year of school, Sam, who spoke Persian and English, learned to speak Spanish perfectly. Later on, he discovered his other passions. He studied computer science and now, in addition to working at Dans le Noir ? Madrid, he is a music producer, composer, and computer developer and programmer.

Sam also enjoys hobbies such as watching series, reading, and going out for drinks with his friends. Family is of great importance to him. He mainly takes advantage of weekends to visit his family.

Sam has been part of the Dans le Noir ? Madrid team since its opening in 2017. He came here on the recommendation of a friend who worked as a waiter-guide at the same dark dining restaurant in Barcelona. Since 2021, he has been the head waiter and responsible for the dining room; "My responsibility has changed, I have to be more attentive to everything."

Although his new position entails more responsibilities, as the head waiter, he is proud to be able to train new people and actively participate in employment inclusion at Dans le Noir ?. He believes that having been a waiter for a long time allows him to have a different and close relationship with others; "It's not that we are different, but we have different responsibilities."

These little facts about Sam's life demonstrate his insight, sympathy, and bravery. In addition to being an example of personal resilience, as he has said himself: The secret to living a life that surpasses adversity is "Do what you feel because in the end, if you want to do it and you make a mistake, you can learn from it. If you don't do it, you will regret not doing it because you don't know what would have happened if you had tried."