Turn Instructables into a restaurant. FOOD, FURNITURE, LIGHTS, DECORATION, all designed by members of Instructables. It's all there.

Why not turn all this wonderful information on Instructables into a real restaurant. There is a wide choice of food and furniture. And you can have your guests comment on it through instructables.com.

Do you want a big or small thing? A real business or just a cool dinner party? The restaurant can take all shapes and sizes because the info on Instructable.com is pretty limitless. Use it! In this ible we add some ideas for graphic design, production logistics, how to deal with food preparation and how to give everybody credit for what they bring in.

This instructable is the result of an Instructables Restaurant pilot, a collaboration between Arne Hendriks and Bas van Abel, Fablab Amsterdam, Waag Society, and several Instructables members.

Step 1: Ideas Behind the Idea

Here is some of the ideas behind the Instructables Restaurant.

1. The Instructables Restaurant comes with full instructions for everything. In most restaurants you get to buy and enjoy the food, and sometimes even the furniture. But in the Instructables Restaurant you go home knowing how to make the food as well as the furniture. We give you the instructions and recipes!

2. The Internet is full of passive information, and more is added every second. By really using and implementing this information not only do you plug into a world of know-how but it's also great for the people who have shared their knowledge. That's why crediting them is important!

3. The Instructables Restaurant originates from the input of others. This creates a different notion of ownership and the intellectual property of a regular business. A lot of the input comes from others. This is what we like about the idea.

4.The Instructables Restaurant creates a space between limitless information and reality. It's a 2.0 dock station where digital and real connect and communicate.

But enough of that. Let's build a restaurant!

Step 2: Involve GREAT PEOPLE

How do you turn the instructions of Instructables.com into a real restaurant???
-INVOLVE GREAT PEOPLE !!!

Every Instructables Restaurant has a different look since it is you who decide how big it is, what recipes are served, and what furniture and lamps are used. Still it is almost unimaginable that you can do it all alone. You need to involve others, and actually that's one of the best parts of it.

You will need help in producing the furniture, selecting the food, some graphic design and interior decoration and running the restaurant and preparing the food. Working with others and sharing the responsibility and fun is what makes it special.

So before anything else, think of who could help you create this.

The beautiful bunch in the photo are the people of Waag Society and Fablab Amsterdam under the astute guidance of Bas (the stripey one on the left), who've worked hard to built the Restaurant.

Step 3: How to Select GREAT FOOD

This is where the power of the internet should be combined with the power of your cooking skills (or those of others). It's also one of the most fun parts of the whole projects since it involves picking recipes, cooking and tasting, and cooking and tasting some more.

1. If you are not a great cook yourself, try to involve someone who is and reads recipes like a musician reads music. In other words, someone who knows by reading the recipes on instructables.com if it will be any good. This saves you the trouble of a lot of cooking and tasting bad food.

2. It's probably a good idea to pick up a menu of a local restaurant you like and have a look at the diversity in meals on offer. You can copy the traditional standards with entries, main, desserts etc. or since this is already a wacky idea in the first place DO WHATEVER YOU WANT, and serve only dishes with the word atomic in them, or ice cream, or things from Ohio. The pizza in the sky is the limit.

3. Decide on a budget per dish served. This will also narrow down the choice. You may need to shop around for good deals on ingredients. You could do a special.

4. Have someone who knows how to cook prepare the dish. If it needs slight alterations that is fine BUT don't forget to put this as feedback on Instructables so everybody can benefit from it! This is one of the most promising aspects of this concept: we might actually make things better one step at a time.

5. When you're done cooking have your neighbours try it, then your friends, and if you're feeling confident, your mother-in-law. (We suggest to do it in that order unless you want to get in trouble).

6. If most people like it, or at least think it's fun, CONGRATULATIONS! You found yourself a dish worth serving. Time for a more serious dinnerparty!

Step 4: The Dinnerparty

Organize a dinnerparty for the number of people that reflect your ambition. If you go for a big restaurant invite at least 15.

1. The dinnerparty is to try out the food and practise in getting it organized BUT it is also the first chance you get to share the idea with your friends and relations. Take this opportunity and present not only the food (we get around to that later) but also the ambiance (Step 5) you want to achieve with the restaurant.

2. The food. There is only one important rule: Make the dishes represent what your restaurant is about. And there is only one important rule apart from the first one but that one is too obvious and has something to do with taste.

3. Provide a computer at the diner party to introduce your guests to instructables.com and the way they can use the website to give feedback on the instructables that have been posted by members.

4. Ask for honest criticism. It would be great if your guests are willing to go on Instructables.com and share tips for improving your chosen recipes (of course you're still free to ignore them).

5 .Then when everybody is excited about it, introduce the idea of a production party and invite your guests to participate.

Step 5: How to Create a GREAT AMBIANCE

You could go in any direction with this but as this is an Instructables Restaurant we suggest the graphic design of the website as an inspiration for the ambiance of the restaurant.

1. It wouldn't really be an Instructables Restaurant if it didn't have some designs from the Instructables Hall of Fame like the Platonic Suns lamp by Daan and the 55 Gallon Barrel Chair by Monkeybrad. We suggest you combine personal favorites with more recognizable designs.

2. Graphic Design. Go to step 7 to find some of the graphic designs we use in the restaurant. It is a basic lay-out done by Dearboss. It is designed for crediting the original Instructables.com members for their instructables. It also includes a printable graphic design for the ibles you used so guests can bring those home and re-create what they ate and what they sat on..

3. Decide on the nature of the restaurant. How many tables? Self service or lots of waiters. Forever or as a one-off thing. Is it a fun twist to a catering or dinnerparty, or a serious business opportunity? This will effect how much you can and should do. It is my experience that you should focus on two or three eye catchers and not more.

4. Decide on a budget for materials and shop around for the ingredients.

5. If you are not a handyman/woman, and even if you are, get others involved. See step 6 for how to create a production party everybody will want to be invited to.

Step 6: Organize a Production Party

Producing all the ingredients for the restaurant together with your family and friends is one of the most fun parts of it all, especially if you organize the production party well. Get this right and you are well on your way to opening an Instructables Restaurant

1. Make sure you have all the ingredients and tools you need to produce the items you selected available. It's better if everybody can really get to work and not have to wait if the only hammer is available.

2. Have enough space for working comfortably. And think about safety.

3. Organize groups for each item that needs to be made. Think about personality and personal qualities of the people involved. Practically it comes down to the people who like to do precise stuff for electronics and measurements, people who like to work hard and fast for sawing screwing and hammering? And don't forget to invite one or two people who like to clean and take care of everything else (calling for pizza, putting beers in the fridge) so the rest can do their job.

4. It could be a good idea to get one of each item done (chairs, tables, lights) before so you have a sense of the difficulties and timing involved. People will look at you for clear instructions.

5. It is a party so drinks and food are a must. If possible some of the snacks should feature on the menu of your future restaurant as well.

6. Good music, maybe Kraftwerk or Bauhaus.

Step 7: Graphic Design Giveaways

The graphic design is mostly about giving credit to the people who deserve it.

Working in graphic programs like Indesign is not always very easy so we give you a suggestion and the files for the graphic design.

You can download our PDF files of the posters and instructions.

Please contact us if you want the high resolution stuff.

Step 8: Check If You Have Everything.

Did you get the bottle opener?

There are many things. I will continue working on this instructable as I get more experiences from the practise and make a list of the things I ran across. Or maybe you have a suggestion?