Plating up headphones and goggles is not the usual fare of leading culinary festival Visa Wellington On a Plate but its pop-up cube installation in Auckland’s CBD is not your usual foodie event.
The virtual reality food cube is designed to tantalise the senses and it does just that. A helpful waiter is on hand to help you activate a touch screen on the side of the goggles and then the experience begins. First taking you into the bee keeping world of cordial producer Bees Blessing. Looking up and down and behind you, you feel as if you have stepped onto the farm and are right there with the bee keeper.
Then suddenly you’re in a prison cell. This one is rather freaky. A plate of food is handed to you through a bared window. It’s a reference to popular VWOAP event From Prison Gate to Plate where inmates of Rimutaka Prison, who have been mentored by chefs Martin Bosley, Laurent Loudeac and Glen Taylor, prepare dinner for paying guests.
The virtual experience also takes you foraging in the wild and on a tour of Wellington’s laneways. All the while smells mingle in the air adding to the experience.
In this case, it’s more than just a meal, but a great precursor to the festival itself which runs from August 14 to 30.
The VWOAP space cube is free to experience and on the corner of Queen and Customs St, Auckland until Saturday June 13.
