Dinner served up with the help of virtual reality
Giles Dexter
For $65 you're taken on a 360 degree virtual reality adventure. Credits: Newshub.
If you like to know where your food comes from, then a new Wellington dining experience might be for you.
New Zealand's oldest tavern The Thistle Inn has launched something very, very new. Virtual dining - where visitors strap into a journey from gate to plate.
Virtual dining shows patrons the journey their meal's made - without them needing to leave their seat.
Co-owner Richard Walshe told Newshub: "Unless you're into gaming or really into tech you don't get a chance to put on goggles."
For $65 you're taken on a 360-degree virtual reality adventure, from the suppliers to the restaurant.
"It's not just putting on a headset, there's a whole lot of things going on as well with smell and touch and getting all your senses ignited," Mr Walshe says.
He was inspired after trying out VR at an exhibition in Amsterdam.
"It was the craziest thing I'd ever done, ever stumbled upon, and then I was kind of thinking, how can I bring that to hospitality?"
It has taken around a year to put together, with the help of TAG Agency, Garage Project, and Awatoru Wild Food.
Mr Walshe thinks this might be the first experience of its kind in the world.
"There is one chef in Europe doing it but they actually feed people [while it happens], and it takes about 12 staff to do 20 people. We're pretty stripped back," he says.
Consumers are starting to demand authenticity from their meals.
"I think it's really important, being able to have a proper understanding of where your produce comes from."
There's no menu - everything is top-secret to keep the surprise.
"It's so cool how it showcases the whole process behind how the meal was made, and the craft and care that goes into it," says diner Stephanie O'Kane.