If you were among the lucky ones to experience Gingerline's 'Chambers of Flavour' you won't forget foraging for your amuse-bouche in a woodland clearing, being served up soup by a robot, or your dessert by an air hostess in drag.
Named after London's orange coloured Overground line, Gingerline blazed a trail on the fledgling immersive dining scene, pushing the food-meets-theatre concept to elaborate and giddy heights beneath a Hoxton railway arch, in Brunel's pedestrian tunnel beneath the Thames, or an occult dinning experience in Newington Green's Unitarian church.
When they started in 2010 it was a secret pop-up that acquired cult status, with adventurous diners knowing nothing about the menu, and only texted the location an hour beforehand.
But as Gingerline prepares to lift off their first show in London in four years, co-founder and creative producer Suz Mountfort says they recognise their clientele has changed.
"I like to think we had a hand in making immersive dining a thing," she says.
"It was born out of the supper club movement, that food trend for alternative experiences and people making things themselves. It tapped into the social dynamic that comes with dining experiences. There is something about people coming to an experience where they don't know what's going to happen. There is a shared camaraderie in people going through that together.
"People who came to our events had a certain energy and attitude to the world, a little bit of craziness, but it's turned into a different beast, our audience have responsibilities now, and they need to plan and organise a bit."
After doing a spot of their own globetrotting - to Shanghai, Shenzhen and Seoul - Mountfort felt there was unfinished business in London.
"Because of Covid we didn't end on our terms, we wanted to see if the appetite was still out there," she said. "It's always been a project with a lot of heart, and a desire to make people happy and we still have more to give."
The Grand Expedition: The Incredible Edible Journey is their "biggest show yet," a globetrotting 90-minute culinary trip aboard a hot air balloon complete with 360 animated projections, puppetry, circus acts, choreography, and of course amazing dishes.
It's all taking place in Dalston's Film Shed, a 1950s former East London textile factory, with guests transported to far flung destinations where they touch down to enjoy an immersive game, a scene, and a dish dreamed up by executive chef Jenny McNeill and served by dancers.
"When we first started we were using locations along the East London overground and we are excited to come back to our heartland in Dalston," says Mountfort.
"It’s the intersection of the two Overground lines that carried our diners to super-secret locations in our early years. It taps into East London's creative industries and exciting dining scene."
Creatives include circus consultant Jack Horner, who has worked with the likes of Cirque Du Soleil, Frozen the Musical and Beauty & the Beast, and Greenaway & Greenaway, whose animation and sound has featured at The Roundhouse, the V&A, and The National Trust.
Mountford knows that immersive dining is now "a dime a dozen" and audiences are more discerning.
"London's moved on a bit and we want to push it as much as we can," she added. "The show itself is pretty big, pretty out there, with extra performance elements. People step into a story book land travelling from to place on an incredible journey. We are glad to come back and show people what we can do."
The Grand Expedition starts on March 6. Tickets include a four course menu and start from £99 per person from www.thegrandexpedition.co.uk.
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