Chambers_4
18 July 2019
East London
4.5 out of 5.0 stars
Having been to their Chambers Of Flavour 3 run last year, I just had to grab tickets to Gingerline‘s newest installation, Chambers_4. Chambers is a multidimensional dining adventure with fun immersive stories and a high production value. As the plotlines, dimensions, and dishes are a secret, I will keep this review somewhat vague to not ruin it for future attendees.
The basic idea behind Chambers is the same as previous Chambers Of Flavour adventures, the Institute of Flavourology has discovered technology to travel into the multi-verse, an endless array of different dimensions, and in each of them it’s meal time! We were sent out with a secret mission and started our adventure with a bit of an introduction in the new dimensional travel machine before being thrown through the first portal.
Each room, and there are six of them, comes with a unique dish designed to suit the theme and story, and there’s always some task to accomplish before tucking into the delectable creations. As I can’t divulge the exact stories, nor the dishes, I will just say that there were beautifully designed rooms with immersive storylines and really fun tasks that mixed up the teams and got us to get to know our fellow travellers a little bit.
Unfortunately some of the dimension rooms were incredibly warm this time due to the weather, and one was particularly stuffy and in desperate need of some airflow. The stories and tasks seemed a little more involved and elaborate than in the previous installation, but the overall mission was less clear and slightly confusing. Having experienced Gingerline as the top notch immersive dining experience, I felt this one was not quite up to the standard storywise, though it did excell food wise! Amazing, surprising dishes that really suited the rooms. And, as always, they cater to all dietary needs. Whether you’re a vegan, have allergies, or any other dietary restrictions, just fill them out when you book your tickets and you will be well taken care of.
I attended one of the previews, so everyone was still settling into their roles, but you wouldn’t know it from the actor’s enthusiasm and professionalism. Besides a little understandable mixup at checkin, the only negative experience was once again the bar. Just like last time, there were no non-alcoholic cocktails on offer, and no list of soft drinks available. I tried to communicate with the bar staff to find out what was actually on offer as there was no printed list, but there was just a lot of confusion and in the end I was waved off with a “nevermind” from the bar staff. So, I ended up drinking water throughout the evening, which is very disappointing for a fine dining adventure. I’d love to be able to indulge in interesting drinks to go along with the imaginative dishes, or at least have a list of soft drinks to read from as the bar staff wasn’t able to communicate what they actually had available. However, if you do drink alcohol, you’ll be well provided for with an extensive list of offerings.
Overall I don’t think this sequel was quite as brilliant as the previous one last year, though it was still very very good. The food is unbeatable if you’re an adventurous eater, and the level of immersion in the different dimensions is unparalleled, all the actors bring full immersion and fantastic improv skills to the table, and the rooms are lovingly crafted and designed.
All photos above are from the bar at the end of the experience and consist of set pieces from previous shows, which is a very nice addition! There’s also music and some entertainment in the bar, so you can stick around, have a few more drinks, dance, rifle through their fancy dress closet and have your photo taken, and so much more. This addition of a hangout spot at the end is absolutely fantastic and I hope they’ll keep this for future runs.
So, if you like immersive theatre and fine dining, definitely grab tickets for Chambers_4 and go on a fun adventure through tasty dimensions! I had a lot of fun on this expedition.