Oculus, the Facebook-owned virtual-reality company, launched its new Oculus Go headset in May with an elaborate sculpture that highlighted some of the content users can experience. Building on the company’s penchant for showing off its new virtual experiences through a physical event, Oculus recently hosted a media dinner in the “omakase” style—in which diners entrust the chef to curate a tasting menu—creatively pairing headset content with cocktails and dishes inspired by that content.
The company partnered with actress Chloë Grace Moretz (the star of the new film The Miseducation of Cameron Post) to host the six-course dinner July 31 on the rooftop of the Public Hotel in New York. French-American chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten created the menu, which consisted of upscale dishes served alongside cocktails crafted by the Los Angeles-based creative shop Happy Hour Agency.
“The event concept was inspired by a multi-course ‘omakase’-style menu to reflect the many different experiences available on Oculus Go, and to provide guests with a fully immersive taste of virtual reality,” said Brandon Boone, head of consumer communications for Oculus.
Each diner wore an Oculus Go headset and could enjoy courses such as Masters of the Sun, served with sesame-crusted salmon, passion fruit sauce, spinach, and black olives, paired with “The Fix” cocktail, made with vodka, cognac, passion fruit, egg white, blue curaçao, and bitters; Hulu: The Handmaid’s Tale, served with parmesan-crusted chicken and lemon artichoke sauce, paired with “Mother’s Milk Punch,” which included clarified milk punch, rum, cognac, absinthe, cinnamon, and pineapple; MelodyVR: The Chainsmokers, served with grilled lamb rack, crunch garnishes, and herbs, paired with “Smoke ’N’ Mirrors” cocktail of mezcal, bourbon, angostura, citrus blend, orange oil, and smoked tobacco; and Guided Meditation VR, served with a seasonal pavlova and berries, paired with the “Rumaste” cocktail of rum, guava, aloe, lime, sugar cane syrup, tropical foam, and kombucha.
Oculus's in-house team lead the event's production, with support from partner agencies Magnetic Collaborative and Day One Agency. Here’s a look at how guests consumed both the V.R. content and the custom dishes at the event.
