Norfolk Island Progressive Dinner to Island Homes

Excellent evening with lovely hosts. Food was delicious too. We’ve never done a travel experience like this before…….

It was quite good, however the food was exceptionally average for the cost. First stop was store bought and reheated finger food. One guest asked if the relish on the corn fritter was a family recipe and the answer was “no, it’s a Masterfood jar”. Right. The group was far, far too big, I would say over 40 people. There is nothing to drink except a tiny glass of sherry at stop one, and a tiny glass of wine at stop two. Stop 3 is tea and coffee however we were so jam packed into the tables and chairs I was unable to get out to go get it, without disturbing other guests. It would be good to have at least drinking water provided on tables. The main course was a bland pork roast and strange sides that seemed like they’d run short of food at the last minute so cracked a few tins open to stretch the food out. The dessert was a Sara Lee like set cheesecake. The night was okay, but like a lot of the tours we did, capitalizing on a captive audience rather than providing an exceptional experience. The hosts were quite friendly.

I have agonised over posting this review, but I think it is needed for both the organisers and future participants. We were so looking forward to the experience as it covered several good things about the island as detailed in the write up. Some examples of what they say to expect "Book now for an unforgettable night of food, fun and unforgettable stories", "dine in some of the island's most charming and picturesque homes", "Embark on a culinary journey", "Enjoy each course of your 3-course dinner at a different Norfolk Island family home and dine with each host as a guest". Bear in mind that this a $95 pp experience, the local bowls/RSL club offer steak meals for $25 pp. What really happened on our "experience" was that because of the number of people taking the tour they had to drag out one of their old manual geared busses and find a paid volunteer to drive it. Our driver did a very good job and drove very well. We were expecting an intimate evening tour of approx 12 to 20 guests, what we got was 3 busses with a total of approx 40 people. As the time of dining was in the evening and it was dark we did not see any of the "charming and picturesque homes" 2 of the 3 had addons on the side of the home with long tables in two of the homes. Re the "dining with the host" this did not happen at all, at the first two sites the talk was handled by a relative ( one was due to the host being ill - understandable but the other one was due to the host cooking Chinese takeaway meals in her garage as a side business) and the last one was just sit down have dessert and tea or coffee and that was it. We did not learn any real Norfolk Island "rich culture and history" as the first host spoke of life from 1950ish over 2 generations, whose time was mostly based in Sydney and the second stand in host got bombarded with questions re the recent political history of NI which we had heard on nearly every but tour we took so it was very stale info and not what we paid for. As much as I hate commenting about the food we did not experience any "authentic home cooked meals" a definition of this is " Authentic home-cooked meals are typically defined as dishes made from scratch in the home, often using family recipes or traditional cooking methods, and emphasizing fresh, homemade ingredients. They often evoke feelings of comfort and nostalgia, and are associated with family gatherings and traditions" None of the meals fitted this bill, the menus consisted of Chinese corn and chicken soup the next stop mashed Potato/zucchini/two small chicken pieces in a spicy rub and lastly cold sticky date pudding. I could comment on each of the courses re quality and value but I will just say that I pressed I would pay only $30 all up for the food experience. The bus ride between each venue was in the dark so you got no idea of the island at all. At the end of the night, I did raise my concerns with the driver who justified things by saying the people did their best etc. and left me feeling in the wrong for raising my concerns. After the driver left the table all the other people (6 people) agreed with my comments. I feel that the operator needs to be considerate to not only their clients but also the locals who are preparing the meals, they are not professionals and trying to cater for 40 people over 3 courses is a big call, too big on this occasion. This review is put up as a constructive review for all concerned, we appreciated the efforts of the caterers but feel they should take a step back and understand what we the client want ( an enjoyable in home experience with reasonable value for money food) and what they are able to cater for without too much stress which shows in the food offered.