In what looks like the latest festive wonderland to go wrong, an event in London that promised “unlimited cheese, mulled wine and fun” has left many people furious.
For almost £40, visitors were told to expect The Giant Cheeseboard, a pasteurised paradise topped off with waiters dressed as mice.
The organisers boasted on Facebook:
“Basically, think Honey I shrunk the kids...if they were lucky enough to find themselves in a cheese and wine heaven. With great music and loads of other beautiful cheese lovers to party with.”
But the reality appeared to be much different.
The complaints were many and varied. From the cheese delivery van showing up late and long queues to get into the Greenwhich venue to a distinct lack of double-size fireplaces as advertised.
But more offensive to foodies appeared to be the poor-quality cheeses that were of limited variety, and a supply of basic and dry crackers. Both of which kept running out.
Not quite the “giant immersive cheese board” as billed in listings magazines, as the pictures seemed to attest.
One person who attended wrote on Instagram:
“The marketing: ‘The Giant Cheese Board’, ‘a massive, oversized cheese board. One you can walk around on as if you’re in a giants kitchen’ - the best artisan cheeses from across Europe, including a huge baked Camembert, unlimited mulled wine, cheesecake and double-size fireplaces.
“The reality: plates of chopped up British cheeses, mostly hard, some caterers packs of chutney, no Camembert (baked or not), queues for cold and very sweet ‘low alcohol’ mulled wine, no cheesecake, and a screen projecting the image of a fire.”