It took years of experimenting for the Wright brothers to get airborne. So it’s not too bad a sign that Gastronomic, set aboard a plane flying from Beirut to London, doesn’t quite take off.

The company Curious Directive aims to blend theatre with both dining and augmented reality (AR), a technique that overlays the real world with digital imagery. An audience of 40 are fed a five-course taster menu while the narrative unfolds around them, but technical issues for the performance I saw left us without the AR element, which meant we didn’t see some planned “microscenes”.

The audience are seated around a conveyor belt – is this a sushi chain or baggage reclaim? The actors Janet Etuk, Georgina Strawson and Craig Hamilton play onboard chefs, creating minuscule masterpieces for first-class passengers at 37,000 feet. While the trio chop and chat in a central cabin kitchen, tasting dishes are rolled out.

The microcosm of the plane casts food as a symbol of privilege and division. Amid reports of an extra passenger onboard, alarms are sounded on the ground. The story becomes one of refuge.

Created with local Norwich restaurants, the menu is extravagant: fluffy champagne mousse, a Yorkshire pudding bite skewered with a helium balloon, something that tastes an awful lot like potpourri. The standout is the panipuri, a frothy, tangy sauce poured over a spoonful of spiced potatoes and tucked into a cup of crisp pastry. Best eaten in one bite.

Jack Lowe’s direction lingers deliciously over the romance of flavours and the memories they conjure. Gastronomic is an ambitious dining experience and an ode to playing with food, but balancing technology, social commentary and dietary requirements, there’s too much going on to give each dish enough space to satisfy.

• At Norwich Theatre Royal until 22 September.