Fusion of delights served up at The Basement's 'The Feast'

Fusion of culinary and theatrical delights to be served up at The Basement's THE FEAST.

The chefs at Auckland’s latest roving restaurant sensation - POPdining, are not known to shy from a challenge.

On October 18th, they will take on the double feat of converting The Basement Theatre bar into a gourmet stand-up dinner venue and creating a one-night menu of edible expressions of three plays from Red Leap’s Incubator series.

Past events have seen POPdining take over tiny hallway bars like D.O.C on Karangahape Road and stage banquets on commuter ferries. 

Not content with just meeting the challenges these unique locations bring - the chefs constantly raise the bar for themselves by adding further ambitious goals into the mix.

Their “nose-to-tail” evening offered a dining experience that used all parts of a pig; an “eat the bait” night turned usually unwanted small-fry into delectable seafood; and their vegan nights have aimed to show how meat-free and ethically-sourced meals don’t mean a compromise on taste.

When approached by The Basement Theatre to collaborate on a night of dramatically-inspired cuisine, POPdining’s chefs Benjamin Barton and Andreas Eggmann jumped at the chance.

The three-course menu they’ve designed matches ingredients and flavours with props, characters and themes in each of the three plays in Red Leap’s Incubator series, aptly named
‘The Feast’.

Dishes will be served in between each show on Friday 18th, offering the audience a chance to digest what they’ve seen on stage while they sample a culinary treat in the intervals.

The Basement’s Charlie McDermott is excited by this collaboration and the opportunity to more deeply engage audiences with works in the theatre, by surprising them with new experiences.

POPdining’s ethos of building communities and changing the way people think about food has found a like-minded partner in this community theatre.

POPdining menu inspired by ‘The Feast’:

      Dish #1:  Sweet and sour love: Chicken scotch egg in a nest of vegetable feathers, drizzled in sweet and sour sauce. 

      (Inspired by Le Petit Workshop’s The Soldier’s Heart and The Feathered Girl, which explores a collection of folk tales written by the company, centred on the journey of a girl born covered in feathers.)

      Dish #2:  Between two worlds: Pacific croquembouche of crispy taro collides euro-style raw fish salad.

      (Inspired by Halfatasi, a play by Refiner’s Fire, which blends European theatrical tradition with Samoan movement, song and culture, exploring what it means to be born into two cultures and live a double identity.)

      Dish #3: The masked clown: Braised lamb & aubergine topped with a cherry tomato nose, served in a cabbage leaf dish.

      (Inspired by Nikki Bennett and Company’s The Clowns That Ran Away From The Circus; a tale of a delightfully naïve clown who runs away to explore the big, terrifying city - featuring playful uses of large and small-scale props, projection and masks.)

      Dish #4: The curtain closes with a dessert of white russian cheesecake and citrus profiteroles.

About POPdining:

Benjamin Barton and Andreas Eggmann returned from a decade of working as chefs all over the world to start POPdining in Auckland two years ago. Andreas worked as a chef on superyachts before going on to co-found a boutique private-chef agency, providing bespoke dining to clients in grand chalets in the French Alps and luxury villas in Ibiza. Working in kitchens since the age of 14, Benjamin has used cooking to see the world and has run kitchens in Spain, cooked in French chalets and toiled in galleys around the world. Through POPdining, the pair find empty spaces around Auckland to open their own restaurant for one night only, with a focus on changing the way people think about food, dining out and community.

About the plays:
      THE SOLDIER’S HEART AND THE FEATHERED GIRL features: Ella Becroft, Ash Jones, Katrina Wesseling, Alisha Lawrie Paul
      HALFATASI features: Antonia Stehlin, Seidah Tuaoi, Mele Taeiloa, Lavinia Uhila
      THE CLOWNS THAT RAN AWAY FROM THE CIRCUS features: Nikki Bennett, Robert Mignault

THE FEAST plays:
15th – 19th October 2013, 7:30pm
The Basement Theatre, Lower Greys Avenue
POPdining night: 6.30pm, Friday 18th October - Tickets $55 including a three course meal
Tickets $25 - all other nights
Bookings: www.iticket.co.nz or 0508 ITICKET.

ENDS

© Scoop Media