Gastrofest: New Zealand’s Biggest Dinner Party Aims To Raise Funds For Kiwis With Gut Cancers

The Gut Cancer Foundation (GCF) and acclaimed Kiwi chef Geoff Scott have launched a unique charity event which aims to raise funds for Gut Cancer research and clinical trials; Gastrofest – New Zealand’s Biggest Dinner Party.

In a twist on the Gala Dinner concept, Gastrofest hosts will sign up to cook a beautiful 5 course meal for 8 guests on Saturday October 3rd, 2020. All ingredients for the meal will be delivered direct to the host with Geoff creating a fun, instructional video to help them create their very own culinary masterpiece, from the comfort of their own home.

Guests and hosts will be asked to donate a minimum $100 per person to the Gut Cancer Foundation for their Gastrofest experience. On the night, dinner parties around the country will be brought together by a live stream and auction, hosted by legendary NZ Paralympian, Liam Malone.

Gastrofest - New Zealand’s Biggest Dinner Party takes place on Saturday October 3rd. Anyone can sign up to be a Gastrofest host by visiting gastrofest.nz.

GCF Executive Officer Liam Willis said, “We’re thrilled to be launching this unique event and are extremely grateful to Geoff for creating what is a mouth-watering menu. At the same time they are enjoying this amazing food, Kiwis joining us for New Zealand’s Biggest Dinner Party will be raising funds for vital research and awareness campaigns. The money raised from Gastrofest will help bring international clinical trials to New Zealand and educate the public as to the risks and symptoms of gut cancers, helping improve life expectancy, survival rates and quality of life for Kiwis with a gut cancer”.

On designing the menu and partnering with GCF, Geoff Scott said “this will be a fantastic night of food, friends and heaps of fun, I can’t wait to share my delicious recipes and chef secrets with our Gastrofest guests, featuring flavours from some of Europe's finest kitchen where I trained. I'm very humbled to be able to support the Gut Cancer Foundation in this way, I hope you will join us too.”

Having lost his mother to bowel cancer in 2012, Live stream host and MC Liam Malone is excited to be involved with Gastrofest saying, “This should be a super fun event with people coming together in their own homes around the country to raise money for an incredibly important cause.”

Gastrofest guests will be treated to a 5-course meal including hot smoked salmon, beautiful Hawkes bay lamb with parmesan & thyme, and a fantastic caramelised apple tarte. The event has already gained the support of some significant sponsors including Silver Ferns Farms who are providing their Grass-Fed Lamb Loin Fillets for the main course. Brenda Galbraith Marketing Manager NZ from Silver Ferns Farms said “we are very proud to support this important fund-raising initiative and we hope the delicious gastrofest menu is a great success.”

As GCF EO Liam Willis explains, funds raised from the event will make a real impact for New Zealanders. “Gut Cancers are the group of cancers that affect the digestive system and include oesophageal, stomach, liver, gallbladder and bile ducts, pancreas, and bowel and anal cancer. Unfortunately, over 5,000 New Zealanders are diagnosed with a form of Gut Cancer every year, that is 14 a day making them the most common form of cancer in New Zealand. In addition, survival rates for gut cancers are particularly low, in fact every day 8 New Zealanders will lose their battle with a gut cancer which is more than breast and prostate cancer combined. It is vital that we can continue to invest in the research and clinical trials that will develop more effective treatments and diagnostic tools for gut cancer patients in New Zealand. The money raised from Gastrofest will help us do just that.”

Gastrofest – New Zealand’s Biggest Dinner Party

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