Media Release
21 January 2004

Appeal to hearts and stomachs to support
Tsunami charity dinners

A call has gone out for New Zealanders to support charity dinners being held in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch to raise funds for countries hit by the Boxing Day tsunami. The dinners will feature once-in-a-lifetime collaborative menus from A-list chefs from New Zealand’s finest dining establishments, who are donating their services for the events.

The Tsunami Dinner will feature a six-course degustation menu, and will be held over three nights, in Christchurch on 27 January, Wellington on 28 January, and Auckland on 5 February. Tickets for each dinner are $200 each, and are expected to sell out quickly. Each dinner will cater for up to 500 people, seated at tables of 10.

Patrons of the dinners will savour top quality dishes, accompanied by fine wines while being entertained by first-class New Zealand performers. In addition to the dishes prepared by the nation’s leading chefs, there will also be a special traditional dish prepared by a chef from a region affected by the tsunami as part of the six-course menu.

Phillip Kraal, chef and owner of Le Bon Bolli restaurant in Christchurch and the man with the idea for the dinners, says he’s amazed at how quickly plans have come together.

“The support of both the food and beverage industry and corporates across the country has been incredible. The readiness of individuals and businesses to get on board with donations of time, product and expertise has been overwhelming. It reminds me of how special it is to be a New Zealander,” he said.

Facilities, services, food and beverages have been donated to the Tsunami Dinner by businesses throughout the country. Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand is providing creative concepts for the advertising for the dinners. Media space has been donated by leading media companies and nationwide advertising in press and radio will begin on 22 January. (An electronic copy of the invitation/generic advertisements is attached to this release.)

“This is a great opportunity for New Zealanders to make a contribution to the areas devastated by the tsunami in another way – and to take part in a rare privilege. It’s not often that a combination of chefs of this calibre come together,” said Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand CEO Andrew Stone.

Among those serving at the dinners will be MPs Lianne Dalziel, Tim Barnett and Ruth Dyson, who have offered to wait on tables in addition to purchasing tickets.

“The way that New Zealand has got behind this event is fantastic,” said Mr Stone. “A huge number of people and organisations have given resources, time and effort, and we’re delighted to be a part of that. The donations mean that the Tsunami Dinner will be able to make a maximum contribution to relief efforts. Now we’re appealing to people’s hearts – and stomachs – to come and support the dinner.”

Funds raised by the Tsunami Dinner will go to the Red Cross for direction to where they are needed most in regions affected by the tsunami.

Saatchi & Saatchi New Zealand’s parent company, Publicis Groupe, is also donating US$1 million in aid in a separate contribution. Half of this will be donated to the International Red Cross in Paris, and half will be distributed by a committee of Groupe heads to best assist local relief efforts.

ENDS

The Tsunami Dinner – event details

Christchurch: Thursday 27 January 2005
Christchurch Convention Centre
95 Kilmore Street, Christchurch
7.00pm

Wellington: Friday 28 January 2005
Te Papa
Cable Street, Wellington
7.00pm

Auckland: Saturday 5 February 2005
SKYCITY Auckland Convention Centre
88 Federal Street, Auckland City
7.00pm

Ticket order: By phone: 0800 273 759 (0800 2REPLY) or web: www.avenues.co.nz
$200 per person

Chef line-up

Auckland

Simon Gault Felice
Peter Thornley Soul Bar & Bistro
Michael James Euro
Tony Astle Antoine’s
Warren Bias SKYCITY
Phillip Kraal Le Bon Bolli
Rohit Khanna Shahi Cafe

Wellington

Chris Green Boulcott Street Bistro
Peter Thornley Te Papa Icon Restaurant (Consultant Chef)
Alister Brown Logan Brown
Mark Limacher Roxburgh
Steve Morris Bisque on Bolton
Rex Morgan Citron Restaurant
Vim Rao Kopi

Christchurch

Andrew Bain Le Bon Bolli
Graham Brown The Cook House
Nathan Bates The George Hotel
Andrew Brown Piko Piko
Jason Dell Blanket Bay
Ann Holland Ann’s Thai

The Tsunami Dinner – event partners

Air New Zealand, Ann’s Thai, Antoine’s, Avenues Event Management, Belle Vie, Bisque on Bolton, Blanket Bay, Boulcott Street Bistro, Cantervalley Produce, Christchurch Convention Centre, Citron Restaurant, Creans Fine Foods, D.H. Morris & Sons, Deer Industry NZ, Deloitte, Euro, Farm Smoke House, Felice, Flight Centre, Forrest Estate Marlborough, Grouse Lighting, H.I.S., Kapiti Fine Foods, Kopi, Lace Fine Wine Merchants, Le Bon Bolli, Lion Nathan, Logan Brown, Mebus Estate Wairarapa, Molesworth Fruit & Vegetables, Multi Media, Network Visuals, New Zealand Pork Industry Board and Suppliers, NZ Beef & Lamb Marketing Bureau, NZ Cricket, Orange Productions, Piko Piko, Radioworks/Canwest Media, Regal Marlborough Salmon, Roxburgh, Rugby NZ, Rydges Hotels, Saatchi & Saatchi, Shahi Cafe, SKYCITY Entertainment Group Ltd, Soul Bar & Bistro, Spotless, Staging Connections (NZ) Ltd, Starcom, Te Papa, The Cook House, The George Hotel, The Radio Network.

© Scoop Media