Devour Gala Dinner @ Wellington On A Plate 2010 – Wellington, New Zealand
Whole roasted Northland snapper with Cloud Bay clams and XO Butter Sauce
Wellington on a Plate.
Let’s devour to our hearts’ content.
I seldom see a whole snapper being served at a dinner event, unless it is a traditional Chinese dinner banquet. So when the waitress brings out a whole roasted Northland snapper, proudly resting on a plate and surrounded by Cloudy Bay clams, I simply can’t help but let out a gasp admiring the dish. That’s the Wellingtonians’ way of welcoming us to be part of the exciting Wellington On A Plate food festival in New Zealand.
An initiative by the Positive Wellington Tourism, Helen, Peter, John and I are invited to partake this year Wellington On A Plate (WOAP) – a fortnight food festival where the whole city comes alive with 88 of the region’s finest restaurants are offering amazing lunch and dinner deals at some unbelievable pocket-friendly prices, plus a long list of exciting culinary events to please every palate. I just knew I’ll be in for a treat for four consecutive days in the beautiful picturesque Wellington city, New Zealand. After a short 3 hours flight from Sydney to Wellington, we packed ourselves with empty stomachs and looking forward to see (or eat) what Wellingtonians have to offer.
Clockwise L to R: a unique way for seat allocation by writing names on oranges; award-wining chef Martin Bosley is the man behind the event and also the ever popular City Market in Wellington; the food bloggers names written on the blackboard; bartender preparing Martin's popular aperitif of grapefruit cocktail; beautiful display on table setting over a curtain of fairy lights in the background
To kick off Wellington On a Plate, we are invited to Devour in style. Of course we didn’t eat with hands voraciously, Devour is actually a spectacular gala dinner hosted by City Market at the Chaffers Dock Building on the waterfront, which is the same venue where they held a weekly food and wine market showcasing Wellington artisans. Tonight, the stalls are folded away, and the gorgeous space is now filled with tables with crisp black linen tablecloths and each table has its own unique display, ready to house 160 guests for a memorable gala dinner, a celebration of all things Wellington.
John and I stay at Museum Hotel, only a stone throw away from the venue. We are exceptionally early and find ourselves first to arrive, which also means we have more time to photograph the beautiful space before guests arrival. Rachel Taulelei from Yellow Brick Road and award winning chef, Martin Bosley are there to greet us as we walk in, “Ahh… you are the bloggers from Sydney. But you are too early, why not fuck off back to Australia and come back later?” Martin’s sense of humour is edgy and not wasted on us. We feel welcomed already and introduced to his signature aperitif of grapefruit cocktail.
Clockwise L to R: Moodlighting by beautiful crystal chandeliers hanging above head; colourful produce on display at the entrance; elegant display throughout the venue; cute baby carrots in three color ways on display; the plump freshly shucked Te Matuku Bay oysters
I am in awe as soon as I walk in, they truly have transformed the space into a feasting wonderland. Guests are greeted by a line of colourful providore’s fair from the weekly City Market at the entrance upon arrival, fairy lights entangled along the pillars and on the walls, while the dazzling crystals chandeliers elegantly hanging over head. Then there are columns of guests’ names written on a long blackboard wall, indicates the table arrangements and some even have names written on oranges for seat allocations, very nifty.
Clockwise L to R: the immaculate display of cookbooks on the table provided by Bookfeast; food bloggers in action is rather amused among the Wellingtonians; the beautiful cupcakes tiers prepared by Cupcake Sweetie; photographer takes a photo of the food bloggers taking photos of the food (make sense?); Pressed chicken terrine with watercress and walnut mayonnaise
But the most impressive of all are the tables, they are all beautifully presented with each table decorated differently using different providores’ fare from the market – whether they are jars of colourful Loukoumi Turkish Delights, a stack of cookbooks from BookFeast or a two-tier cupcakes and topped with a mini white fondant cake by Cupcake Sweetie; they are all simply stunning and I am truly inspired to spend a little bit more effort to decorate the dining table for my next dinner party.
Clockwise L to R: Oxtail tortellini with horseradish mousse; jar of fresh lemons on display at the Angie O table; Avocado tartlet with mandarin and coconut powder; the best table among all is filled jars of Loukoumi turkish delights
Canapes of oxtail tortellini with horseradish mousse and avocado tartlet with mandarin and coconut powder, pressed chicken terrine with watercress and walnut mayonnaise and are free flowing among guests. Te Matuku Bay Oysters are also freshly shucked around the clock, the slippery creamy flesh is large and briney, I can feel the aphrodisiac is working and makes me keep wanting more. But I do have to save some space for dinner as it is about to start.
The food bloggers along with food and wine writers are finally congregated at the Le Canard table, humbly decorated with truffled onion duck soup, pate and terrine on a cheeseboard inside the glass dome.
Le canard duck soup with duck liver mousse crostini
We kick off the dinner with a Amuse Bouche of Le Canard duck soup with duck liver mousse crostini. The duck soup is not too overpowering and warms the soul to beat the chilly Wellington’s night. I absolutely adore the duck liver mousse, so smooth and light which is nicely balanced with the crunchy crostini.
smoked fish brandade, rye bread crumbs, celeriac panna cotta, sweet corn emulsion, micro greens
The entree is beautifully presented with a cannelle of smoked fish brandade, atop a rectangle piece of fluffy celeriac panna cotta, with a streak of sweet corn emulsion, and a sprinkle of rye bread crumbs and micro greens. The soft-on-soft texture isn’t really my cup of tea, but I can imagine the smoked fish brandade would be a perfect spread of a thin crispy lavosh.
Benjamin Makisi opera singer from the NZ Three Tenors
Half way through the meal, we are even treated with operatic performances from the world-class tenor Benjamin Makisi. His voice is loud as thunder, and his charming wit, throwing air kisses to the audience makes a lot of women at the table swoon under his feet. By now, the conversation also turning to an interesting point with topics that fire up a great debate at the table.
roast beef fillet, Anchoide
click for details
The mains are two communal sharing courses of tender roast beef fillet with anchoide, a Provencal style paste made from anchovies, garlic, olive oil, mayonnaise, vinegar and egg yolk.
Then there is also the Ben-Hur-Sized roast Northland snappper with Cloudy Bay clams in XO butter sauce. (first picture on top) Must be difficult to roast so many fish at the same time and keeping the flesh moist when serve as I find the fish is a little tacky on the teeth, but the others think is perfectly cooked.
We are also served with three complement side dishes to go with the mains. The cauliflower gratin is soft and heavily smothered in cream and cheese, a bowl of Agria potatoes are roasted in Vadouvan spices, a popular Martin Bosley’s concoction of dried onion flakes, fried shallots, fenugreek, cumin, cardamom, mustard seeds, tumeric, nutmeg, chilli flakes and cloves. But I find myself loving the simple steamed broccoli with black olive butter pairing with my proteins.
Clockwise L to R: Encore for the Three Kiwi Tenors; dessert - Esque chocolate, Feijoa Turkey Delight, Borek; a selection of cheese n cheeseboard, including unpasteurised cheese
The final encore of the three tenor performance wraps up our dinner this evening perfectly. They jokingly call themselves the “The Three Pacific Tenors” with Benjamin leads the way and perform a few big numbers along with his colleagues including Nessun Dorma, Santa Lucia, and Frank Sinatra’s My Way. Their world class performance is truly well deserved a standing ovation from everyone.
As the final curtain calls, we also slowly easing into the night with some sweet bites of Esque toffee chocolate, Loukoumi feijao turkish delight which has an acquired soapy flavour, borek, nougat and also a selection of Le Marche Francais cheeses. “Do you like wash rind? Try the one with the darker orange tint,” Helen is totally speaking my language. That pungent stinky socks block of cheese will never go down well on a romantic date, but tonight it is the gem on the cheeseboard.
The Wellingtonians welcome the four of us from Australia with nothing but friendliness and generosity in abundance. I can sense our four days in Wellington is going to be a revelry.
[A Table For Two attended Wellington on a Plate as a guest of Positively Wellington Tourism]
Visa Wellington On a Plate The festival runs from 14 - 29 August 2010. The main event, DINE Wellington, is a fortnight where 88 of the region's finest restaurants offer lunch and dinner set menus for $15, $25, and $35. Plus a long list of culinary activities all over the greater Wellington region. Check Wellington On A Plate website for more details.
What is ATFT’s Titbits?
On a lighter note, something is brewing behind ATFT’s factory. I won’t give away too much details for now, but there will be lots of never-before-seen “titbits” to share with you all. Launch date to be confirmed, but sign up now and be the one to have the first bite.
A Table For Two (ATFT) is Billy Law's food blog that features best eats in Sydney and around the world with drool-worthy food photography to salivate your appetite. I also throw in a smidgen of my food and travel photography for good measure. Billy Law also happened to be a contestant on MasterChef Australia 2011. 
Now THAT’S a snapper! Love that picture of the Tenor, awesome lighting. Looking forward to reading more about your NZ adventures
Minh´s last [type] ..Burwood Korea House- Burwood
Beautifully covered Billy! I’m still detoxing from all the food! The opera singers were amazing!
Peter G @ Souvlaki For The Soul´s last [type] ..Photo Friday-time for a quick break!
Fabulous Billy. NZ has great food and wine. I saw Benjamin perform years ago when he first started out. What a treat for you all.
wow, stunning photos as always billy. the performances were amazing – such a treat to have a tenor standing right next to you singing with such passion and fervour.
I can only imagine this power of his voice!
Fiona´s last [type] ..Vote Below the Line
I have some video footage of the evening, will post up soon!
Hi Billy,
My name is Maina Ieremia (Ben’s fiancee) ~ would love to see more footage of the night if possible.
Kind Regards
Maina x
oh just in case you’re wondering who Ben is…haha…my Fiancee is Ben Makisi (Opera Singer)
Amazing & awesome experience & that snapper huh. Wellington on a plate turns out a darn good show huh!
Anna Johnston´s last [type] ..DATE NIGHT – HOSPITALITY STYLE
I thought it was so funny when Martin Blosley told us to fuck off. Such a wonderful night! The snapper cheek was amazing
john@heneedsfood´s last [type] ..Wellington On a Plate 2010
Loving the photos of the food – that photo of the tortellinis, tartlets and turkish delights look like delicious glittering multi coloured jewels!
Forager @ The Gourmet Forager´s last [type] ..Of genetics- fast cars and good wine
Hey Billy – we LOVED having you guys with us. Was such a treat. So happy you enjoyed the evening. Come back when you have recovered
The 3 Kiwi tenors look like they’ve been enjoying the food, too! I love your glitteringly glam photos of the event
OohLookBel´s last [type] ..Ottolenghis Chargrilled Chicken with Mograbiah
The first shot of the fish is amazing! Can’t wait for my trip to NZ!
penny aka jeroxie´s last [type] ..Parisian Patisserie Boulangerie- North Essendon
So colourful; in food, decorations and entertainment.
A close friend of mine swears that blue vein cheese tastes like smelly feet…!
mademoiselle délicieuse´s last [type] ..Big Brekky the third- 12 April 2009
The upper left fish picture screams buck teeth!
maameemoomoo´s last [type] ..Sambal Petai with Fried Ikan Bilis and Prawns
So cool to see so many familiar City Market names among the offerings! It sounds like it was a fantastic night. Lovely meeting you last weekend, hope the rest of it was fun… come back anytime
Millie@Gusty Gourmet´s last [type] ..Floriditas- Cuba St – a belated birthday breakfast
Love all the photos! Thanks for all the positive comments about the lighting and the table styling, it took 2 full days to set up but think it was worth it! It was a great night.
love the shot of the fish. i hope it tasted as good as it does
Charlotte all your work with the lighting and table settings made it what it is, Fantastic. Well done it’s great and everyone involved with the event should be proud of it. Go Wellington!
A lovely evening! Who would have thought such an open space could have been made to feel so cosy and decadent. The trouble taken over the tiniest detail was evident right down to each table being stylishly themed -I delighted in going around the room looking at each table setting which was a work of art in itself! The chandeliers and fairy lights added a touch of old world glamour – big thanks to Charlotte from CHARLOTTE WOOD EVENTS.
Wowee, you’re in NZ! Nice work, blog
Those table decorations look incredible. The food looks pretty good too!
Another great theming success by Charlotte from Charlotte Wood Events…. it looks STUNNING! Well done again and again.
Wellington on a Plate is incredibly multi international! From the gorgeous Feijoa turkish delight to the amazing wholesome Northland Snapper – presentation and freshness are displayed perfectly. Incredible theme setting, unique presentation and obviously superb flavours (backed by welcome singing) – what a night! Thanks for sharing this with us.
It was truly a beautiful night ~ amazing food and even more amazing gathering of people.
I absolutely enjoyed the whole evening and look forward to next year.
Malo lava!
Maina x