I love the way food brings people together. Food connects people like nothing else while simultaneously warming the soul and nourishing the body. Here at our Dunedin office when we have guests coming to visit we jump at the excuse to indulge and share our passion for food and cooking.A couple of weeks back we got the big call up, ‘the executive team and board of directors are coming to town for some southern hospitality’ (and a meeting squeezed in for good measure). Kurt, Lauren and myself along with our all-time favourite guest blogger Simon immediately entered the implementation phase. Like any good product developer we followed good design principles and began planning focused on the customer interests, asking ourselves what can we do to give our guests the best possible experience? As a result the menu showcased the creative potential of the appliances we are so deeply involved in creating on a day to day basis, intertwined with beautiful local food and wine, and techniques that would provoke conversation.
Board Dinner 2014
To Start:
Sous Vide Stewart Island Salmon served with Horseradish foam and pickled baby vegetables
Shot of Parsnip Volute with a truffle foam
The Main Event
Brandied Beef Pot Pie with sides of Sweet Potato and Sage Gratin, Baby Vegetables, Caramelised Quince and Onion chutney
To Finish:
Honey & Thyme Panna Cotta served with Dried Apricots poached in Saffron Syrup.
Espresso Granita
A selection of local cheeses
In the days leading up to the big event we ducked in and out of the Social Kitchen in between meetings, preparing what we could in advance and trialling the trickier elements to be sure they would be just so. Suitably qualified through experience, I got the job of sourcing the wine. Thanks to some help from Paul from winefreedom our dinner and wine matching was not only bang on but very interesting, with the highlight being the Auburn Lowburn Riesling 2011 served with Lauren’s dessert, it was a very special treat indeed.
Despite the winter weather threatening the closure of airports, our guests arrived safely. We cooked and chattered before sitting down at the beautifully laid table with our guests, welcoming them into ‘Our Kitchen’ just as one would at home. It was such an enjoyable evening, a gathering of friends old and new, and our success was measured by the many jovial requests to schedule monthly ‘meetings’ in Dunedin.