14 Unmissable Chef Collabs at Visa WOAP 2019

June 14, 2019

The Chef Collaboration Series presented by Singapore Airlines is something for foodies to get very, very excited about for this year’s Visa Wellington On a Plate.

For the first time, we welcome more than 20 celebrated international chefs from all over the world to the shores of Wellington to collaborate with some of the culinary capital’s favourite eateries.

These names are synonymous with exciting and innovative cuisine, often only available in far-off places, and currently coming your way this August...

Sustainability & Foraging

Sustainability and foraging are both popular recurring themes in VWOAP 2019 events. Here are a couple of chef collaboration events that’ll get you thinking about what and how you consume your kai.

- Kiwi native, Kim Wejendorp, from Amass in Copenhagen, is notorious for his ground-breaking research into fermentation and sustainability. He joins Wellington’s own fermentation wizard, Jacob Brown from The Larder, to create eight courses of delicious food made from products that normally end up in the waste disposal. Pop along to Amass Merges with Miramar: Kim Wejendorp to get the idea…

- Forager’s Feast is a Trans-Tasman collaboration, bringing together Bob Piechnizek from QT Melbourne’s Pascale and Jiwon Do of QT Wellington’s Hippopotamus. Both have a passion for natural ingredients and bringing the fresh, natural flavours of foraged ingredients to the plate. Fusing contemporary Australian cuisine of Pascale and French-influenced Kiwi flavours of Hippopotomus, they make the most of land and sea, using ingredients they’ve foraged themselves.  

 

 

The Kiwi Connection

Who said Kiwis can’t fly? These successful Kiwi chefs flew overseas, and having carved out successful culinary careers and reputations, wing their way back home for VWOAP 2019 to give you a taste of Kiwi.

- Despite having lived in London for 33 years, Margot Henderson still kicks off her day with a flat white and Marmite on toast, so there’s no question, she’s still a Kiwi at heart. Her restaurant, Rochelle, enjoys cult status as serving some of the very best food in the city. For VWOAP 2019 Rochelle is making friends with Cuba Street favourite, Loretta. You can join them both for lunch at BFFs - When Rochelle Met Loretta.

- Dave Verhuel is Back In the Neighbourhood with Loretta’s big sister at Floridita’s. Having worked in Wellington Culinary institutions, Martin Bosley’s, and as head chef at Matterhorn, his career has taken him to Michelin-starred kitchens in London, as well as Sydney and Melbourne. His creative talents are back on Cuba St. with cuisine which displays old and new world technique, thought, detail, lightness and balance, yet still manages to remain delicious and humble enough to be eaten every day.

- Shepherd and Garage Project pair up with Morgan McGlone of Belle’s Hot Chicken fame, to present The Clam Bar, where you’ll be feeling happy as a clam. Enjoy four-courses of Cloudy Bay Clams at their finest - raw, ceviche, crispy-fried and as a good ol’ family-style clam-bake, accompanied by a line-up of natural wines by Garage Project Crushed.

 

 

Learn from the master

If you’ve ever wanted to learn cuisine from the very best, we highly recommend a Kyo-ryori Masterclass with Japanese chef, Keigo Tamura. He specialises in Kyo-ryori, the famed local cooking of Kyoto, considered the pinnacle of Japanese cuisine, with a history stretching back hundreds of years. His family restaurant, Manshige, has been patronised by the likes of the King of Sweden, Carl Gustav XVI, and serves dishes with an emphasis on passing seasons, local and seasonal ingredients, making each Kyo-ryori meal a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

Take a trip around the world

We stand by our statement that Visa WOAP is as good as a trip around the world, and these chef collaborations are proof of that! And now you have the opportunity to try their food right here in Wellington.

- France: Glass owner, Jonathan Brookes, welcomes his friend, chef Ollie Clarke for La Regalade: Origins of Bistronomie. Combining their passion, knowledge and talent, they create a multi-course degustation menu centred on the French culinary ethos of bistronomie. Paired with a complementary line up of natural wines, there’s nothing prim and proper about this style of dining. Think unpretentious, convivial, fun, even noisy and a little loose...

Or join acclaimed chef Laurent Loudeac and his chef pals at Ombra for French Nights as they serve up French bistro classics and rustic, countryside cooking. This multi-course menu will give you a true taste of France with Laurent drawing inspiration from his childhood. Fine food, definitely not fine dining.

- America: Why not Go Stateside with Mike Ellis? Mike brings his fondness for his region, as well as inspiration from his family’s own palette of hybrid Italian-Filipino flavours, to his cooking. He joins chef Shaun Clouston and the Logan Brown team to create a bespoke eight-course, designed by himself.

- Hong Kong: May Chow burst onto Hong Kong’s foodie scene in 2013 with her restaurant, Little Bao. May has been a guest judge for MasterChef Asia and Top Chef in America and awarded Asia’s Best Female Chef 2017 by the San Pellegrino & Acqua Panna Asia’s 50 Best Restaurant programme. She joins forces with the team at Mr Go’s in Wellington for two nights only for Little Bao x Mr Go’s, rolling out a multi-course set menu focusing on some of Hong Kong’s most traditional, non-traditional and lesser known dishes.

- Japanese: Chef Shaun Clouston’s good friends, Makoto Tokoyama and Ricky Lee from Cocoro (named Restaurant of the Year in the Cuisine Good Food Awards 2018), are joining the Logan Brown team for an exclusive two-night experience, Heart and Soul. Enjoy an inspirational Japanese eight-course tasting menu designed and cooked by Makoto, Ricky and Shaun.

- Australia/Asia: Widely recognised for expertly combining Malaysian, Chinese and modern European flavours and techniques, Malaysian-born Adalaide chef, Cheong Liew, joins Chameleon Restaurant’s award-winning chef de cuisine, Paul Limacher to bring A Sensory Experience of five-courses paired with local wines. An opportunity to experience ‘one of the ten hottest chefs alive’ as named by American Food and Wine Magazine, and an inductee to the World Food Media Awards Hall of Fame.

- New Zealand: Get a taste of home when Kapiti Coast’s Nick Huffman, a.k.a. Huffdaddy, is crafting a unique three-course luncheon with matching beverages at Ortega Fish Shack when Huffdaddy Is at the Shack. Nick cooks with integrity and finesse but, above all, cooks from the heart. However, he can’t sing to save himself, so professional guitarist, Carl Webley, will be joining in to cover some of Nick’s favourite songs. Seating is on shared long tables for conviviality!

 

 

Our international chefs were flown to Wellington, thanks to Singapore Airlines, who deliver award-winning cuisine at 30,000 feet, with eight celebrated chefs on their International Culinary Festival.

To experience an unforgettable dining experience on your next flight with Singapore Airlines, Book the Cook to pre-order your main course, which includes popular classics and local delicacies, before you fly.

Answer the question below to go in the draw to win two tickets to Huffdaddy is at the Shack at Ortega Fish Shack on Sat 3 Aug - 12 to 3pm. This competition closes Friday 21 June 2019 at midday.