Nestled in the corner of Westhaven, the fish market on one side, and the ocean to the other, is Homeland, the food embassy for Aotearoa and the Pacific, where we were privileged enough to be able to host our inaugural Raukatauri Cook Off, an exclusive fundraising event. Thirty-six men were present to be taught by the globally renowned Chef Peter Gordon, Raukatauri Music Therapy Centre patron, and premiere chef of Homeland.
Peter led the guys in a fantastic cooking class in which they baked a Flourless Pasifika Chocolate Mousse Cake, Roasted Spiced Ōra King Salmon, Stewed Cloudy Bay Clams with bacon and miso, and Smothered Broccolini in a ‘cheats’ Satay Sauce, all while snacking on starters made with bread from The Dusty Apron. We trust our guests learnt a thing or two about being rockstars in the kitchen!
The event raised over $24,000 for Raukatauri. Each dollar goes directly into providing life-changing music therapy all over the North Island, and we are thrilled at this result. Thank you to Peter and Homeland for hosting us and to our guests for their generous support of the Trust.
There were a number of generous donors who contributed to our silent auction and goodie bags, and we’d like to recognise some amazing NZ brands who joined us for the first time: Casita Miro Restaurant, Clean Collective, Look Lab NZ, OFF & ON, Margot, Scapegrace, Tantalus Estate Vineyard, Waiheke Distilling Co. Among some of the amazing buys were a private drumming lesson with the legendary musician Chris O’Connor, which went to our own Chairman of the Board, Sean Coleman, an exquisite case of Casita Miro’s Summer Aphrodisiac Wine, and a one week loan out of a brand new BMW X5 45e.
We’d also like to say a huge thank you to Todd Sherley from Ray White Remuera for doing an amazing auctioneering job for us!
The men left with full bellies, new cooking skills, and some great swag. We all had an excellent time and we are incredibly grateful to everyone who helped to make this event possible!