Chef’s nationwide dinner party to raise funds for cyclone relief
Chef Al Brown is the mastermind behind Cooking up a Storm, which is bringing restaurants and cafes nationwide together for a fundraising dinner, in support of those impacted by Cyclone Gabrielle.
Brown believes the fundraiser will mirror the mood of the country at the moment, one where we are hungry for conversations, for solutions, and, as ever, for good food.
‘‘It’s about trying to emulate what is happening in those regions where a table and kai is bringing strangers together to share stories, empathy, support and aroha,’’ he told the Sunday Star-Times.
Brown, with support from the Restaurant Association, has brought venues on board such as SPQR, Culprit and Sidart, to serve a two course comfort food menu for a set price of $69, with $46 from every sale going directly to the Mayoral Relief Funds.
The event will be hosted in establishments nationwide on Monday, March 20, and doors will open across the country from 6.30pm with dinner served at 7pm.
Bringing suppliers, winemakers and chefs together involved ringing up hospitality workers from across the country that even Brown, part of the nation’s culinary vanguard, does not know. ‘‘It’s ambitious. I’m jumping on the phone the whole time with new people; we want to get a Thai restaurant in Feilding on board, as much as the [big] names in the cities.
‘‘We’ve now got over 50 restaurants already on across the country. If we can seed it, hopefully that leads to more events.’’
In times of crisis, the shadow of a tragedy can be the engine of empathy, and Brown thinks sitting around the table together is what Aotearoa needs in this moment.
‘‘It’s the apple you eat, it’s the wine you drink – we are such a small country and we are all connected . . . there wouldn’t be a person in the country who doesn’t know someone in these regions.’’
Cooking up a Storm follows off the back of tough times for the hospitality industry, which is still feeling the sting in the tail of Covid, on top of fresh devastation wrought by Cyclone Gabrielle.
A recent survey by the Restaurant Association showed that 92% of respondents were impacted by the recent weather, with 65% forced to close their doors, and 25% remaining closed.
‘‘No one knows when it’s gonna be you next. Hawke’s Bay is the golden child of provinces, suddenly devastated. None of us is immune to what is around the corner next,’’ said Brown.
‘‘[Cooking up a Storm] is very personal, and a tangible way for people to come together, talk and keep it in people’s minds.’’
The fundraiser offers a moment of unity, and Brown is visibly stoked to have the opportunity to do something.
‘‘Hopefully it does help us as a society, that in times of crisis we reach out to people, and we understand that it doesn’t matter where you come from, or what you do.’’
For that reason, Brown hasn’t planned a degustation menu or a formal event – instead offering a casual setting, which he hopes will spark conversations.
‘‘It not a black-tie function, it’s something that mirrors what we need to be doing – having a korero.’’
Diners can book their table by going to cookingupastorm.org