Autumn / Winter Events 2012
Welcome to our 2012 Events Programme, featuring an irresistible offering of unique events, to be presented over the next few months here at Huka Lodge. Visiting guest chefs, winemakers, authors and restaurateurs are all going to share with you their extraordinary talents – so please come and join us to be part of the total experience.
Our blazing log fires and our reputation for spoiling you are both legendary – so we do look forward to welcoming you to share our beautiful property over the autumn-winter season. Gourmet food, fine wines, candlelight and rich ambiance, along with some of the most romantic dining venues imaginable – await your arrival.
Treat yourself to a short break at Huka Lodge during our mid-season tariff period, from 01 May – 30 September 2012, and all these events are yours to enjoy on a complimentary basis, within our normal tariff.
Al Brown - Your own personal chef
Saturday 26 May 2012
Al Brown shares his passion for local seasonal produce, hunting and gathering, as well as for the great New Zealand outdoors with many of us – through his television appearances, fabulous books, and best of all his honest style of cooking. Always true to the ingredients he lovingly sources and cooks, Al’s cuisine is full of intense flavour and features many a special delicacy.
Huka Lodge presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for you to enjoy a memorable evening with Al Brown, at the beautifully appointed Owner’s Cottage. Al will create a unique five-course dinner for a maximum of just eight guests on Saturday, 26 May 2012.
For guests enjoying a two-night stay at the Owner’s Cottage this exclusive event is included within the normal mid-season tariff.
This event can be presented to a smaller number of guests, however the same tariff will apply.
Dog Point Winemakers' Private Cellar Dinner
Saturday 14 July 2012
Marlborough’s Wairau Valley is the home of the celebrated Dog Point Vineyard. An abundance of sunshine, low rainfall and cool autumn nights accounts for a long growing season and the slow evolution of the rich, vibrant, fruit flavours that characterise Dog Point wines.
The other vital component would have to be the talented duo, winemakers Ivan Sutherland and James Healy. They first met while working for the highly successful Cloudy Bay brand, where they found they shared the same aspirations – a return to a more ‘hands-on’ winemaking, with an old world philosophy and new world technology. Their attention to detail and low interventionist approach to quality winemaking shows in every bottle of Dog Point Vineyard wine.
Ivan and James will be working closely with Executive Chef, Michel Louws to create a memorable combination of gourmet cuisine and fine wines for just 10 guests. This intimate and exclusive event will be held in the magnificent wine cellar at Huka Lodge.
Author Lunch with Fleur Sullivan
Saturday 28 July 2012
Fleur Sullivan has led a rich, adventurous and energetic life, filled with conviviality, generous hospitality – embodying a true spirit for her heritage, her people and her land. This pioneer restaurateur has been ahead of her time throughout her life and has been known to go to extraordinary lengths to ensure the freshest seasonal produce – even going so far as purchasing her own fishing boat, with quota!
Fleur Sullivan will share stories of this, and more, during a lunch at Huka Lodge on Saturday, 28 July 2012. Executive chef Michel Louws and his team will prepare some of Fleur’s distinctive dishes for your enjoyment, as served at her restaurants Fleurs Place, Moeraki and the Loan & Merc, Oamaru. Fleur will also be available to sign copies of her recent food memoir afterwards.
Three-course author lunch with house wines and beverages is NZ$150.00 per person, for non-residential guests. For guests staying at Huka Lodge that evening, this event is included within the tariff, with our compliments.
The Big Red Dinner with Stonyridge
Saturday 11 August 2012
Waiheke Island’s Stonyridge Vineyard is no longer one of our best kept secrets. When 387 of the world’s finest Cabernets (including Lafite Rothschild, Mouton and Latour), were tasted recently by Australia’s renowned Winestate magazine, Stonyridge Larose emerged 1st equal!
So it is only appropriate that this year our Big Red Dinner is hosted by Stephen White, founder of Stonyridge. He seems far too young to be classed as a visionary or a pioneer however both terms are totally applicable as this is what it took to break down all the barriers required to produce some of the finest Cabernet blends in the world.
Combining Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot with traditional winemaking rigour and meticulous organic viticulture takes dedication and long term vision – something you will find in abundance with Stonyridge’s fine wines.
Executive Chef Michel Louws will work closely with Stephen White to create a superb menu as a worthy match to such fabulous red wines.
Grands Chef - Jacques Reymond
Saturday 25 August 2012
To celebrate Huka Lodge’s recent alliance with Relais & Châteaux we welcome one of their Grands Chefs Jacques Reymond, for one New Zealand dinner only.
Jacques Reymond Restaurant is a fine dining institution in Melbourne and over the past 24 years it has seen many top awards and prestigious accolades consistently bestowed upon it.
Greatly influenced by the produce in Brazil and Spain, Jacques has combined these with the Asian and Pacific ingredients used in Australasia, to create his own unique style of contemporary cuisine. The result is outstanding and his dishes take fine dining to new heights.
Join Jacques Reymond for a five-course menu of his signature dishes at Huka Lodge and celebrate the art of an internationally recognised Relais & Châteaux Grands Chef.
Champagne Bollinger with Peter Doyle
Saturday 22 September 2012
Champagne Bollinger vintages paired with five-exquisite courses created especially by Sydney’s highly respected Head Chef, Peter Doyle – a fitting finale to an amazing presentation of events at Huka Lodge.
Peter Doyle hails from est. where his style of contemporary Australian cuisine reigns supreme. Est. has proudly held its coveted three-hat status since 2004 and is renowned for its superb cuisine – dishes that are seasonally driven and executed with French-influenced precision.
Peter Doyle will present a magnificent menu for this once-only event at Huka Lodge ensuring his dishes seamlessly complement the complex personalities of Champagne Bollinger’s wines.
France’s house of Champagne Bollinger has produced exceptional champagne since 1829. Carefully and patiently nurtured from just 164 hectares of vines, each bottle is true testament to years of passion and commitment by the family and their winemaking team.
