EIT students Jenna Mikkelson and Lewis Fun-Nell prep for the Hawke’s Bay Wine Awards dinner in EIT’s School of Hospitality main kitchen.
EIT has been part and parcel of the Hawke’s Bay Wine Awards for many years but this year the impact will be doubled.
Instead of being responsible for the usual one course, the tertiary institute has put its hand up for both the main and dessert courses at the gala awards dinner for 470 guests, tomorrow night.
Cookery lecturer Kylie Howard will be tackling the main course while fellow patisserie lecturer Korey Field will be tempting the sweet toothed with his dessert creation. Both are being ably assisted in the prepping, completing and serving by over 100 food and beverage, tourism and cookery students.
EIT wine science students will also be on hand on the night to help with the wine service.
“It’s a huge week for our students,” says Celia Kurta, EIT coordinator for cookery and front of house programmes. Celia herself is an institution at the awards having overseen the set-up, pack out and almost everything in-between, for “many years”.
Dana McDonald, EIT Learning Facilitator, leads students prepping for the Hawke’s Bay Wine Awards dinner at EIT’s Taradale bakery
“The students get a real buzz out of being part of the event. They arrive when it’s just a marquee on green grass and then they help it evolve into a glamourous function centre.
“For the cookery students, it is an opportunity to cater a large-scale event – the first time for most of them. They get to use the skills they’ve learned at EIT and put them into practice on a much bigger stage than what they are used to.
“It’s a long day, we don’t usually finish packing out until around 1.30am. And there’s usually grumbles from those who draw the short straw and end up washing 1600 dishes in the near dark!”
Chef and new EIT Head of School for Tourism and Hospitality, Glenn Fulcher will also be experiencing his first Hawke’s Bay Wine Awards. But rather than joining other EIT staff at a guest table, he’ll be donning his chef whites to be back in the kitchen, coordinating kitchen activities with both tutors and students.