Gordon Ramsay Live in Auckland
/ PRESS
RELEASE
Gordon
Ramsay, OBE, acclaimed chef, restauranteur, broadcaster and
author and holder of 11 Michelin stars is coming to
Auckland in April to headline a glittering gala dinner
sponsored by international appliance giant Beko, raising
support and money for at risk youth in South
Auckland.
Ramsay – the star of top rating shows
Hell's Kitchen, F-Word, MasterChef US and
Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares - will personally
design the dinner menu and speak live at Dinner
with Gordon Ramsay brought to you by Beko in association
with Paper Plus at
the
TelstraClear Pacific Events
Centre in Manukau on April 26.
Guests will enjoy a four
course menu conceptualised from scratch by Gordon himself
and will be matched with fine New Zealand wines.
“I’m delighted to be returning to Auckland for this event which will not only be a lot of fun, but also allow us to raise much needed funds for The Rising Foundation, helping the youth in South Auckland,” said Ramsay, the ultimate food guru.
Mr Ramsay’s visit to New Zealand is possible because of the sponsorship from Beko – the world’s fifth largest supplier of domestic appliances.
The international appliance giant only launched in New Zealand in 2012 and said the lure of aligning themselves with a dinner event headlined by culinary genius Mr Ramsay, and at the same time raising much needed funds for The Rising Foundation was too good an opportunity to turn down.
“If we are going to make some noise in the New Zealand market we had to find a way to make consumers aware of us in a formidable and acceptable way,” Beko’s Managing Director Mike Goadby said.
“Gordon Ramsay gives us that opportunity and we are expecting that, along with a significant television presence, we will reach and excite consumers and get great buy-in from our dealers.”
The Rising Foundation is headed by a number of prominent and successful New Zealanders with the goal of the foundation to take at-risk youth and unlock and direct their potential.
The Rising Foundation is already set up in three South Auckland schools – Pukekohe High School, Papakura High School and Sir Edmund Hillary College.
“Some of the children we deal with are severely challenged,” said Chairman John Bongard. “But in time we have seen them become peer leaders in their groups and as a result they, and their families, are in better positions to make better choices.”
The Rising Foundation prides itself on long-term relationships with children they support.
“We usually start working with them when they are 13 and we stay with them for seven years,” said Mr Bongard.
“It’s a program we believe is transferable to other vulnerable communities throughout New Zealand so we’re very grateful to the team at Beko and Duco Events for choosing us as their charity of choice for this event.
“Not only will the money raised help, but the profile of having someone like Gordon Ramsay associated with the evening will hopefully alert other community leaders around the country about what we do and how we can help them.”
Event organiser, David Higgins from Duco Events is excited about working with Mr Ramsay.
“Cooking’s hot right now around the world and there’s no bigger name in the world than Gordon Ramsay, so to have him here in New Zealand is a real coup,” Mr Higgins said.
“It has been refreshing too to see the enthusiasm both Mr Ramsay and Beko have for the night’s nominated charity.
“Both are passionate about trying to help the under privileged.
“On a personal level I’m looking forward to seeing Gordon in action.
“The entrée, dinner and dessert menu will be his design and he will give a speech on the night.
“As we know, Mr Ramsay is never short of an opinion...”
DINNER WITH GORDON RAMSAY
BROUGHT TO YOU BY BEKO IN ASSOCIATION WITH PAPER
PLUS
Date: Friday 26 April,
2013
Venue: TelstraClear Pacific Events Centre,
Manukau
Time: 6pm – 11.30pm
Dress: Lounge suit or
business attire
Menu: Designed by Gordon Ramsay
Tickets: www.ducoevents.co.nz
ABOUT
EVENT PROMOTER: DUCO
EVENTS
Duco Events has
carved a niche for itself as New Zealand’s foremost event
development and promotion company. Speakers it has worked
with include Sir Bob Geldof, Robert F Kennedy Jnr, Lord
Jeffrey Archer, Sir Richard Branson and former US
Vice-President Al Gore. It has also staged a number of New
Zealand’s highest earning pay-per-view events including
2011 and 2012 Woodstock Honey Fight for Life events, the KFC
Godfather of All Fight Nights and the runaway pay-pre-view
leading 2009 Fight of the Century between David Tua and
Shane Cameron. Other sports themed events under the Duco
Events banner have included evenings with Sean Fitzpatrick,
Sugar Ray Leonard, Sir Colin Meads, Sir Graham Henry, Richie
McCaw, Greg Norman and Andre Agassi.
www.ducoevents.co.nz
ABOUT PRESENTING SPONSOR:
BEKO
Beko, one of Europe’s largest and
most sophisticated lifestyle brands, recently launched its
new range of smart and innovative home appliances to
Australian and New Zealand retailers. The European
manufacturer is recognised as one of the top ten whitegood
brands in the world. It distributes its consumer products
into more than 100 countries and is renowned for creating
intelligent, environmental and technologically smart
appliances. “Beko is a proven and successful brand across
Europe - all our appliances provide contemporary styling,
outstanding features and excellent value. We’ve
researched, listened and responded to the needs of
Australasian customers and consumers and we are confident of
becoming a major brand for Australian and New Zealand
families,” said Mike Goadby, Managing Director, Beko
Australia/New Zealand.
www.beko.co.nz
ABOUT
CHARITY RECIPIENT: THE RISING FOUNDATION
The
Rising Foundation believes in the potential of New
Zealand’s youth and has seen first-hand how a sustained
programme of intervention and support works. This privately
funded foundation under the stewardship of John Bongard and
social worker and programme designer Eli Tulafono runs a
break through programme to support adolescents in
challenging personal circumstances to ‘rise up’ and to
build positive lives. It supports, guides and challenges
them to discover the satisfaction that is gained from
contributing to their communities and achieving personal
goals. The programme has been designed by social workers and
has been successfully tested in South Auckland. While the
programme begins in schools, post schooling work continues
to provide employment opportunities for our graduates with
motivated companies and business leaders within the
community. www.therisingfoundation.org.nz
ABOUT
GORDON RAMSAY:
Scottish by birth, Gordon
Ramsay was brought up in Stratford-upon-Avon, England.
With an injury prematurely putting an end to any hopes of
a promising career in football, he went back to college to
complete a course in hotel management.
His dedication
and natural talent led him to train with some of the
world’s leading chefs, such as Albert Roux and Marco
Pierre White in London, and Guy Savoy and Joël Robuchon in
France. In 1993 Gordon became chef of Aubergine in London,
which within three years, was awarded two Michelin stars. In
1998, at the age of 31, Ramsay set up his first wholly owned
and namesake restaurant, Restaurant Gordon Ramsay, which
quickly received the most prestigious accolade in the
culinary world – three Michelin stars.
Today,
Restaurant Gordon Ramsay is London’s longest-running
restaurant to hold this award, and Ramsay is one of only
four chefs in the UK to maintain three stars.
Now
internationally renowned, Gordon has opened a string of
successful restaurants across the globe, from Italy to the
United States. The group continues to grow with recent
openings such as Bread Street Kitchen in London’s City
district; two ventures in Doha, Qatar; The Fat Cow in Lose
Angeles and three in Vegas; Gordon Ramsay Steak at Paris Las
Vegas, Gordon Ramsay Pub and Grill and Gordon Ramsay
BurGR.
Ramsay received an OBE (Order of the British
Empire awarded by Queen Elizabeth II) in 2006 for services
to the industry. Gordon has also become a star of the small
screen both in the UK and internationally, with UK shows
such as GORDON BEHIND BARS, ULTIMATE COOKERY COURSE,
GORDON’S GREAT ESCAPES and GORDON RAMSAY: SHARK BAIT, as
well as three top-rated FOX shows that air in more than 200
countries worldwide: KITCHEN NIGHTMARES, HELL’S KITCHEN
and MASTERCHEF, and his latest FOX series HOTEL HELL.
He
is also a published author of a number of books, many of
which have become bestsellers around the world, most notably
his autobiography, Roasting in Hell’s Kitchen. Gordon has
a global partnership with WWRD (Waterford, Wedgwood, Royal
Doulton), which offers quality home and lifestyle
products.