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.

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