DRAFT STATEMENT

Hawke’s Bay Regional Signature Dish 2008 Launch

The Hawke’s Bay Regional Signature Dish was launched last night at an urban farmers’ market at the EIT campus. Food Hawke’s Bay members were invited to come along and show case new and exciting products for chefs and restaurant owners to sample and possibly use in their entry for the regional signature dish.

There was a buzz around the room with chefs looking for new products and discussing recipe suggestions and uses with the food producers and wineries. Some chefs had already decided on their ingredients but were there to see who was there and chat with fellow chefs. Food Hawke’s Bay general manager Jane Libby was pleased with the turn out and the organisation is excited about this years’ event.

The Signature Dish event, launched last year, is a regional bonanza showcasing the best food and beverages Hawke’s Bay produces.

Jane Libby was pleased to announce a number of changes in the event this year to ensure it becomes a “must do’ event for all Hawke’s Bay people and visitors to the region. “ it is important to enhance the event every year and to continue to raise the bar by taking on feedback from industry and diners” Mrs Libby said. The event is expanding to include two major categories, causal dining and formal dining and the popular people’s choice award will have two sections; dish and service. There will be a loyalty card which will encourage diners to go to more than one participating establishment; all eligible cards will go in a prize draw.

“Registrations from restaurants have been flooding in and we hope to have up to 28 restaurants in the event this year which is an increase from the 17 last year,” Mrs Libby said. The event creates fantastic exposure for participating restaurants and is a real draw card for food lovers.

We have some exciting new entries this year and backed up by last years great establishments will make the event even better than last year. Establishments already entered include:
Black Barn Bistro
Chambers Restaurant
Church Road Winery
Clearview Winery Restaurant
Deliciosa Tapa's & Wine Bar
Estuarys Restaurant
Exchange Brasserie - Te Pania
The Gintrap Cafe & Bar
Old Church Restaurant
River Bar @ Clive Hotel
Sileni Estates
Soda
St Georges Restaurant
Take Five Restaurant & Jazz Bar
Te Awa Winery
Terroir At Craggy Range
The Thirsty Whale Napier
Vidal Wines Restaurant
Westshore Hotel
Mazola's Restaurant and Bar
East Pier Restaurant
Cafe 32
JARK's Licensed Cafe
Pernel Fruit World

Key dates
Recipes submitted by 27 August 2008
Competition runs September 13 – October 26
Awards Evening October 28

2008 Event Categories
Formal – Winner
Formal – Runner Up
Formal – People’s Choice - Dish
Formal – People’s Choice - Service
Casual – Winner
Casual – Runner Up
Casual – People’s Choice - Dish
Casual – People’s Choice - Service

ENDS

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