New dining experience launches in Bay

Chris Duffy, Rachelle Duffy and Tiki Taane are looking forward to the launch of a new food event at Papamoa Domain. Photo/Andrew Warner.

New dining experience in the Bay

THE latest international food trend of casual dining in a unique environment will hit the Bay of Plenty next week, as a brand new food event series launches in Papamoa.

Dinner in the Domain, held at Papamoa Domain, is a weekly artisan food market that invites foodies and families alike to come together and enjoy dinner in a beautiful community setting every Thursday evening.

Rachelle and Chris Duffy, directors of Little Big Events, the organisation behind the new series, says it is very exciting to be bringing this new eating experience to the Bay of Plenty.

"Unique venues and menus are two of the biggest trends in the food industry, so it made sense to bring the two together in a region that is highly regarded for its produce, craft beer, wine and incredible outdoor spaces.

"Communities around the world are adopting this new way to socialise outdoors and consume food together and the Papamoa Domain is an exciting community landscape to host this new food initiative," says Rachelle.

Spurred on by the growing food truck revolution and the success of their original event series, The Little Big Markets - celebrating its fifth anniversary this year, Rachelle says Dinner in the Domain will provide an intimate foodie experience where locals and visitors to the region can expect revolving food offerings and entertainment.

Set among the historic pine trees at Papamoa Domain, will be a range of food trucks, local food, a licensed area to enjoy a glass of local wine or craft beer, cooking demonstrations from some of the region's best chefs and restaurateurs, live music, a kids' zone, all within a special outdoor environment for visitors to linger and connect with their local community.

"Compared to our regular monthly market which features 150 local vendors, Dinner in the Domain will host just 30 food trucks each week, with many new food trucks expected to make an appearance throughout the summer.

"We have selected the best from the Bay to feature each week, as well as invited popular food vendors from Auckland including Yummy Thai, which has won "Best Food Vendor" at the Auckland Lantern Festival, five years running," the pair explains.

Securing the Papamoa Domain to host the events would not have been possible without local councillor support, local Papamoa business networks and sponsors.
Steve Morris, Tauranga City Councillor for the Mount and Papamoa, says when he first met with Rachelle and Chris, he was encouraged by the pilot event they held last summer at the Papamoa Beach Top 10 Holiday Resort, which attracted more than 6000 visitors.

"It's important to support the Papamoa community's 'coming of age' and our desire to host and attend more events like this locally.

"I have no doubt Dinner in the Domain's offering of new and exciting fresh local food will attract both the wider community and visitors alike."

Danielle Cubis from Spongedrop is one of the chefs at Dinner in the Domain. PHOTO/ Katie O Connell / Quinn & Katie Photography

The weekly food market will also play host to a new waste minimisation initiative, "The Plate Exchange", which has been supported by funding from EnviroWaste, Public Place Recycling Scheme (PPRS) and Love NZ recycling campaign, and Tauranga Energy Consumer Trust (TECT).

Event director, Rachelle Duffy says "An important goal for all of our events moving forward is to take intelligent and sustainable steps to reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. Researching a number of waste initiatives around the world, we have designed a bespoke trailer which will be fitted with 5000 reusable plates for people to use, making a large percentage reduction on our environmental footprint across the event series."
The Plate Exchange trailer, towed by a brand-new Hilux utility sponsored by Pacific Toyota and operated by waste volunteers, will distribute a plate to each person, for a small refundable deposit to use at the event. In addition, the ecological rigid cup, the Globelet, produced and recycled in New Zealand, will further reach waste-minimisation objectives.

"We are very excited to be bringing such innovative recycling and waste minimisation system to all our events this summer and, with the support of local businesses like Pacific Toyota and TECT, we are looking at ways to make the system available to other community and large-scale event organisers around the Bay of Plenty ..."

As well as a licensed bar area and fresh artisan fare for the foodies, event directors say Dinner in the Domain will provide a top-class environment for the whole family to look forward to.

"There is truly something for everyone at this event. As well as dedicated kids zone with pony rides and facepainters, music lovers can expect live music sessions from local DJ Tim from Sophistafunk each week."

Papamoa local and supporter of The Little Big Events, Tiki Taane, will play at the launch event on November 6 and well-known local chefs, Tanisha and Verena from MasterChef, will host a cooking demo at 6.30pm, sponsored by Papamoa Pak'nSave.

"We want this event to be something that the Papamoa locals can call their own and be proud of and enjoy with their families on a regular basis," says Rachelle.

MORE ABOUT THE EVENT

*Dinner in the Domain launches in the Papamoa Domain, 561 Papamoa Beach Rd from 5.30pm-9pm Thursday, November 6th and will continue weekly until March 26.
* Tiki Taane will play at the launch
* Tanisha and Verena from MasterChef will be hosting a live cooking demo at 6.30pm, sponsored by Papamoa Pak'nSave
* The Bay of Plenty Times and Flavours are sponsors of Dinner in the Domain.
* Recipes from the cooking demo will be reproduced in Flavours