Big crowd turn up for cookbook launch

Te Puke Paper Plus owner Stuart Gunn tries some of the food cooked by Karena (left) and Kasey Bird at the launch of their cookbook. Photo / Andrew Warner

Maketu's famous chef sisters Karena and Kasey Bird made a big splash in Te Puke on Saturday night with the official launch of their new cook book For The Love Of ...

The 370 tickets for the launch sold out two-and-a-half weeks before the event, raising about $6000 for the family of James Reid, the five-year-old from Papamoa who has spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy.

Te Puke Paper Plus owner Stuart Gunn, who helped organise the event at The Orchard together with Te Puke Kiwicoast Lions Club and the book's distributors, said he sold out of his shop's entire stock of 264 copies of For The Love Of... on the night, a supply which was supposed to have lasted another month.

"We could have sold a lot more but the books sold out completely. I've had to order another lot, which are getting delivered [today].

"We had enough inquiries about the launch to probably have sold another 300 tickets, but the venue couldn't take any more."

Mr Gunn said the launch was a huge success. It began with Mr Gunn interviewing Kasey and Karena on the couch for 20 minutes before jumping into a cooking demonstration, during which the audience had the opportunity to ask questions. Topics ranged from where it all started to the genesis of the recipes in the book.