In recent times, the commercial wold has been turned on its head. Conventional methods of retailing, service delivery, publishing, advertising, and even food offers and dining experiences have changed dramatically. The phenomenon of the internet has sped us forward to a situation where information, global trends and new ways of marketing are a click away. We live in New Zealand with reasonably efficient web access and now share in a dynamic and immediate world via cyber space. As with food, fresh is best and what's happening "over there" is happening here.
A few years ago, when my new catering business was slow, I connected with my fellow caterer Jonathan Lousich. I suggested we pick up on an international trend of underground events - pop-up restaurants, supper clubs and one-off occasions based around food - collaborative, spontaneous, mutually beneficial and experimental.
We gave birth to Gourmet A Gogo and took to creating dinners in spaces not usually associated with dining. We used film studios, vintage shops, Christmas shops, historic houses and even a hairdressing salon. We now work in a more permanent space, but that's another story.
Pop Dining is Auckland's hottest pop-up story. Ben Barton and Andreas Eggmann are Auckland's prime movers and shakers of this phenomenon. These boys are driven by their food enthusiasm and lovingly subversive approach to providing food in extreme circumstances, sourced from the weirdest of places and partnering with the strangest connections. I love their events.
