KEY POINTS:
Philip Reynolds has faced some tough cooking assignments in his time.
In 12 years in England and Europe, he's worked at many top restaurants, including the Picasso Room at Marco Pierre White's Michelin-starred L'Escargot, Nico at Ninety Park Lane and Harrods' flagship restaurant The Georgian. Now he's up for a different challenge - feeding 1500 people at the Auckland Town Hall for the Auckland City Mission's Christmas dinner.
And in spite of all his posh-nosh credentials, he's looking forward to mucking in on Tuesday. "It's great to have the skills to be able to give something back to the community."
Fortunately, he doesn't have to do it all on his own. He and his team of volunteers, including two chefs, will deal with 200kg of ham and 200kg of chicken. Then there are the 250kg of potatoes, 220kg of kumara, 100kg of beans and 50kg of carrots.
Most of the preparation work will be done in the catering kitchen at The Edge, and then wheeled in heated cabinets to the Town Hall.
The trifles that will be served up as pudding will be made in the Auckland City Hospital kitchen and taken by refrigerated truck to The Edge. Volunteers abound when it comes to the city mission's Christmas dinner.
As well as the seven to 10 kitchen hands to do Mr Reynolds' bidding, there are more to serve the food, clear up and wash up. And even more to decorate the Town Hall and provide the entertainment.
Those who have helped with the dinner in the past say it is a wonderful experience. This year promises to be no different.
