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Students put cooking skills to use for charity

Tuesday 6 December 2016, 9:09AM

By Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology

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BAY OF PLENTY

Hospitality students from Toi Ohomai Institute of Technology (formerly Waiariki Bay of Plenty Polytechnic) served up a mouth-watering three course meal on Thursday night, giving them a chance to show off their cooking skills while raising much needed donations for Waipuna Hospice. 

52 guests attended the dinner at the Huria Marae which raised over $1,300 for the local charity.

Course tutor Damian Coffeey said the event was an opportunity for the students to get practical experience in the work force while raising funds for a worthy cause. 

“We chose Waipuna Hospice as our charity as many of the students in the class have been touched by the Hospice and the work they do for families in times of need.”

Trish Rae, Waipuna Hospice Fundraising manager, applauded the initiative. 

“This is an enterprising way for the students to gain practical experience and we were delighted to be chosen as the recipients. The dinner was lovely and used the freshest ingredients. The evening ended with everyone joining together to sing a waiata – a fitting tribute to the students and a lovely way to conclude the event.”  

The students planned the entire evening, from picking the flowers to working with Toi Ohomai’s Horticulture students to source fresh herbs and salad elements for the evening. Keeping it local, all other ingredients for the meal were sourced locally from the Aussie Butcher, green grocers and Gilmour’s.


The menu
Starter: Crispy aubergine with summer bruschetta
Main course: Basil and lemon marinated chicken with rosemary kumara, summer vegetables and salad
Dessert: Textures of chocolate - A rich dessert with chocolate ‘soil’ brownie, a rich dark chocolate mousse and crispy textures