Waitangi Day dinner

Waitangi Day, February 6 is New Zealand's national day and marks the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840, regarded as the founding point of New Zealand as a nation. The treaty was signed in Waitangi in the Bay of Islands by representatives of the British Crown, including Governor Hobson, and Maori chiefs from the northern North Island. Copies were later taken around the country for signing by chiefs from other areas.You can read more about the Treaty of Waitangi here.

We attended a Waitangi Day dinner at the Grand Hyatt in Melbourne, organised by the New Zealand Victoria Business Group, in association with the New Zealand Consulate-General.

Celebrity chef Iain Hewitson, himself a New Zealander designed the dinner.

Menu for the occasion was:

Entree
Potato pikelets with smoked salmon and horseradish sour cream

Main course
Stuffed rack of lamb on kumera (sweet potato) bubble and squeak with kiwifruit chutney

Dessert
Bombe Alaska

A selection of Fonterra cheeses

Chocolates and petit fours

New Zealand wines were served and included one of my favouite bubblies, Deutz Marlborough Cuvee, Stoneleigh Rapaura Chardonnay, Stoneleigh Rapaura Sauvignon Blanc and Stoneleigh Rapaura Pinot Noir. My choice was the Sauvignon Blanc. You can "sample" the wines here.

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