A group of Australian event professionals treated their tastebuds to an intimate Chef’s Table experience at Claudelands last night.

A part of a pre-Meetings 2015 famil coordinated by Hamilton & Waikato Tourism, the group were hosted in the heart of Claudelands’ commercial kitchen for an evening of unique dining – allowing them to enjoy a full sensory experience as Montana Catering chefs personally hand crafted and served an intricate, locally-sourced six-course tasting menu.

With lamb shoulder and rump with mint, duck breast with baked beetroot and liquorice gel, and Varlhona chocolate fondant with malt ice cream among the items on the menu, Montana Catering Head Chef Fraser Kerr said the Chef’s Table was an opportunity for his team to create some truly one-of-a-kind dishes.

“This was one of those special opportunities to showcase our local ingredients in dishes that were carefully crafted and prepared as fresh as they come, right in front of our guests. Sous Chef Brad Hutchinson put a lot of effort into building a menu that highlighted the breadth and depth of flavours from the Waikato, as well as skills of our team.”

Each course on the menu contained a mystery flavour which guests were challenged to identify. Copies of The Great New Zealand Cook Book were up for grabs to those whose palates proved to be on point, with Kate Stevens from ICMS Australasia and Emma Gardiner from Spice Magazine taking away the prizes.

H3 Director of Business Development and Marketing Murray Jeffrey said the Chef’s Table was something quite different for the guests, providing them with a memorable dining experience as well as an insight into the level of service they can expect from the Hamilton venue.

“We were privileged to host this group and give them a taste of what Claudelands can deliver. It was a great night and a nice way to kick off the week for Meetings 2015.”

The Claudelands team have now turned their focus to this week’s Meetings 2015 tradeshow where they will have a stand and lounge, and will be running a competition for a Wellness Pack, valued at over $1000.