A Plate Full

"Beervana is a prominent part of the Wellington on a Plate event, this article interviewing Anna Head of Grow Wellington, a permanent sponsor of Beervana and BrewNZ, it gives you an update on where this event is taking us. Mike Egan, the National President of the Restaurant Association of New Zealand, is also on the Grow Wellington Food Advisory Group, and he is is quoted as well as the owner of Monsoon Poon in Wellington. He is a supporter of us, stocking many of the craftier beers and being a gathering point for us all after Wellington beer events for a meal.

So with Beervana growing strongly in popularity our association with Wellington on a Plate which is also following a strong growth trajectory is a great partnership.

Cheers David - Chairman Brewers Guild of New Zealand"

The understanding that a bigger pie gives everyone a bigger slice was behind the success of the first Wellington on a Plate event in 2009. Now organisers are looking to make 2010 even bigger.

The willingness of Wellington's food industry personalities to work together and support each other was a major factor in the success of Wellington on a Plate, held for the first time in August 2009.

Anna Head: Photo: Nicola EdmondsGrow Wellington's food and beverage manager Anna Head was tasked with helping Wellington's food businesses grow in preparation for export. To do this she formed the Grow Wellington Food Advisory
Group, hand picking 10 people including manufacturers, suppliers, restaurateurs and caterers to meet, share ideas and discuss options.

"They were all volunteers who I asked to be part of it. They did it for the love of Wellington food," Head says. And she believes this collaborative approach within the food service industry is unique to
Wellington. "They are actually mates and they go to each others' restaurants and attend each others' catering events and they are really supportive and work really well together. They are fully aware, here in Wellington, that if you grow the size of the pie, your slice gets bigger."

Head had intended to market Wellington on a Plate, the brainchild of the advisory group, within the region's boundaries then expand it to a national audience in 2010 and go international in 2011, the year of the Rugby World Cup.

It was initially estimated that 13 restaurants would join in and hold six events. In the end, Wellington on a Plate involved 43 restaurants and 30 events. Each participating restaurant selected a price for a lunchtime set menu ($15, $25 or $35) and were free to do anything for any price for dinner. Some events included matching food and wine, sampling the same product from different suppliers and celebrating the food industry's history.

Head says the event snowballed beyond expectations with marketing reaching about 3.5 million people from at least 60 countries. Restaurants from Waikanae, Petone and Miramar joined in, and at least two couples from Australia attended.

Mike Egan is national president of the Restaurant Association and was also on the Grow Wellington Food Advisory Group. He says it took little persuasion to get people involved and those who felt nervous about it "absolutely regretted" not being part of it.

As a participating restaurateur, Egan noticed a 20 per cent increase in turnover from the event. "It was a great way to open ourselves up to new customers," he says. "We got a lot of customers that had never been to us before." He's already looking forward to Wellington on a Plate 2010, to be held August 14 to 29.

Head says the international expansion of the event is likely to happen sooner than expected with marketing reaching into Australia for the 2010 event.

"It's not too far afield. We will keep it reasonably close and comfortable. But then again we didn't anticipate we would go past our own boundaries [this year] so who knows where that could lead," she says.

Additionally she is hoping to increase regional involvement in 2010 and focus more on producers, manufacturers and suppliers.

Robust measurement systems are also a priority to ensure the long-term goal to strengthen the food industry and increase export potential is realised. 

"If you have got a solid foundation which is recognised and respected internationally and within that there is an infrastructure of support, then businesses find it easier to take that next leap up," she says.

By Helen Tatham
Host