1618 days ago

More on Wine, Foodography and Winter Classes

New Zealand School of Food & Wine

For the last few weeks I have been travelling around NZ running a series of Wine Tasting Competitions for the NZ Sommeliers and Wine Professionals for which I am chair. It's been fun putting together a selection of 40 classic wines and preparing sets of questions to test our teams of winelovers.

We have used Kahoot! which has been enormously successful as a electronic quiz platform in these Covid times. It adds the results instantly and takes away the risk of calculation errors plus the backend provides detailed analytics on who got the answers to how many seconds it took to answer correctly. We know that of the 24 teams the highest scores were 75% correct with over 8 teams achieved above 68% correct. I can see we will use this platform for sometime!

It seems that interest in wines and spirits programmes is also bounding upwards and we have had record enrolments for all our wine classes including WSET Wine and Spirit Education Trust from UK.

This week I had the results of the latest WSET Level 2 Certificate in Wine and with a class of 20 students, 60% gained distinction, a pass of over 85%. Exciting.

Our NZQA Certificate in NZ Wine Micro-Credential is also going for strength to strength and we are about to start offering Corporate & Team Building wine options so that you can get together a group of 8 people and we will run a private programme.

New Zealand wines are much more diverse that most people imagine and it's a great thrill to be able to share lesser-known wineries and underrated regions with our participants as they taste through the wine selection. For more information, email admin@foodandwine.co.nz.

Coming up we have the Winter Forage with Riki Bennett which provides an opportunity to explore our native flora along with innovation around urban hāngi kai-cookery techniques. The FOODOGRAPHY Dinner is back and this year our theme is a Midwinter Christmas Dinner. Both events are part of Auckland's Elemental Festival.

On Sunday 1st August, we host the NZ Sommelier of the Year Awards along with wine tasting events and a Gastronomic Dinner prepared by Chef Finn and our students.

Ngā mihi,
Celia Hay

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More messages from your neighbours
7 days ago

Neighbourhood Challenge: Who Can Crack This One? ⛓️‍💥❔

The Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

What has a head but no brain?

Do you think you know the answer? Simply 'Like' this post if you know the answer and the big reveal will be posted in the comments at 2pm on the day!

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43 minutes ago

Bloom Pukekohe Op Shop

Janet Wallington from Bloom Pukekohe Op Shop

And that's a wrap for 2025!!!
A huge thank you to all of our customers, volunteers and team who have supported us since we opened in February this year. We appreciate each and every one of you and wish you a safe and happy holiday season.
We will reopen on Wednesday 7th January, 9:30am.

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3 hours ago

Kids Pottery workshops with artist Madison Cowper

Franklin Arts Centre from Franklin Arts Centre

Swap the usual routine for something a little more colourful. Join us at Franklin Arts Centre for a fun morning of creativity. Come, meet new friends and make and paint your very own pottery!
Suitable for ages 4 and up. No experience needed, just bring yourself and your imagination. Wear something you don't mind getting dirty. We’ll provide all the materials, easy guidance, and an open-hearted, supportive teaching environment to encourage you to make whatever you like! Participants will be shown how to make a mug, a bowl, a planter or a pet, but they are more than welcome to bring their own ideas.
🖌 What’s Included:

🌸 Clay and professional guidance
🎨 A wide range of tools, paints and brushes
🎶 A fun, supportive atmosphere with music and good vibes
You can take your unfired piece home, or leave it with us to be professionally fired and glazed for an additional $20. The additional fee can be paid with cash in person. The finished piece can be collected from FAC 2 months after the event.

Session 1 Monday 12th January
Session 2 Tuesday 13th January
10am -12pm
Wētā room, Franklin Arts Centre

To book:
Monday 12th Jan Session: www.eventfinda.co.nz...

Tuesday 13th January Session: www.eventfinda.co.nz...

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