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Visa Wellington On a Plate, returns August 10 this year, with 17 days of 100+ dining establishments presenting over 180 bespoke burgers, cocktail concoctions paired with carefully crafted canapés and something that’s tickling our culinary fancy, is the Chef’s Collaboration series. As the name suggests, this collaboration series presents once-in-a-lifetime, bespoke experiences which bring together top culinary talent from New Zealand and around the world – proving that you can never have too much talent in one kitchen.

Wellington’s designer hotel QT Museum Wellington has partnered with the Festival to sponsor Chef’s Collaboration series. As a destination for culture and ingenuity, QT Museum Wellington’s Hippopotamus Restaurant and Executive Chef, Laurent Loudeac welcomes Vaughan Mabee and Adam Harrison, Executive Chef and Head Chef of Queenstown’s Amisfield Bistro. The duo is well-known around in the country’s culinary scene for spearheading the ‘Trust the Chef’ tasting menu concept which showcases native New Zealand foods through hunting, fishing and foraging. If you haven’t had the absolute, indulgent pleasure, the Bistro’s signature ‘Trust the Chef’ menu is an intimate dining experience that will set the scene for two nights during the Festival.

Hippopotamus, together with Amisfield have designed an eight-course journey centred on a connection for quality produce and aligning food philosophy to create with fresh, local and in season.

Guests will be treated to finest New Zealand cuisine, as both kitchens work to draw inspiration from French gastronomy, molecular play and native New Zealand ingredients. Laurent has given rise to dining at Hippopotamus over the past decade and he thanks his unwavered culinary philosophy throughout the years, putting focus on “fresh, balanced, simplistic and good combinations of flavours” to produce the highest quality French cuisine.

Like many successful chefs, Vaughan’s love of cooking was inherited from early days, with his mother. A dedicated forager and experienced charcutier hunter and gather, Vaughan has spent a decade building his experience at some of the best restaurants in the world, most recently has given a rise to Amisfield Bistro as an unmissable destination in Central Otago. His menu is always paired with a commanding wine list of Amisfield cellar wines that thrive in exceptionally the unforgiving environs of cold winters, hot summers, cool evenings and low rainfall.

Hippopotamus’ touch of fine dining delicacy and French finesse with Amisfield’s celebration of the local region and its flavours, guests will be experiencing an evening of world-class dining.

This collaborative indulgence between leading chefs showcases the talents of two leading New Zealand establishments that pride sophisticated food  that  uses  classic  techniques  –  with  a  creative  twist  –  and  is  artfully  presented.  Located on the third floor at QT Museum Wellington, Hippopotamus Restaurant has a long-lasting reputation as a place where guests can discover, entice and revel over first-class fare, while soaking up the creative ambiance that has become synonymous with QT’s design-driven identity.

Wellington’s culinary landscape will be at the top of its game on Wednesday 15th August and Thursday 16th August 2018 with Hippopotamus Restaurant and Amisfield Bistro’s Trust the Chef, Chef’s Collaboration event.

Date:                     Wednesday 15th August and Thursday 16th August 2018
Location:                Hippopotamus Restaurant, Level 3, QT Museum Wellington, 90 Cable Street, Wellington
Price:                     $260 for an 8-course collaborative menu with Amisfield cellar wine pairings