It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of a fabulous long lunch; in fact that is quite possibly the major factor as to why I have vigorously pursued the career that I have. I firmly believe that some of the best ideas ever are generated when sitting around a table, sharing great food and drink and knowing that there is no way in hell you will be returning to the office that day. So when the deliciously clever team at Hawke’s Bay Tourism invited Cuisine to help design and curate their F.A.W.C! Long Lunch on 15 March 2025 I was happier than a seagull with a stolen sourdough crust… until I started to think about the logistics.

Now we are not just talking about chucking out a couple of trestle tables in a paddock with a bathtub full of ice here. We are talking an elaborate lunch with canapés plus five courses designed by the country’s best chefs, prepared in a spectacular makeshift location and served on a table more than 50 metres long to a crowd of over 250 food-and-drink loving adventurers who have given over all control from late morning – when they board the bus for their secret destination – until they are returned to their point of embarkation at around 5pm. That level of commitment comes with understandably high expectations.

Of course, Hawke’s Bay is not the only place in the world to attempt pulling off a whacking great lunch event.

The book Guinness World Records documents the world’s longest table setting as being 5050 metres on 22 March 1998 when a team of caterers set places for 15,000 people on a table that stretched along the (then) newly built Vasco da Gama bridge in Lisbon, Portugal. Now I’ve never been to a lunch of those epic proportions, but back in 1996 I was invited to a table that stretched across 2.5km in Dubai (a city that is just a tad obsessed with having the biggest and the longest everything) as they baked their way into the record books with a humongous date cake to celebrate the UAE’s 25th National Day. The table was set to run alongside the iconic Deira Creek and despite it being the largest cake in the world I didn’t get even one bloody crumb. Rumours had circulated that the keys to five Mercedes Benz cars were hidden within the cake and the whole thing was ripped apart by the frenzied crowd within minutes. Note for team HBT – perhaps we stick to spot-prize tickets being attached underneath the chair cushions?

Thinking back on long-table events that I’ve attended and long admired, I’d have to say Melbourne Food & Wine Festival has set the bar seriously high with its massive communal feast, the World’s Longest Lunch. From its debut in 1993 for 400 guests, this annual event now serves more than 1,800 people spread over 500 metres of table. It is an impressive and magical occasion that draws visitors from all over the world, uniting them at one magnificent table in body and soul. And, in my mind, this is a perfect example of the potential that exists, within the complex-simplicity of putting on a fabulous long lunch, for a premium New Zealand showcase.

Meanwhile, back home in Hawke’s Bay, it’s not the F.A.W.C! team’s first rodeo, having two super-successful long lunches already firmly under its belt. The inspirational woman behind the logistics, Hilary Nyberg, has the next secret destination locked and loaded and tickets will go on sale for this, the third F.A.W.C! Long Lunch on 28 January 2025. Previous menus for these long tables have dished up the Kiwi-grown creations of locally and nationally renowned chefs such as Casey McDonald, Regnar Christensen, Zennon Wijlens, Greg Piner, Leslie Hottiaux, Glen File, Hayden McMillan and Plabita Florence in two stunning locations; an olive grove at Tukituki River in 2022 and the spectacular Ocean Beach Cricket Club in 2024. For 2025, we will showcase the work of some of our brightest culinary stars. Jane-Therese Mulry, Director of Culinary at Rosewood Cape Kidnappers Luxury Lodge, and chef Sam Clark of Central Fire Station Bistro (2 hats) will welcome chefs Georgia van Prehn, winner of the One to Watch at the Cuisine Good Food Awards 2024 and head chef at Mr Morris, Auckland (2 hats), Cuisine Chef of the Year 2024 Cory Campbell from The Grove, Auckland (3 hats) and Ben Bayly, the chef behind our American Express Restaurant of the Year for 2024, Ahi in Auckland (3 hats).

From New Zealand to the world via Food & Wine Country, Hawke’s Bay. Will you join us? I’m told that the location is unbelievably special. Let’s do lunch! fawc.co.nz