HIGHLIGHTS: Pop-Up Dinner with Monica & Derek
It’s been almost two weeks since we culminated our first ever Pop-up Dinner event, and what a special two nights it was!
Monica and Derek started their kitchen prep, along with their merry band of supporters, two days out from the first night of the event. With the help of our chefs, Brendan, Dale and Carly, all the ingredients, all the elements for each dish were ready to a tee. It was a great sign for what would be a surprisingly smooth service for both nights.
Our front of house staff looked the part as well and with a couple of hours of intensive briefing, were all ready to usher and serve the guests.
The tables were set beautifully and with such fine taste! Since it was an extra special event, we also rolled out a red carpet for guests to walk on and have their photos taken all through the night.
As the team in the kitchen slowly pushed out the plates one course after another, guests settled into a very relaxed and cheerful mood that will last the entire night for both nights of the event. Monica & Derek also gave brief introductions for each dish before the plates reached the tables giving the guests a chance to understand the story behind each course.
Both guest chefs also mingled as much as the busy service would allow them, and then made sure to spend more quality time with the guests at the end of the service.
All in all, there were over 1600 plates served, countless of glasses of wine drunk, hundreds of photos taken and so many laughs shared by everyone. Those two nights in August will be remembered with a lot of fondness and we can’t wait to do it all over again as we kick-off our new Pop-up Dinner series we call Episodes.
We conclude this memorable chapter with a lot of thanks to our generous sponsors:
- Jacob’s Creek for the 5 types of wine that accompanied and perfectly matched each dish
- Superior Food Services for supplying the ingredients used for the dinner
- Pic Cha Booth for providing a photo booth service for both nights
- Mind Society Studios for providing photo and video coverage
- Wynn Joinery for helping us setup our Sponsor Wall
We’d also like to once again make special mention to our staff: our kitchen team and floor staff who made every effort to deliver a smooth sailing service for this pop-up event. And of course, to Monica and Derek and their crew for choosing The Hatter and the Hare as their venue for their first pop-up venture after their stint in the Masterchef kitchen.
Last but not the least, we thank all the guests who joined us on both nights and made every second of it worth all the sweat and tears!
