Tauranga pop-up restaurant Kitchen Takeover scooped two major gongs at the New Zealand Events Association awards in Hastings last night.

The edible-adventure specialists, founded by Stacey Jones in 2018, won the Best Arts or Cultural Event 2021 for 'Taiao: Food of the Gods', a collaboration with Maketu-based celebrity chefs Karena and Kasey Bird.

Against a record 108 entries, Kitchen Takeover then completed a notable double by heading off three South Island events - the Dunedin Craft Beer & Food Festival, the Wānaka Wine & Food Festival and the Wanaka A&P Show - to win the Best Lifestyle Event 2021 with 'Eat Your Memories'.

"To be nominated in two categories was one thing against such notable competition but to then win both is simply amazing," Jones, currently in France researching food trends for Kitchen Takeover's Christmas experience, said.

"Kitchen Takeover was born with a clear goal in mind - to create unforgettable, out-of-the-box, edible experiences for foodies on the hunt for an adventure - and we're absolutely delighted to have taken so many people on this journey with us."

One of the dishes at Kitchen Takeover's 'Taiao: Food of the Gods' event, which took out one of the major prizes at the NZ Event Awards in Hastings last night. Photo: Supplied.

'Taiao: Food of the Gods' drew inspiration from the Bird siblings' whakapapa and upbringing, celebrating the Māori deities of the natural world through a six-course degustation dinner, and the sisters were delighted to share in the success.

'Both Kasey and I are deeply passionate about bringing our whakapapa to life through edible storytelling," Karena Bird said. "We loved working in collaboration with the Kitchen Takeover team on this event, so it's amazing to be recognised with this award.”

'Eat Your Memories' took diners back in time to devour their fondest food memories, from the edible sand in the fish and chips, to the ‘Mum I dropped my ice cream' dessert, every mouthful told a story.
Jones also paid tribute to her chefs Shane Yardley and Rob Forsman, as well as her wider team, who run three events a year, running for 10 weeks at a time.

"After all, you can't cook 5280 plates of delectable food on your own!"

The winners were announced at a gala evening at the Toitoi Hawke's Bay Arts & Events Centre in Hastings, during NZEA's two-day Eventing the Future 2022 conference.

Kitchen Takeover founder Stacey Jones with chef Shane Yardley. Photo: Supplied.

In finally hosting its annual Event Awards Gala Evening, the NZ Event Association - NZEA - has experienced first-hand the frustration, heartbreak, challenges, and ultimately triumphs faced by its members over the past two years.

As the events industry emerges from a long Covid-induced hiatus, the NZEA has announced the winners of its 2021 Awards after its premier gathering finally took place in Napier, more than 15 months and four postponements later. An enthusiastic crowd of nearly 350 event professionals from across the country made the trip to Napier to celebrate the industry's best.

It was a great night out much anticipated after so much disruption for the sector to celebrate excellence, innovation, resilience and evolution in New Zealand's world-class events industry. The new but appropriate ‘Best COVID Response for an Event 2021' category proved to be the most popular, representing over a quarter of all entries with three winners sharing the win: Boma New Zealand with its Boma COVID-19 Virtual Summit, the Stuff Ports of Auckland Round the Bays, and CORE Education's uLearn20.

Topping the individual accolades is Valentina Paladini, named Best Established Event Professional, while Cuillin Hearty won the Emerging Event Professional category. The Best Arts or Cultural Event went to Kitchen Takeover – Taiao: Food of the Gods.

The ‘Best Major or Mega Event' category was taken out by the 36th America's Cup with a joint entry from America's Cup Event Ltd, Auckland Council Group and the New Zealand Government.

'It's great to be celebrating excellence in Major Events at a time when such events are much needed to attract international tourists again” says NZEA General Manager Ségolène de Fontenay.

Three additional category winners were also associated with the AC36, including PPG Events taking out two Awards for their work on the Toyota Hospitality Experience and Platform 4 Group winning the Best Supplier Award for their security work at the Cup Village.

A total of 17 awards were made in three categories, for an industry that generates billions of dollars of economic activity every year.

Ségolène says pulling its own event off has laid out the stark reality and enormous difficulties faced by the industry over the past two years.

”Organising any event depends on managing multiple moving parts, including suppliers, guests, entertainment, catering and more. With COVID presenting an unpredictable additional dimension, organisers have truly had their backs against the wall,” says Ségolène.

'However, we've seen incredible resilience and the classic Kiwi Number 8 wire ‘can do' attitude emerge from events professionals, who have persevered and put up with unimaginable difficulties with dogged determination. That makes this edition of our awards particularly poignant – and, after being kept apart for so long, it's fair to say everyone made the most of our NZEA NZ Event Awards Gala Evening.”

Praising the consistently high standard of award entries, with a total of 108 events vying for the judges' nod across 17 categories including sports, arts and culture, community, corporate social responsibility and business events, individuals, venues, sponsors and suppliers, Ségolène says it is an honour to recognise excellence not only from the winners, but also from every finalist.

'The entries not only entertain the nation but in the case of business events, also accelerate the economy."

Ségolène adds that economic activity underpins societal wellbeing.

'You cannot underestimate the value of the events industry to the wellbeing of New Zealanders across economic, social and environmental spheres and ultimately the health and prosperity of a nation's people,” she stresses. ' It's a big well done from all of us at NZEA.”

There is also a public vote for New Zealand's Favourite Event of the Year; the crowd-pleaser this year is the TSB Festival of Lights from New Plymouth District Council.

'With such high standards, I'd like to congratulate all our finalists and most importantly, those winners who took home an award tonight,” says Ségolène.

She concludes by noting the NZ Events Association encourages all Kiwis to support the people who enrich the economy, connect businesses, build New Zealand's unique culture and deliver world class entertainment and leisure and business platforms through vibrant events every year.

'Our country's events ecosystem keeps us engaged, educated, connected, networked and entertained. Join us in celebrating those who make it happen, no matter what.”

The winners are:

Individual Awards

Best Emerging Event Professional 2021 - Sponsored by ChristchurchNZ - Cuillin Hearty

Best Established Event Professional 2021 - Valentina Paladini

Best Event Sponsorship Professional 2021 - Matt Davy

Excellence Awards

Best Arts or Cultural Event 2021 - Kitchen Takeover – Taiao: Food of the Gods

Best Business Event 2021 - Sponsored by ChristchurchNZ - Toyota Hospitality Experience – 36th America's Cup , PPG Events

Best Community or Not-for-Profit Event 2021 - Sponsored by Kennedy Park - CupaDupa, Creative Capital Arts Trust

Best COVID-19 Response for an Event 2021 - Sponsored by ChristchurchNZ
THREE WINNERS
Boma COVID-19 Virtual Summit, Boma New Zealand
Ports of Auckland Round the Bays, Stuff
uLearn20, CORE Education

Best Event Marketing 2021
ASB for The ASB Sustainaball – ASB Classic

Best Lifestyle Event 2021 - Sponsored by Big Barrell (In association with Peroni Italy) - Kitchen Takeover - Eat Your Memories

Best Local Government Event 2021 - TSB Festival of Lights, New Plymouth District Council

Best Major or Mega Event 2021 - The 36th America's Cup, Auckland Unlimited

Best Music Event 2021 - Sponsored by Red Badge - Rhythm and Vines

Best Sports Event 2021 - Sponsored by Kennedy Park - ASB Classic, Tennis Auckland

Support Awards

Best Event Creative 2021 - PPG Events for the Toyota Hospitality Experience – 36th America's Cup

Best Event Use of Technology 2021 - New Plymouth District Council for Oxfam Trailwalker

Best Supplier 2021 - Platform 4 Group for the 36th America's Cup Village

Best Venue 2021 - Sponsored by Trinity Hill - Claudelands Oval for SIX60 Saturdays

Achievement Awards

Outstanding Contribution to the Industry Award 2021- Sponsored by Kennedy Park
TWO WINNERS
Te Rangi Huata
Anne Hindson

New Zealand's Favourite Event 2021 - Sponsored by Fresh Info
(Public vote kindly hosted by Eventfinda)
TSB Festival of Lights, New Plymouth District Council