From Honolulu

Had a great few days on Maui and a very good programme at the Collage. Was able to observe the operation in the food court, the restaurant and class room activities and have very good practices to share with you upon my return. The interactive session on our BCA design process went very well with very good feedback received, they all want to come to Dunedin now. Honolulu is a bustling large city and Waikiki a great place to stay, we went to the Cheesecake Factory restaurant last night, great meal and to see how a operation that serves 2500+ meals every dinner irks was amassing. The weather is not too good, with rain forecasted all day, so shopping seems to be the scheduled activity for the day, no shortage of opportunities here, regards Daniel
PS we get a glimpse of the beach from our room

Aloha

Just arrived in Honolulu, staying at the Airport Honolulu Hotel and having a snack & a Longboard Island Lager from Kona Brewing Co. www.KonaBrewingCo.com Great tasting beer, especially after the long day we had, flight and food was fine, had a beef kurma and Stainlager Pure for lunch. Tomorrow is a early rise, 5:30 wake up for the flight to Maui, can't wait.

Yesterday's report

Yesterday's report.

We started the trip to Hawaii, with a full flight and noisy kids on board. Then again, it is school holiday and you can't be too fussy. We stayed overnight at the Novotel Airport Hotel before continuing our journey to Honolulu this morning. Here it is;

Just back from a successful trip into the Auckland CBD, drinks at the waterfront at Soul and dinner at the Eatery Depot on Federal. They know how to turn the weather on, great temperature in the mid twenties and sunny. Excellent table service at Soul, price within reason and considering the setting good value, $20 for a glass of wine and a beer. At Depot we enjoyed the retro and old fashioned decor with a twist. House beer and wine from the tap by the glass, 160ml or carafe 250 or 500ml. Besides that there is a substantial craft beer and wine by the glass selection, Drinks are served with complimentary pita bread and humus, very tasty. We had the NZ meat board of Otello's beef bresaola & pork lomo, 'Waikanae' pork salami, wild rabbit rillette with cherry relish & 'Olaf's fig & fennel crostini. A small shared plate of Hapuka sliders with preserved lemon mayo & watercress and a potato skins with 'Green Park' Gouda & porcini salt side dish. Excellent food presentation on rustic wooden boards, bowls and plates. The Cured meats were of very good quality, our favoured was the rillette with the cherry relish. The Hapuka fillets were perfect, flavoursome and moist and the potato skins crisp and with the porcini salt outstanding. All up a relaxed and very enjoyable dining experience, again very impressed with the service and yes we shared a dessert, the Sugar Pie, on the menu since the opening, a rich & sweet brown sugar and cream caramel set in a sweet pastry case. All up $90 and what you would expect to pay for dinner in Auckland. 

First day in Auckland

Excellent day here in Auckland, drinks at Soul and dinner at the Depot, superb decor and food, the service in both places was very good and attentive. Early flight to Hawaii tomorrow, I keep you posted, regards Daniel

Hawaii 2013 visit

After a great holiday with visitors from Switzerland and Rotorua, I am back at work again.
Today I am planning the upcoming visit to Hawaii and the University of Hawaii, Maui College.
The aim is to visit Mr. Chris Speere, External Monitor for our Bachelor of Culinary Arts Programme, to continue our international collaboration we established and observe/discuss issues we both face in our Food and Beverage operations and culinary education as a whole. For this I have set up the blog to record experiences and to share and network with educational colleagues. I hope you find it interesting.
Regards Daniel