Food, Wine & Life Online

On Saturday afternoon, I had the pleasure of hosting 21 guests at the first in what will hopefully be a regular lunch and dinner series. Food, Wine & Life Online was a chance to bring people together for a beautiful meal and conversation.

The group consisted of small business owners, photographers, chefs, freelancers, designers, nurses, social workers, entrepreneurs, academics, and artists. In attendance was a woman who had only moved to Christchurch four months ago and others who’ve lived in Christchurch for most of their lives. We spent a few hours together, enjoying four vegan courses prepared by Flip and Yousef at Grater Goods paired with Greystone wines. The event was intimate and informative yet informal, the perfect size to get to speak to everyone and learn a bit more about who they are.

I spoke a little bit about my experience moving to Christchurch four years ago, building a creative community, and why I think these types of gatherings are so important. Alissa talked us through the wines, winemaking process at Greystone, and how their wines are 100% certified organic and vegan (unlike many NZ wines that contain animal byproducts…) Flip spoke about her journey becoming a vegan and why she creates food that challenges our preconceived notions about plant-based food. You need to try their salmon lox bagel (which is actually carrot, not salmon) and KFT (tofu that could pass for the real thing!)

If you want to read more about what inspired me to hold this event, I’ve written about it here. Otherwise, have a look through the photos taken by my dear friend, Nancy Zhou and leave me a comment if you’re interested in coming along to the next one. We’re looking at having it amongst the olive groves at the Greystone vineyard.

A big thank you to everyone who came along and supported this idea, to Nancy for taking these photos and Grater Goods and Greystone for providing the food and wine. I am immensely grateful for your love and support.