CLIENT MEDIA RELEASES
Dine Dunedin Friday 6 August – Sunday 22 August
Showcasing Otepoti’s finest food and drink
Dunedin: An exclusive dinner party in Olveston historic home, Black Friday dinners at secret locations, a Logan Brown and Emerson’s collab dinner and boutique spirits workshops are among the experiences to be savoured in this year’s Dine Dunedin.
Dine Dunedin from Friday 6 August – Sunday 22 August is a showcase of the southern city’s food and drink featuring exclusive experiences, menus, burgers and drinks available only during the festival’s limited time. Here’s a taster:
OLVESTON FORMAL DINNER
7pm Friday 6 August
42 Royal Terrace, Dunedin
Booking essential - phone Olveston 03 477 3320
$200 pp for three course dinner and drinks
Step back into the early twentieth century when, for the first time as part of Dine Dunedin, Olveston will host an intimate three course dinner party for 20 guests in the family’s dining room. Dine just like the original owners, the Theomin family did with their guests in their dining room at their dining table surrounded by their furnishings.
DINE DUNEDIN DINNER IN BLACK
7pm Friday 13 August
Secret venues across the city
$100 pp for three course matched to wine (on sale early June)
Booking Essential via https://dinedunedin.co.nz/
A Dunedin take on the French ‘Dîner en Blanc’. Pop-up dinners across the city with guests wearing black, diners will be texted the day of the dinner with their mystery location.
DINE DUNEDIN EMERSON’S BURGER
City cafes, bars and restaurants from Friday 6 August – Sunday 22 August
Enjoy a special one-off burger created exclusively for Dine Dunedin at city venues including last winner’s Emerson’s People’s Favourite Winner Salt, legendary city burger spot Good Good and Emerson’s Taproom to name a few.
New experiences being added all the time.
iD Dunedin Fashion Weekend 2021
In Partnership with Otago Polytechnic
Dunedin: Calling all fashionistas! Ensure you’re in Dunedin for the weekend of June 18 – 20 for a jam-packed three days of iD Dunedin Fashion!
A symposium, talks and two fashion shows are on the agenda, with the highlight being “Two Shows One Event - Gala Fashion Show” on Saturday evening.
The runway will feature never-before-seen new season releases by Dunedin’s five fashion Godmothers as well as a show from the eleven New Zealand iD International Emerging Designer Awards finalists and the announcement of this year’s emerging designers winners, and the premiere of the iD International Emerging Designer movie.
Organise friends, dress up and head to Otago Museum for bubbles and fashion from 7pm. Enjoy a runway show featuring never before seen new release fashions from Dunedin’s own; NOM*d; Carlson, Mild-Red, Company of Strangers and Charmaine Reveley. Meet the 11 New Zealand iD International Emerging Designer Awards Finalists and see their garments on the runway, and view the iD International Emerging Designer Awards Film 2021 and announcement of the year’s winners.
Last year’s inaugural film was a great hit, with video content finalists took of themselves in their bedrooms, apartments, hallways and parks edited into a wonderful feature by NHNZ. Finalists talked about what inspired their collection and viewers all agreed the film provided a very personal insight into the emerging designer finalists.
This year 42 finalists from 16 countries have been chosen for iD International Emerging Designer Awards 2021 in partnership with Otago Polytechnic. They are competing for prizes including; The Otago Polytechnic First Prize ($5,000), Second Prize ($3,000), Third Prize ($1,000) and three special prizes; VIVA Magazine Best NZ Emerging Designer, Most Sustainable Collection and Natural Luxury with Wool. Prize winners will be announced at Saturday’s “Two Shows One Event - Gala Fashion Show”.
You’ll want to be front row for this double show! Tickets are $120 for front row, $95 for second row and $79 for others. Book on Humanatix quickly as tickets are limited and are bound to sell out!
Fashion lovers will have the chance to play judge themselves by voting for their favourite emerging designer in the Otago Polytechnic People’s Choice.
While you’re in a fashion frame of mind consider attending the Otago Polytechnic/iD Dunedin Annual Fashion Symposium on Friday 18 June. Academics and designers will consider “Fashion Forward >> Disruption” from 10am – 4pm at the Barclay Theatre and Beautiful Science Gallery, Otago Museum.
This will be followed at 4pm by a Curator Guided Tour of Fashion Forward >> Disruption Through Design at Otago Museum. Exhibition curators, Professor of Fashion, Otago Polytechnic and iD Dunedin Fashion Inc. Chair Dr Margo Barton, and Otago Museum’s Moira White and Dr Jane Malthus will share a behind the scenes view of the exhibition, the museum archives pieces and the 17 year history of the iD International Emerging Designer Awards.
Former Dunedin resident and head juror for the iD Dunedin International Emerging Designer Awards in partnership with Otago Polytechnic, Tanya Carlson of Carlson will headline Fashion Fridays at 5.30pm at Otago Museum. Tickets are essential and available through the Otago Museum website.
Friday evening will be given over to the future of fashion with the iD Dunedin Fashion Opening - The Awakening of Disruption Through Design – an event showcasing Otago Polytechnic student fashion. A true student showcase, the event is being created by Otago Polytechnic students to feature designs from current and recently graduated Otago Polytechnic students. The fun evening at the Sargood Centre will also include tastings from the Culinary Arts students. Tickets will be essential and are on sale through Humanitix. Watch iD Dunedin Facebook and Instagram for details.
After the morning on Sunday for recovery following Saturday’s “Two Shows One Event - Gala Fashion Show”, head to Otago Museum at 3.30pm for the free panel discussion, ‘What the Judges Saw’. iD International Emerging Designer Awards 2021 in partnership with Otago Polytechnic, and chaired by Viva Magazine’s editor in chief Amanda Linnell, jurors , head judge and fashion designer Tanya Carlson, of Carlson; Margi Robertson of NOM*d, Donna Tulloch of Mild-Red and Charmaine Reveley of Charmaine Reveley will share their observations on this year’s judging.
All of this iD fashion activity is set against the backdrop of Otago Museum’s wonderful ‘Fashion Forward >> Disruption through Design exhibition which continues until Sunday 17 October 2021. Additionally, from Friday 11 June 2021 until Saturday 19 June 2021 the iD International Emerging Designer 2020 film and 2021 Finalist Exhibition, will be showcased in the Beautiful Science Gallery at Otago Museum. With the iD International Emerging Designer 2021 film playing from Sunday 20 June 2021 to Thursday 24 June 2021.
INTRODUCING No8 DISTILLERY
Dunedin’s boutique maker of gin, rum and liqueurs
Dunedin; Born during the March 2020 lockdown, No8 Distillery is the first distillery to open in Dunedin since the legendary Willowbank Distillery auctioned off their last whisky barrel in 1997. Despite being new, No8 has a legacy which dates back over four generations, drawing upon treasured family recipes and distilling knowledge.
Established by Michael Wilson & Julien Delavoie, who have already proven the nous of their business partnership with their successful café and venue Dog With Two Tails, No8 Distillery draws upon Julien’s French heritage and experience making gin, calvados and cider with his grandparents in Normandy. While teetotal Michael brings his flavour extraction expertise from a 15 year background in coffee roasting and brewing, and bean-to-bar chocolate manufacturing.
The name No8 Distillery is a tribute to the pair’s Kiwi ingenuity and drive to make things happen. As well as making spirits and liqueurs, they have undertaken all the design work, construction, distilling and are constantly tinkering, coming up with new and, occasionally, better ways of extracting flavours from plants as well as running the business.
Over the past year in the Moray Place window of their café’, Dog with Two Tails the pair have been collaborating and testing recipes. Now, after hundreds of tastings and lots of morning headaches they’re confident of their product and ready to share it with New Zealand and the world. Distilling in the café’s front window is part of their goal to demystify the science and make the art visible for city residents and visitors.
From the shiny, copper still named Thérèse, after Julien’s spirits-making grandmother, Julien has created a unique collection of three very different gins developed to appeal to different palates and moods. “Everyone has different tastes and different preferences depending on the time of the day and their mood.” Michael has a keen interest in native plants and their uses in food and medicine. When Julien requires ingredients for the still, he gives the order and Michael heads deep into the bush around Dunedin and Central Otago searching for new flavours as well as the old favourites such as; horopito, tarata, gorse flowers and thyme.
The No8 Distillery Gin Collection is:
Dunners Dry Gin – No8’s vision of what a NZ dry gin can be - smooth, bushy & dry. A mix of traditional herbs from the Mediterranean and Aotearoa, blending the culinary histories of Julien and Michael. On the nose of this gin savour kawakawa and notes of lemon, orange, and grapefruit with a touch of thyme lurking in the background. On tasting, the kawakawa is dominant, but the thyme comes to the fore along with layers of sage, liquorice and tarata.
Hibiscus Gin – instantly recognisable thanks to its distinctive pink hue, this gin is fruity, smooth and slightly sweeter than the other two. It’s a unique recipe and naturally coloured by macerating hibiscus petals in the gin following distillation.
Horopito Gin – this gin is remarkable for the separation of flavours as they hit in four waves: First the citrus, then cardamom, then cinnamon and finally there’s the piquancy of horopito. The pair describe it like ‘a rollercoaster for the tastebuds’.
Among the No8 collection is Absinthe -1926, a recipe dating back to 1926 made and passed down by Julien’s family from their family distilling business in France. Flavour-maestro Michael says tasting Absinthe -1926 is like being smacked in the face with a log of soft-eating liquorice.
Sustainability and being kind to the environment underpin the ethos that this pair live by and not surprisingly it's entwined in No8 Distillery. The beautiful No 8 bottles can be refilled and swapped at No8 and receive a $5 return credit. They chose eco paper for their labels and they aim to be zero waste. This means choosing to use second grade fruit such as apricots and walnuts from Otago Farmers Market, which are often rejected as imperfect by consumers but are full of flavour for spirits making. Where possible they choose organic fruit and ingredients. The botanic mash left after spirits are made goes to a worm farm and any excess fruit is made into marmalade.
Tasting Experiences
Dog With Two Tails is the perfect venue for Dunedin locals and city visitors to sample No8 Distillery drinks. Either in cocktails, specially created to showcase the spirits’ flavours, or ‘Trust the Bartender’ and order a mystery shot for $5 or sample three for $13.
Try the ‘No8 Tasting’ a 45 minute discovery of the secrets behind No8 artisan spirits, tasting a selection of gin and liqueur as well as a delicious cocktail. $25 per person.
Trainee mixologists will be lining up for the ‘Cocktail Workshop’, a hands-on cocktail class with Julien, demonstrating basic cocktail methods that can be used at home. The 75 minute workshop requires at least two people and includes finger food. $50 per person.
Michael is also a regular at the No8 Distillery stand at Otago Farmers’ Market each Saturday, regaling the market-goers with tall tales while giving out tastings of the No8 wares.
No8 Distillery gins, rum and liqueurs can be purchased online at https://www.no8distillery.com/ or at Dog With Two Tails, Otago Farmers’ Market, Black Market, Liquor Society and Whisky and more.