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New Zealand Picnic

Bailliage of Wellington, New Zealand
Wellington, February 5, 2023

Picnic 'en blanc'
" Each picnic box contained a seven-piece savoury and three-piece dessert selection "

At a picturesque farm setting in a valley close to the city, members, their partners and guests gathered under the trees for a picnic ‘en blanc’. It’s the first time the Bailliage has held such an event. What’s more it was Wellington’s first event of 2023 having been postponed from 2022.

The event opened with Champagne Moutard. After a ‘photo shoot’ we walked to a bower of trees next to our hosts Craig Shepherd and Julie Sammut’s house. Our event was a fund raiser for their 12-hectare bird sanctuary.

In accord with the ‘en blanc’ tradition established in Paris, participants wore white and ate goodies from a picnic box prepared by a leading catering company.

Each picnic box contained a seven-piece savoury and three-piece dessert selection. The accompanying French wines were a Provençal rosé, an Alsace Pinot Gris and a fruitful Beaujolais.

Savoury selection:
- goat’s curd and potato tart
- scallop carpaccio
- beef terrine
- chicken liver parfait in a filo tartlet
- eggplant with mozzarella and capsicum
- confit duck pops and a salmon rillette on a blini.

Dessert:
- macaron filled with dark chocolate and passion fruit
- rhubarb and berry crumble
- lemon meringue tartlet.

Bailli Helen Meehan said the idea was to combine “sophistication, good food, good wine and great ambience. The food must be of excellent quality and all participants have to wear white, be seated at white tables, with white cloths and white napkins.”

She noted while the idea had originated in Paris it had now spread worldwide. “It is an event that epitomises the values of the Chaîne,” she said.

Given the very positive reception from members and guests, picnic ‘en blanc’ may very well become an annual event for the Bailliage.

John Bishop
Chargé de Presse

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