By 
Cathie Hamilton and Diana Arnold, both recent newcomers to New Zealand have cooked up a new tourism promotion to help extend the stay of visitors to Hawke’s Bay.
“After a talk by Hawke’s Bay Tourism about their Hidden gems campaign, - aimed at encouraging visitors to stay that extra night by doing something more here – and an activity, or experience that perhaps they hadn’t thought of before, we thought we could do our bit to encourage visitors to stay one more night” – commented Diana who owns Havelock House in Havelock North.
So many visitors rush through the region, staying only a night or two and we really need to encourage longer staying visitors. People are looking for different experiences – what better than to use what Hawke’s Bay is already famous for its fresh food and fine wines.
Hawke’s Bay local produce from olive oils to olives, cheese and nuts, fresh fruit and vegetables will be featured in Cathie’s original recipes. Guests will go away having learnt how to make simple but sophisticated dishes from scratch with time saving tips from a top chef – Cathie.
Other countries such as Italy and Thailand have been promoting their cookery for years – we have it all here it just takes a small ‘leap of faith to put it in place’
Cathie has the cooking skills – she has been running successful cookery classes in Hawke’s Bay for the past 18 months and is so impressed by the range of fresh food here – “It’s something Hawke’s Bay people don’t always appreciate – in Canada so much of this has been lost – meaning the farmers markets to parking lots!” We have the accommodation adds Diana who opened the Havelock House B&B 3 years ago after they she arrived here from York England with her family.
Guests will stay here and go to Cathie’s for the cooking class followed by dinner paired with local wines. We are hoping to appeal to visitors who want that extra night.
“Visitors love the food and wine here” adds Cathie. “So why not teach them how to use all this fresh produce and when they go home they will impress their friends with the recipes they’ve learnt on the course – and their friends will come to Hawke’s Bay too.”
For more information contact:
Diana Arnold
Havelock House
77 Endsleigh Road
Havelock North
Hawke's Bay 4130
New Zealand
Tel 06 8775439
m. 0211523755
www.havelockhouse.co.nz
or
Cathie Hamilton
Certified Culinary Scientist
Cathie’s Cuisine
06 876 4911
www.cathiescuisine.co.nz
07:09, 01.02.2012
An excellent initiative, well done to both of you.
Three years ago, I attempted to get more people to come over to Hastings to do my Art Deco/Quake during my summer holiday. With the co-operation of the then acting CEO of the Art Deco Trust, and other staff they generously allowed me to market direct to their customers who had just come off their walks.
What I discovered was that most had not even heard of Hastings, let alone it had a plentiful supply of Art Deco. I also discovered that most had booked only one night’s accommodation in Napier just to see Art Deco, and really quite unaware of what else there was in Hawke’s Bay. That was just my experience, but I believe there is some truth here.
A central point for tourists coming into Hawke’s Bay is obviously Art Deco Napier, and more leverage could be made from this, I feel, to encourage visitors “stay an extra night.”
12:55, 07.02.2012
Good luck Cathie – wishing you all the best!
18:27, 02.04.2012
This was a great read. Seriously, keep up the good work.