Celebrity chef Peta Mathias is pictured preparing lunch for her gastronomic tour of Hawke's Bay and Auckland, with EIT scholarship winner John Bland.
Tour members were told to buy ingredients without knowing what others would buy but a "great" lunch eventuated, tour co-ordinator Rosie Maskell said.
The tour was sold out thanks to a group of 10 family and friends of the O'Riordan and Lillard families in Colorado.
Ms Mathias said they were impressed with their Black Barn accommodation and spending Valentine's Day with several couples was "very special".