All we want for Christmas is a new head chef

Missioner Diane Robertson. Photo / Janna Dixon

One week from Christmas Day, the Auckland Mission needs a chef to oversee a festive feed for close to 2000 people.

The Mission has previously relied on a long-serving caterer and on the goodwill of the armed services, but this year they have no one to run their enormous commercial kitchen.

Missioner Diane Robertson has been desperately visiting and phoning people in the food industry, trying to find anyone who can help.

This year, the lunch is being held at the Viaduct Events Centre in downtown Auckland. The mission expects up to 1800 people to turn up for the sit-down midday meal.

Some 450 volunteers have already been assigned their tasks, and the food has all been provided for, said Robertson.

"The food is there, the equipment is there, the volunteers are fully-subscribed. All they need is the conductor - someone to walk them through the process."

That special someone would have plenty of experience working with big equipment in an industrial-sized kitchen.

Robertson said the chef would have to work on Christmas Eve from 8am to 2pm, when much of the food was prepared. On Christmas Day the hours were 6am to 10.30am.

This year's menu includes ham, chicken, roast potato and kumara, beans and carrots, with jelly and ice cream for dessert, followed by Christmas cake. Every diner would receive a Christmas gift.

Lauraine Jacobs, past president of the Guild of Food Writers and Listener food editor, said it was a huge job to take on.

Jacobs has already donated 100kg of kumara to the Mission Christmas lunch.

Celebrity caterer Sue Fleischl agreed that the task should not be underestimated.

"I've seen restaurant chef and cafe chefs trying to be caterers and they've been overawed by the scale of the co-ordination required."

Can you help? Email the city missioner: diane.r@aucklandcitymission.org.nz