How did you come up with the idea of a pop-up bistro?

We have been doing pop up winter bistros for the last two years and the idea came from reading about New York trends. It was a way of doing something exciting in the winter months to keep our staff employed and doing something different from the normal catering work.



Why did you choose Hagley Park?

The council have set up an Events Village for the Christchurch Arts Festival and leading into World Cup, and as our potential secret venues have all been destroyed we decided to book the dome in the Events Village and run five nights consecutively.



Local restaurants The Bicycle Thief and Restaurant Schwass are currently closed as a result of the earthquake, tell us about their involvement in the project.

They are both great restaurants that we are missing so thought it would be fun to host them. We will create the menus together in their style and they can walk the floor and reconnect with their clients. It’s about helping each other keep our brands alive. 



Why did you choose to support The Court Theatre with proceeds from the event?

We have a love affair with the Court and we are sponsors, and the sooner we get it back up and running the better. We need to get our social life back to normal as soon as possible and we need to start laughing again. The Court helps us do that.



What do you hope the bistro will bring to residents of Christchurch?

Somewhere fun to go and a reason to get together with friends; Joie de vivre.



What will be on offer for diners?

Great comfort food, wines by the glass, great prices, lots of happy waiting staff and an atmosphere of celebration. We will decorate [the area] with large trees, which we are calling our thanksgiving trees and on each table will be pen and paper so people can hang notes in the trees.

The White Tie Dome Bistro runs from August 2 – August 6, 2011. Bookings are essential and can be made at magic@whitetiecatering.co.nz or 03 365 2837.