Venue: Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre
Event: Menu Launch Dinner
Event Design & Styling: Kim Chan Events
Location: Christchurch, New Zealand

The Brief

For the launch of Te Pae Christchurch Convention Centre's new menu, the event design needed to do more than simply make the room look beautiful.

The dinner was designed around Place, Provenance & Flavour, celebrating the local landscape, ingredients and stories behind the menu.

Our role was to translate that story into an environment guests could experience - connecting what they saw around them with the food being served.

The Design

The dining tables were configured in a dramatic X shape, forming the foundation of the concept: “X Marks the Spot.”

The X represented the places and provenance behind the menu - connecting guests with where the local ingredients on their plates came from.

At the intersection of the X, a large sculptural tree created the central anchor. From there, natural elements and locally inspired ingredients flowed along the tables, helping tell the story of Canterbury's landscape and produce - from the mountains to the sea.

Rather than simply decorating the tables, the design turned the dining environment into part of the menu story. The layout, planting, ingredients and styling all worked together to connect place, provenance and flavour.

The Result

The result was a distinctive corporate dining environment that brought Te Pae's new menu story to life while allowing the food, people and purpose of the evening to remain at the centre of the experience.

For Kim Chan Events, the project reflects our approach to event design: understand the story first, then use the space, styling and details to help tell it.

Kim Chan Events specialises in corporate event styling, conference styling, gala dinners and event design in Christchurch and throughout New Zealand.