Now we're cooking with...fire?!

The first day at orientation for most new employees of an entity the size of SkyCity would involve lots of speaking with a lesser percentage of one on one time with a superior. I was greeted today by Craig who I interviewed with a few weeks back in Queenstown. Craig showed me most if not a vast majority of spaces where new bars (most under his direct supervision) and restaurants are opening or have opened in the last few days and the wonderful space where the Family of XII bar will be staged. The bar, still having been kept a secret until the press is allowed in at the beginning of next week is phenomenal.(pics to come once opened) It is not complete but having said that it's all coming together and Craig and I spent time discussing ideas, possible problems and even better solutions for the functionality of the wine bar. The fact that he even considered to ask what I thought shows how much the entire crew from top to bottom care about the success of these establishments during the RWC and after. Luckily, I was allowed into the XO bar which is normally reserved for casino whales, high end AMEX clients and anyone with a pair of lustrous Italian leathers and a bank roll in their pocket. Bottles of Prenfolds Grange from numerous different vintages and Chateau d,Yquem line a private skybridge across to a level on the sky tower reserved for elitists. Hand blown glass bulbs on circular mounts adorn the circumference of the bar. Valued at 20K NZ a piece accompanied by marble vanities, the XO is high society at it's peak.


Just as everything was sorted and we were grooving for the end of orientation alarms started going off. Shrill sirens followed by a KIWI voice depicting an early alert system bellowed over the PA system. Some gamblers ran from their tables but most kept their cool until asked to evacuate. We walked outside and gathered in a large group at the base of the SkyTower as fire engine after fire engine pulled up and fighters ran in. Apparently, a gas leak turned into quite a substantial fire in one of the kitchens. Initially when hearing "THIS IS AN EARLY WARNING BROADCAST, WERE IN THE PROCESS OF IDENTIFYING THE EMERGENCY", I thought it was an earthquake warning system associated with the potential of an incoming Tsunami. Stupid American! Everything was all good and as far as I know, no one was injured.

I think I might have found the perfect flat situated a fifteen minute walk from work up on Ponsonby Rd. but I'll find out tomorrow if I will be a good fit for the Scotsman and Englishman that already live there. It has a bed, wadrobe and all amenities but if it goes south I have a back up plan across town in Grafton that might be a better fit. Cost of living is extremely high, but as I've been told and whole heartedly agree it's the lifestyle you're paying for, as most New Zealanders do.

On another high note, Cameron worked at Meredith's last night where his wine list shares the spot light with Michael Meredith's fare. The restaurant which accommodates about 40 seats was recently named best restaurant in NZ by Cuisine magazine. Cameron called my last night while on the floor and asked if I'd be interested in pulling a few shifts. "At NZ's best restaurant?", "Nah, I don't think I can pencil it in". Unfortunately, when they need help currently conflicts with my first week with Family of Twelve but hopefully in the future I will have the opportunity to work with the best. Www.Meredith's.co.NZ.

Time to study the 36 wines I'll be serving at the XII bar. Check back in soon.

Oh, Kiwi is back from his stint in Fiji and is spending some time with his new friend Oliver.

Advantages of crashing at a Master Sommelier's house

Hospitality and making someone feel welcome has always come naturally to me but I have been one upped in tremendous fashion. Cameron and his partner of 25 years Janet have hosted me for two days now and I feel like family. Tasting amazing wines, having wonderful meals with "flat white" coffees followed by biscotti and then tea at the end of the evening is of common occurence here. I could think of no better place to start my stay in a big city in a new country. Not to knock my friends down south for their luxurious couches but sleeping in a bed again has done wonders for the quality and length of sleep I've been getting.

I'm on the hunt the majority of the day to find a flat to rent out in time for the job to start but I'm coming up empty so far. No calls back yet but I'm confident something will come up soon. Probably going to live in a fun suburb near the city centre because living right near work would be excessively expensive for both room and parking. But, I especially have no worries because the Douglas's have had backpackers come through their place before and have told me not to rush in finding the right place. I'm being as uninvasive as possible but it's hard to feel like a burden when you feel right at home.

Probably going to go sit in on one of Cameron's classes at Auckland University tomorrow; Janet is lecturing because Cameron is judging wines the next two days at an event for small single vineyard producers. Life is pretty shabby right now, let me tell you...haha. They've also been kind enough to invite me down to their friends place in late October for a weekend away. Simon Wolley at the moment is producing one of if not the finest still and sparkling artesian water in New Zealand sourced from NZ's highest and deepest well in Whakatane. The name is Antipodes and it's really good stuff. The company and it's processes are certified carboNZERO from aquifer to anywhere in the world so you don't have to worry about shipping it to your table back in the states!

RocKin & RoLLin

The Arahura or "pathway to dawn" is the oldest of three ships linking the north and south islands of NZ and the one I'm currently onboard now. I was somewhat pissed when the earlier sailings had booked full and I had to take the night trip across the Cook Strait but now I'm not so agitated. It's cold and even a great view would be ruined by the stiff Antarctic air over New Zealand right now. Apparently the views are amazing but I'd rather wait for summer to hit in a few months. The pitching and rolling of the ship reminds me of a much slower version of closing my eyes and being put into attitude awareness training for flying. Backing into a ships hull for the first time looking over my left shoulder was an experience as well.

Earlier today when I was trying to kill time in Picton I decided to play slots at a local pub. As some of you know I'm terrible at gambling and playing cards. I know I have An obvious tell but won't disclose it here. Also the fact that when I have a cocktail or two I come to the delirious conclusion that I will win because I deserve to win. Haha, what naive nonsense. With this in mind I decide to spend a ten spot on killing hopefully an hour of time. I'm fifteen minutes into a game at a Mickey's pub with fifteen slots playing a game I have no idea how to play and it happens. The machine starts making more frequent and unusual sounds then before and says I have ten free spins....then twenty....and it starts spinning and I just sit. Every time it spins I win. And win big considering it's a two cent slot machine. I continue to sit there in disbelief, mainly because I never had this happen to me before and watch the total keep climbing with each spin....on a game I don't understand! Bam! 5min later and $200 up it asks if I want to double up? Hell no. I grab the waitress (who is also the bartender and apparently the pit boss) and she shells me out $200NZ. Not bad for fifteen minutes of work. This so concludes the first and only time Stephen MacKay will ever cheat the gambling system and it was glorious!

You know it's victory at sea when then passenger cabin is noticeably above and below you onboard a pretty lengthy ship. Hope the car is secured as the captain announces we will be expecting less than favorable conditions on the voyage tonight...should have bought the patch..oh well...wine will suffice. Hold onto your kids people I can hear the bow smacking against waves.

Catch ya on the flip side if we make it. I'd rather be experiencing violent turbulence in an airplane listening to Metallica than this. Sea legs go!

Inter-Islander

Sitting in Picton after a easy coastal drive waiting for the inter islander ferry to depart. Nothing new to report but here are a few photographs from this morning.

Shaky Ground

Hello all! Warm regards from the chilly east coast of NZ. I'm currently in Kaikoura for the evening until morning hits and I take the ferry from Picton to Wellington. Staying at a lovely little inn for the night where the hospitality is quite something as is the surfing apparently. Going to fall asleep in a bit to the sound of crashing waves and the taste of poor man's lobster in my mouth. (First one to emAil me what PML actually is gets an amazing postcard). Travels today went smoothly although some areas of the drive were a little sketchy. Two snowy passes, and winding twisting mountain roads along the coastline at night have drained my mental capacity for continuing to drive on the left side of the road safely tonight. Wanted to get to Picton tonight but I had one close enough call to make me think otherwise with waves crashing over sea walls while it rains and compact semi-trucks pass me at 100kph. Started seeing stuff and the lack of radio probably wasn't helping either. Excited to see the view in the morning but have nothing to show for the drive to the coast the weather was right on the deck today.

Drove through Christchurch late this afternoon which sadly is still reeling after that 6.3 quake in February that killed 181 people and frightened some 26,000 residents into moving elsewhere within this island nation. Roads are still torn up and Downtown CC looks like a war zone with buildings badly damaged or still being torn down. Nothing is open in the city centre except for a few shops as I'm sure some of the larger buildings are inhabitable due to damage. Things move a little slower down here that's for sure. There is Park City time and then there is Kiwi time. The ground is always moving on the Pacific Ring of Fire, in fact an earthquake just happened less than an hour ago with a magnitude of 3.8 with an epicenter 80km west of Christchurch. Www.geonet.org.NZ. Nothing to write home about really but makes one conscious of how volatile this region can be.

Drove by one of the wineries I will be representing in Auckland today and tried to drop in and maybe get a bite and maybe a bed but no one was home or they say a grungy twenty something in the rain and decided not to open their massive Beverley Hills gate. Pegasus Bay winery in Waiapara, North Canterbury. www.pegasusbay.com. Would have loved to hop in and tell the owners on my way through what my plans are. Hopefully I will see them in Auckland.

Off to bed for now but I'll catch up tomorrow hopefully when I stop. Leave you with a photograph of one of the CC churches trying to be salvaged.

360

The only time I used the metric system in my life was with Ski Jumping pertaining to weight, height and distance. Down here all I know is to never go over 100 kilometers and hour or face a serious ticket and I've all but forgotten the conversion to Celsius so I'll just got with cold for now. It snowed somewhere in the vicinity of a foot last night, maybe a bit more in places. In Utah that amount is shrugged at but here it is rejoiced and also feared. Everyone has snow chains no matter what pedigree of vehicle they are driving. My arrogance having driven Subaru's for the majority of the last nine years led me to believe I didn't need to put mine on and, Wow, did I feel like an idiot when I started sliding down this "S" shaped turn near where I'm staying. The typical thoughts running through my head, "don't brake", "power through" and "please, don't let me fuck this up" but the wheels still went opposite of what I was guiding the steering wheel to do. Talk about an akward experience sliding by groups of people photographing one crash as another seems to be occurring. Hyenas and paparazzi would look juvenile compared to this carnage starved group. I keep fighting and giving it gas but to no avail and helplessly keep spinning. A group of three cars crunched together are all but in my path, and their drivers already having tasted defeat are watching with the lot of photographers. Apparently this is an event after a big snowfall in Queenstown and I obviously didn't get the message. I give up and anticipate the sound of screeching metal
but it never happens. I spin all the way around, correct, and drive out of the debacle, unscathed. All I can manage to do is throw a thumbs up to a passing driver who witnessed the event and laugh. The snow is not fluffy, dry and wondrous here so I put the chains on and will keep them on.

Off to Wanaka tomorrow for a goodbye to Lance and Annabelle then the trip north via car to Auckland commences. Hopefully the weather subsides as expected tomorrow morning.

Family of Twelve

Brisk and chilly morning here in QT and I'm enjoying a huge latte up against the docks of Lake Wakatipu (google maps). The last few days have been very interesting around here as it seems I might finally be out of the haze and in full view of what I will be doing the next few months down here. As most of you know I'm big into wine over the course of the last few years and have been lucky enough to be in touch with Cameron Douglas, NZ's one and only Master Sommelier who recommended me for a job up in Auckland. I had my Skype interview a few days back for the position that runs during the Rugby World Cup serving some of New Zealand's finest most prestigious wines from the Family of Twelve and I though the interview went extremely well. www.Familyoftwelve.co.NZ Family of Twelve is a collaboration of 12 wineries throughout the diverse wine growing regions of NZ that have come together to showcase the breadth, depth and high quality nature of NZ's best made wines. The inaugural installment on their home turf will feature 36 wines and two bubbles and hopefully I will be one of a few selected to serve, discuss and play with these works of art. I'll keep you posted after the weekend.

Played my first actual game on NZ Ice Wednesday night and it blew me away how good these guys are. Given I've only been on skates all of about 6 months I played on the High School team and pretty much embarrassed myself with skating skills that lack basic fundamentals a Penguin could figure out. Had a couple good stretch passes to some kids and thankfully was on the receiving end of a pass across the slot that I banged home on a backhand shot lifting my spirits and putting the team up by two goals. That salvaged what little pride I had left with no feeling in my feet and a heart trying to lunge from it's cage in my chest. Crash the net and good things happen. At least they all invited me back to play again next week probably out of pity but man is it fun!

Took a great boat ride yesterday thanks to Danna's BF Ryan whom I've been staying with the last few days in QT. I met Danna in Auckland upon my arrival and since she works for Lululemon I instantly had a connection of which they've been kind enough to help me out as much as they can. No matter where people are from down here it seems everyone is appreciative of everyone else. Couch surfing, hitchhiking and buying a round for a stranger are commonplace and I'm starting to fall in love with the vibe down here. Summer is just around the corner and I can't imagine how much fun its going to be. Anyway, the ship is called the T.S.S Earnslaw which is a twin screw steamer as old as the Titanic would have been had it not sunk. Traveled on it over to Walter's Peak across the lake to witness and experience a Border Collie named Meg stare down and herd sheep to come in for their annual shear. Amazing experience that I believe can only truly be appreciated in person. Red deer, Scottish Highland cattle and Alpacas were also residents or this functioning farm which holds numerous weddings throughout the year because the view is beyond breathtaking.

Who knows what the rest of the day will bring and hopefully I'll be driving up to Auckland in the next week. Catch up soon!

7679 Miles From Home

It's quite funny to feel lonely just seven thousand miles from home when we all live on a minuscule ball of dirt, fire and gas, with no glimpse of where our universe ends (or begins). It puts into perspective how meaningless our lives truly are but makes important the living of them to the fullest, whilist in harmony with our fellow man. I have a smile on my face 98.6% of the time I'm here but lack that extra grin because I haven't been able to share this experience with anyone yet. It is quite something here. Big mountain ranges with passes eclipsing thousands of meters above the valley floor with steep, winding switchbacks that make even the most powerful 4x4's lurch on occassion. Haven't skiied yet but played a game of hockey in QT yesterday! The ice was shotty at best but I wasn't expecting NHL caliber ice down here anyway, nor should I. The rink is much smaller than normal rinks and tiny compared to international ice but the gals and guys playing were quick and danced circles on occasion. Had a blast and then survived my first night drive on the left side up from QT over the Crown Range Pass. A few Rabbits tried committing suicide but I did not oblige to their request to die by wheel or bumper. On a high note I bought a Subaru Lancaster today and it was a steal although the navigation system and stero are in Japanese, haha! Mellow night tonight then The Pub Olympics tomorrow evening where Lance is announcing and Wednesday back to the rink in QT for my first actual game. Until next time, cheers from 17 hours ahead...leave you with a pic of the sun setting in Queenstown yesterday.

Wanaka

Auckland was amazing throughout the first week of this grand adventure and I left having made some new friends including one who is an aspiring stunt woman having her first "full burn" today.  Now I sit in Wanaka surrounded by a glacial lake and snow capped mountains, the terrain is "big" around here and I cannot wait to ski some of the resorts near us.  The food is phenomenal thus far, as is the wine.  I had a four course tasting menu a few days back at Orbit, the revolving restaurant at the top of the Sky Tower in Auckland and it was absurdly delicious.  Mussel Soup, Poached John Dory, Braised Beef Cheeks all paired to perfection with some wines from around NZ.  However, I think Wanaka is too quaint and too far of a commute to Queenstown for my upcoming hockey games for me to live here indefinitely.

On a very cool note, I spoke to the Master Sommelier I've been in contact with and he offered me a place to crash upon my arrival to Auckland when I go back next.  Things are clicking down here and I leave you with a picture of the view this morning as the sun crept over the range.