Ten lucky people were recently treated with a traditional Japanese dinner at a private home in Wānaka. The dinner was one of the major prizes auctioned off at the 2019 Hirepool Charity Golf Tournament, which was this year in aid of the Wānaka Fire Brigade. Bruno and Yumi Sasaki, owners of the popular local restaurant Sakanoki Kitchen, donated their time to prepare and cook for the whole evening, which was thoroughly enjoyed by the successful bidders.

Yumi Sasaki was thrilled to be able to cook for the event, they said that, “The course consisted of five parts… I included a sense of the seasons in all of the dishes, which is ‘fresh green' of this early summer…  I wanted to contribute the taste of home cooking — the original essence of Japanese food — that grandmothers and mothers from generation to generation cooked and made their families happy.”

The Mediterranean Market also donated some of the food and participants were able to enjoy some of the very popular wines from Maude Wines who also made a generous contribution.

All who attended agreed that it was a wonderful opportunity to donate to a worthy cause and derive considerable pleasure in participating in such a unique event. Hosts John and Penny Wilson were delighted with the success of the evening and commented on how people are happy to donate generously particularly if they are rewarded with evenings such as this.