25 years ago Wellington had no coffee culture and the cool, casual cafe concept so closely associated with Wellington today was almost unknown. L’affare changed all that in 1990, and Wellington’s café scene was on its way.

 

Original owners Jeff Kennedy and Bridget Dunn, previous and current staff members, along with suppliers, customers and other friends of L’affare all came to celebrate the  25^thbirthday   in October. 

  "Ruth was the obvious choice to cater as we have worked  with  Ruth and Paul for so many years; plus their ability to  turn out  fantastic food and provide great service,”  explained  organiser  Cory Hodges. "All the food was great,  but the  suckling pig was  a great hit with the guests. It was  my  favourite,” he smiled.

 

For a nice change, Ruth was a guest while Paul worked. She added "it was great to catch up with blasts from the past L’affare staff and customers and enjoy the party”.

"We were after a casual event, with passarounds, live music 

and a great mix of around 250 people celebrating with us,” said Cory (Marketing) and colleague Olly Lawrence (National Sales Manager, Cafes).

 

 "Nothing says celebration like a suckling  pig, and we had two on spits in the loading  bay, tantalising us with aromas for five  hours before the party started.

 "To keep it casual and encourage guests  to mingle, we had loads of passarounds.  We set up food stations for the pig, served  in soft white baps with salad and  condiments. Obviously, this included Rocket Fuel which L’affare created! There were stations for wine and craft beer, and it was all very relaxed and a lot of fun.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Did you know?

· Ruth Pretty Catering was one of the earliest L’affare customers, and Ruth’s staff continue to be trained by L’affare’s team in top-notch coffee-making.

· The two have worked together on many big projects including New Zealand Expos in Japan and Shanghai, and Team New Zealand VIPs in Valencia for the America’s Cup

· Obsessive cleaning and maintenance of espresso machines is vital, and L’affare staff maintain the Ruth Pretty Kitchen Shop equipment regularly.

· ‘Have espresso machine will travel’ is a shared motto of Ruth Pretty Catering and L’affare, so great coffee can be on hand for events and functions anywhere – just ask!

· Ruth swears she could not get through Toast Martinborough without L’affare coffee boosts!