Manaakitanga with a capital M

Waitangi Treaty Grounds has appointed Aaron Stott (Ngati Porou) as Executive Chef. Aaron has 29 years of hospitality experience having worked in Executive and Head Chef roles in Wellington, London, St Petersburg and Moscow.

CEO Greg McManus is excited about the new appointment. “Aaron is going to take hospitality at Waitangi to the next level. With his background as an international chef and strong connections to New Zealand, his initial focus will be on conferences and events, as well as Whare Waka Café. We opened Tahuaroa Function Centre last year and have hosted over 70 events to date. Organisations choose Waitangi for their events because not only can we cater for functions and conferences of all sizes and offer excellent onsite hospitality, we can add special experiences such as private pōwhiri, behind the scenes museum tours, workshops and tailor-made cultural experiences”.

Recent events include the 3-day Te Hono Conference held in a number of locations across the Treaty Grounds: Tahuaroa Function Centre, the Waitangi Learning Centre, Whare Waka Café and two large marquees, hosting a hāngi evening and gala dinner. The QRC Tai Tokerau Resort College pōwhiri was held at Waitangi welcoming 170 new students for this years’ tourism and leadership courses and planning is under way for other major events booked over the next two years.

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