The Trusts Stadium becomes home for Bonifant and Saxby It's been called futuristic and "second-to-none" but for Auckland catering company Bonifant and Saxby the newly opened The Trusts Stadium in Waitakere City is simply home. Cynthia Daly caught up with Pater Bonifant and his executive chef Gordon Sutherland to see what all the fuss is about. It's only a few days to the official opening of The Trusts Stadium in Waitakere City, West Auckland by the Prime Minister the Rt Hon Helen Clark and everywhere contractors are putting in the finishing touches. Yet in the main kitchen, that will need to produce not only a formal lunch for the Prime Minister but enough food to literally feed an army, there is an uncanny calm before the storm. According to Bonifant and Saxby executive chef Gordon Sutherland, the Storm doesn't exist. Having been born into the catering industry (his father was a caterer for New Zealand Forest Products and his mother was caterer for Victoria University and Wellington University) and with years of restaurant experience and catering for large numbers, Gordon is just working through the processes for the opening. He sits and chats while Bonifant and Saxby owner/operator Peter Bonifant comes and goes, answering mobile phone calls from future clients, now that my tour of the $28 million stadium is complete. The name Bonifant and Saxby is generally associated with movie location catering - their latest contract was with the makers of The Lion, Witch and The Wardrobe - so their new venue, as exclusive caterers for The Trusts Stadium, is completely different. To be really honest, the contract for The Trusts Stadium was one of those unexpected situations that turned out fantastically. The stadium was due to open under the catering prestige of Hamilton company Montana Catering but eight months before completion, Montana decided to forgo The Trusts Stadium to concentrate solely on its contract with Waikato Stadium. Bonifant and Saxby got wind of this golden opportunity while catering for the Waitakere Businessman of the Year. "We'd looked at North Harbour Stadium and then this came along and we thought 'this is us'. We wanted a nice challenge that didn't involve lugging too much food out of vans so we were looking for a nice kitchen with a base," saya Bonifant. With an impressive portfolio of past achievements, they secure the contract. The Trusts Stadium facilities include a 500-seat function centre, six indoor courts, a health and fitness gymnasium, creche, rock climbing wall and a sporting wall of fame. Seating capacity at the stadium is 5000. Outside the complex includes an all-weather standard international running track along with rugby and soccer fields. Bonifant says: "So when we got hold of the contract, Wildfire Specialty Restaurant Systems, who are a kitchen design company had gone most of the way down the track with Montana Catering Company. Montana obviously helped plan it using their catering experience. When Gordon and I got hold of the plans we thought 'well, they've done a good job'. The kitchen had been modelled on their stadium, (Waikato Stadium) in Hamilton and Wildfire had designed Jade (Jade Stadium in Christchurch) and so there wasn't a lot to be done." The catering facilities consist of the main kitchen for functions and fine dining, cafe, four concessions and a sports bar. Wildfire Speciality Restaurant Systems completed their design and layout in these areas by sourcing the right equipment and suppliers for each areas specific requirements. Sutherland explains that the kitchen is designed to function with the minimum amount of fuss allowing the staff to create good quality food of the highest standard and presentation. Everything is hi-tech in this central based kitchen system. A single Convotherm oven system with a 24-tray roll-in rack forms the backbone of the cooking plant complemented with four Bakbar G32 baking ovens and three Alto-Shaam double cavity holding ovens. Waldorf products complete with the kitchen system eight deep fryers at 60kg/per hour, one 80-litre bratt pan and a six-burner stove top. Stainless steel benched wrap around the wall leaving the flow area. Storage space for dry goods has been kept to a minium because the bulk of ingredients are bought in fresh. The Starline dishwasher operates on conveyor belt washing and drying 1000 dishes per hour with a grease converter to prevent waste going down the sink. A fully metred detergent system installed by Jasol eliminates excess use of cleaning products. Use is recorded on computer for a break down of cost and easy ordering. Sutherland is particularly proud of the kitchen's single freezer. Why? Because of its size (not much bigger than a domestic fridge freezer) and the fact that he only has one freezer for the main kitchen. "We don't need lots of freezer space because everything we prepare is bought in fresh usually within a day or so of the event." Once the prep work is complete the food is cooked to exact requirements so that it is at premium condition, plated up, then put in the blast freezer to rapidly reduce the temperature before vacuum sealing and placing in the chiller. On an average day catering for a dinner for 600, preparation will start at about 10am. Sutherland says knowing timeframes, portion numbers of ordering and preparation, and recipe plans make the whole process straight-forward. "I've done kitchens, the most I've had is 105 chefs and from years of training it's in my head. And like with covering, we have no idea exactly how the concessions are going to operate or how many covers their going to do. So I've organised through our suppliers to deliver refrigerated trucks so they are carrying 50 percent more stock than I estimate they are going to use so I can draw on that at anytime. After two events I'll be able to nail it down to the exact number of chips that I need to buy in, to the number of hamburgers we need to make." In designing the concessions, Wildfire considered ways of elevating build-up of queues during interval breaks. By using front opening heated self-service cabinets, chips, hot dogs and other hot food items can be prepared in advance ready for the interval. With hot food service areas and beverage fridges located in a flow-on pattern, customers can grab-and-go, paying at one of the cashier stations on their way out. Preparation facilities in these areas include racks for stacking baskets of chips next to the fryers ready for cooking. Sutherland says staff wise they have plenty to cope with demand and will adjust numbers depending on demand.