Participating in the Award Winning ‘Art Flow’  

From Left Back: President of the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts Wayne Newman, Technical Director of Le Cordon Bleu New Zealand Chef Sebastien Lambert, Artist Min Kim, Avancé Culinaire student Panadda, Grand Diplôme student Brigitta, DoubleTree by Hilton Wellington Front Office Manager Marco Cofre.

Art Flow is an innovative collaboration between DoubleTree by Hilton Wellington and the New Zealand Academy of Fine Arts. Guests enjoy a curated three course dinner surrounded by beautiful art with the featured artist present to explain their process and provide a live demonstration. This years Art Flow partnered with Le Cordon Bleu New Zealand to provide a dessert fit for a gallery.

Brigitta and Panadda in the Gratize kitchen (left) Chef Sebastien Lambert introducing the dessert (right).

Held at Grazie Italiano Restaurant, located in DoubleTree by Hilton Wellington, one of our exceptional students was invited to craft a Sicilian-inspired dessert. Panadda is a Grand Diplôme graduate and current Diplôme Avancé Culinaire in Pâtisserie student that is known for her exceptional work ethic and warm personality. She worked tirelessly behind the scenes to create a stunning dessert that was served to over 50 guests with the support of our Technical Director Chef Sebastien Lambert and Grand Diplôme student Brigitta.

Artist Min Kim providing a live demonstration of her process.

The featured artist of the evening was Min Kim, a South Korean artist that studied in Florence, Italy, and now lives in New Zealand. Min fuses her upbringing and experiences travelling to create stunning oil and watercolour paintings. With her many extraordinary works inspired by the streets of Italy, Grazie Italiano Restaurant was the perfect location to showcase her talents.

Panadda with the final plating of her dessert ‘Sicilian Sunrise’

Panadda’s dessert, Sicilian Sunrise, is the culmination of countless iterations and concepts. The central item is ricotta sweet cream on almond dacquoise, topped with a layer of grapefruit gel. Surrounding the dacquoise is sliced grapefruit, grapefruit compote, saffron grapefruit sponge, grapefruit Campari sorbet, Pistachio Streusel Opaline, and Coffee Caviar. Sicily is famous for its fresh grapefruit with deep pink colouring, a clear inspiration in Panadda's design process.

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“This was a fantastic opportunity to allow ourstudents to showcase not only the skills and techniques learned here at Le Cordon Bleu New Zealand, but to also demonstrate their own creativity. Panadda was the one to create this beautiful and well-balanced dish, the fact that the team from Gratize and DoubleTree by Hilton Wellington sought us as a partner demonstrates the quality and passion of our students. Collaborations like this are essential to our mission to have our students excel within the industry.”

Technical Director Chef Sebastien Lambert

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Panadda is currently in the final stages of her Industry placement at Bellamys Restaurant, a fine dining establishment located in New Zealand’s parliament. It is clear that she has all the attributes of a future culinary leader and is already an inspiration to her peers. This year's Art Flow has been awarded for Innovative Collaboration in competition with hotels from across New Zealand and the Pacific in the 2025 HM Awards. We are proud to have been a part of this unique dining experience and will continue to work closely with industry and provide more opportunities for our students.

Learn more about our Grand Diplôme.