My LONG, LONG, LONG, Longest Table

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away… A girl named Bree had a life changing experience that could only be described as divine intervention.

In my early twenties, I decided to move to Scotland.
Even though, until this point I was camping out on a friend’s floor in London, and had before then been travelling around Mexico with nothing but an oversized back pack… Man, I had a lot of stuff.
I mean, a freakin LOT.
How I’d accumulated so much, is beyond me, it’s absolutely the bane of my husband’s existence these days that I’m truly incapable of ever travelling light.
I had with me, my (huge) backpack, 4 extra travel bags (WTF?) and my all, important handbag which I clung to for dear life, as within its tan suede satchel interior lay my passport, wallet, camera and pretty much every other important document or personal item that ordinarily at home, would lie within a deadlocked safe.

Anyhoo, two of my good friends had just arrived into London town and we were due to fly to Edinburgh the following day.
My good friend who I was staying with, Gemma, was hot-tailing it to Canadian shores, so the three of us were off to stay with another friend on the other side of London for the evening.

1 bus, 2 tubes and 1 taxi later…
We arrive at our destination.
As I reach for my handbag to pay my share of the Taxi, I have a major heart palpitation when I realize that in the throngs of all the bags I’d just shipped from the North to the South…
Where the hell is my handbag?
OH. MY. GOD!
We set about tearing the Taxi to pieces.
After checking, then checking again, then checking one last time, we realize… my bag is not in this vehicle, and furthermore could now be just about anywhere in London.
Ok, I tell myself, stay calm. Get the hell back to the station, it’s probably there…
No. It wasn’t.
I remember standing in the station. The walls were closing in on me. Panic Attack.
How. Could. This. Happen…? Just breathe…

We return to our friend’s house, where I immediately fall into a heap and have the most major meltdown of my life.
I was inconsolable.
My friends did not know what to do. They stood there helpless, watching me with wide eyes, never before seeing me like this and wondering what the hell we were going to do.
In a moment of sheer desperation, especially considering I’ve never been religious… I dropped to my knees and screamed to the Heavens…

“Dear God, if you do indeed exist. PLEASE return my belongings to me… I will do anything. I will dedicate myself to charity and helping mankind! I swear it!!”

Literally 30 seconds later (this is not a word of a lie) the phone rang…
In my handbag, I had a little Casio organizer with all of my important phone numbers in it (No, I didn’t have a mobile… much to everyone’s annoyance).
On the line, was the mother of a good friend in Adelaide.
She was calling on behalf of the station master at Shepherds Bush.
Apparently my bag had made its way on a fantastical journey around London and had taken up residence on a tube where, fresh from the horrors of 911, an unmanned handbag (even one that was as desirable looking as this) was considered a threat and therefore out of the hundreds of passengers that had been in its midst, there was not a single one who was game enough to unzip it and investigate the contents.

My belongings had been returned.
My friends (and I…) were in a state of disbelief.
One of them, Kirsty, looked at me intensely, and after exclaiming that she actually could not believe how lucky I was… proceeded to deliver a very stern warning…
“Bree, you better make good on your promise.”

I swore there and then, that I would.

Fast forward 12 years.
I am now living what I would describe as a very fortuitous life. I’m a lucky one.
I have my health, I have an amazing, loving family and I have just won one of the biggest cooking competitions in Australia.
I have been supporting a number of charities for years, but now I actually, really feel like I can make a difference. I want to make a difference.

What has totally blown my mind though, is just how many others out there also want to make a difference.
I am not alone, and it makes me love humans even more than I already did.
This world is a beautiful place with a lot of very beautiful people in it.

Once I signed on for ‘The Longest Table’ I realized pretty, damn quickly, that I could not do it alone.
I did not know where to start though, having never organized an event like this. I wanted it to be a success, and all I knew, in order for this to happen, I would be relying on other individuals to open their hearts and donate what they could to this amazing cause.

I called my friend Jo. She and her husband Adrian own and operate a catering company called G-Spit.
You might remember Jo from ‘MKR Season 4’.
I’m telling you now, Adrian and Jo’s spits are the best charcoal BBQ’s you will ever encounter. Even Manu, the French God himself has one, because the charcoaled meat that they produce is seriously, next to Godliness.
They were immediately ready to help. They wanted to help.

Adrian and Jo were not only willing to donate a spit and the charcoal we required for the evening, cook it for me and donate a batch of their amazing seasonings to my auction, but they also had a friend Maria at Murray Valley Pork, who Adrian was going to contact on my behalf to see if they would also be willing to lend a helping hand.

They were.
Maria got on board and donated two massive pork shoulders, so we could have something truly divine on the menu… Porchetta Burgers. Droooool.
Murray Valley Pork is a humane company.
They produce Sow Stall free Pork.
This may mean all or nothing to you, but think of it this way… Pigs have the mentality of a 3 year old child.
Would you trap a 3 year old child for the entire length of his life in a steel cage where he can’t move and sleeps on a concrete floor in his own excrement?
No? Didn’t think so.
We all should think about the Pork on our fork and support the companies and businesses that support more humane practices.
If we are going to farm these beautiful animals, we need to show them the respect and love they deserve.

But, we couldn’t stop at that. We can’t have Portuguese Chicken burgers, without the chicken…

I got in touch with the kindhearted Cassi from Lilydale Chicken who happily donated 8kgs of beautiful thigh meat for the spit.
As you can probably already tell from my previous rant, I’m a big believer in free range and high welfare meat.
I’ve personally been a Lilydale customer for years.
Their products are delicious, and free from nasty added hormones, but there is also much less guilt associated with eating a happy bird that spends its entire life roosting and roaming freely, as nature intended.

So, Pork, tick… Chicken, tick… but, you can’t have a burger without the bread.

I contacted our good friends at Bakers Delight and the amazingly generous Richard from my local Bakers Delight store at Happy Valley, did not think twice about getting onboard.
Richard donated 100 assorted bread rolls as well as extra pull-apart’s and sweet dessert breads.
When I arrived to collect my bounty, the rolls were still hot, fresh from leaving the oven. They were baked especially for my event.
And, when I left the store with my overloaded trolley full of bread, I got a little misty eyed just thinking of the kindness that this event was bringing to my life, straight from the hands of others.

I knew I needed more though. For what is a burger without salads and sauces? Or for that matter, a meal without Starters and Desserts?

I made the trip into my local Drakes Foodland at Aberfoyle Park.
The Manager Mark, was immediately at the ready to lend a helping hand.
I was bequeathed a gift voucher that would more than cover, the cost of any extra groceries I required to feed the hungry masses that would soon be at my door.
The generosity was astounding to me.

So, now we had the food covered, hmmmm… I need to get my guests drunk.
Please don’t get me wrong, I’m a responsible host.
But, when you’re running an event where the whole aim is to get your guests to loosen their purse strings… alcohol is your best friend.

My good friend Ian from Cellarbrations Prospect immediately got on the case.
Literally.
He donated several mixed cases of wine and Coopers Pale Ale beer and then set about making numerous phone calls to his beverage associates to get them on the case too.
He dropped the booty over on Friday night with a box full of wine glasses too. No plastic at this event, we’re living in luxury with glass!

My amazing, life-long friends Megan and Josh, who own and operate the Marion Bay Tavern, were not only guests at the event and already charitable donors to the cause, but they too arrived on the evening with 2 cases of amazing wines and bubbly’s, straight from their cellar.
Megsy was my Mexican travelling partner in crime and now she and her awesome hubby are my ever generous partners in charity. I love you guys so much!

Then, out of the blue… a voice calls my name.
I am busy cleaning my front windows (for who wants guests over with dirty windows…? Not, I.) When the amazing Fleur from The Hills Cider Company arrives on my step.
She is personally delivering 4 cases of their amazingly delicious cider to me (even though she definitely has more pressing engagements… like buying wedding shoes).
I’m in heaven; this is one of my favourite cider drops.
The Pear cider they produce is like biting into a crispy Corella, it’s a flavour explosion in every sip.
I hope your special day was awesome Fleur, many happy returns! X

I also made a phone call to my good friends Deb and Rick (you would know them as Naughty Nan and her ever patient and kindhearted husband).
Rick works for Lion Co. and he was immediately willing to donate 5 cases of Boags for my event. Not the regular stuff either… No, No. We were getting Premium.
Rick and Deb are both truly charitable people, and downright legends. Thank you both from the bottom of my heart.

So, now we have the food and drink sorted, we need tables and chairs.
I can’t very well hold an event without seating… can I?
I made a call to the amazing peeps at Blackwood Hire. This is a locally owned and operated company, and they generously donated, chairs, ice-buckets and an extra-large table without hesitation.
They also had kind words for me, they loved Jess and I on MKR and were so happy we won.
In my mind, these wonderful people are the true winners here.
I’m telling you, the generosity of these individuals and companies has truly knocked me off my feet.

So there I am, thinking to myself… how else (other than feeding them till they burst and showering them with more alcohol than an Adelaide Oval footy match) can I extract as much money as humanly possible from my 50 odd guests…?
I know, I’ll hold an Auction.
And, an extra special mention has to go to our amazing friend Nick for being the auction master to end all auction masters. You’ve found your calling my love…

I contacted my two amazing, food mentors and seriously super-awesome guys… Pete and Manu.
They were both immediately willing to lend a hand. And they each donated a signed copy of their latest cookbook for my auction.

Ian from Cellarbrations Prospect, also donated 2 magnums of wine. I had an amazing donation of an Edible Blooms hamper as well.
These wine and hamper items within themselves managed to fetch $360.00 for cancer research. Holy hell!

The amazing peeps at Coopers Brewery donated a merchandise hamper filled with all sorts of awesome stuff and a super, cool magnum of limited edition Sparkling Ale.

I contacted my friend Tom from the Adelaide Football Club and he so kindly and generously donated a Sherrin Crows footy with the signatures of this year’s Coach and Captain.
I’m telling you now, after their awesome showdown efforts this Sunday… that’s a hot ticket item. Carn’ the Crows!

Our good friend Damian from Stratco, arranged a $200.00 gift voucher to be used at any Stratco store.
Amusingly, my husband Cory purchased this item on the night for $199.00.

While Cory was at our local Mitre10 in Aberfoyle Park, he casually mentioned to the owner about the event we were hosting and the cause it was supporting, and they immediately got on board.
I was not expecting my husband to walk through the door with a Gasmate Area Heater for my auction… but he did.
The generosity of strangers is seriously starting to overwhelm me.

My wonderful family friend Matthew Seagrim, from Brighton Cars donated a huge Rolling Stones Painting as well as an even huger amount of money (as he was quite often the highest bidder, as well as hilariously subject to outbidding himself…).
Actually, come to think of it, this happened quite a lot with a few other people too…

Note to everyone: To hold a truly successful auction, make sure you get your bidders seriously tanked beforehand.

The purchaser of this Rolling Stones picture (which actually fetched a pretty penny) my other amazing family friend and my second dad, Peter Rae from 747 Motors also donated two cases of wine for everyone to drink and a magnum of Red wine to Auction.

Our good friend Ash from Stanvac Auto Wreckers got on the phone and arranged a $200 service or repairs voucher from our great friends at Reynella Hyundai.

Our other good friend Whitey arranged a $100.00 paint voucher from our friends at PPG Protec.

My seriously amazing husband Cory, who not only helped me in every way possible to prepare for this event, also donated a $500.00 discount off any re-gutter or re-roof for the lucky highest bidder, courtesy of our own business Mayline Roofing.

And, I have to say I was quite blown away at how much my friends were actually willing to pay for me to prepare a 3 course menu and cook it for 12 of them on a night of their choosing…

All in all, between these amazingly generous people and businesses, and the awesome family and friends that helped me support ‘The Longest table’, on this night we managed to raise 6K for Cancer research.

Six Thousand Dollars!!

I cannot thank you all enough, every single one of you means the world to me and all I can say is this…
This event would never have happened without the help of my friends. Please support the businesses that are here supporting us.
Cancer affects every single one of us, but we can actually make a difference.
I dream of a world without this terrible disease… do you?
Until the next event… Bree xxx

https://www.thelongesttable.com.au/

http://www.g-spit.com.au/home/

http://murrayvalleypork.com.au/Home.aspx

http://freerangechicken.com.au/

https://www.facebook.com/BakersDelightHappyValley

https://www.foodlandsa.com.au/internet/store-locator.html

http://www.cellarbrations.com.au/store-locator/sa/cellarbrations-at-prospect/

http://www.marionbaytavern.com.au/

http://www.thehillscidercompany.com.au/

http://lionco.com/

http://www.blackwoodhire.com/

http://www.peteevans.com.au/

http://manufeildel.com.au/

http://www.edibleblooms.com.au/

http://www.coopers.com.au/

http://www.afc.com.au/

http://stratco.com.au/

http://hubhardware.com.au/

http://www.brightoncars.com.au/

http://www.yellowpages.com.au/sa/ascot-park/747-motors-13844451-listing.html

http://www.hyundaiautoparts.com.au/

http://reynellahyundai.com.au/

http://www.ppglic.com.au/

http://www.maylineroofing.com.au/

To check out more photo’s of the night, please go to -
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.768967043149477.1073741829.732170033495845&type=1&l=857d7be8e7