Murray Crane Wins Hilton Auckland Designer Cocktail Competition 2005
Fashion started in Bellini bar at the Hilton tonight as ten of New Zealand’s top fashion designers participating in Air
New Zealand Fashion Week ‘shook it out’ in a unique cocktail competition which saw some of the country’s most
inspirational icons turn their hand at creating a cocktail.
The cocktail competition between the designers saw Caroline Church; Kylee Davis; Kate Sylvester; Claire Kingan-Jones;
Murray Crane; Liz Mitchell; Angela Lewis; Petrena Miller; Trelise Cooper and Neville Findley create their favourite
concoctions in front of an audience of glamorous guests.
The winning cocktail, named Ginger Ninja was designed by Murray Crane and encompassed a mouth-watering blend of Bombay
Sapphire, mint, lime, ginger beer and Velvet Falernum garnished with ginger and a touch more mint.
Murray received an amazing prize package including a $500 Bellini voucher, two nights at the rebuilt Hilton Sydney,
return airfares for two flying Air New Zealand to Sydney, a voucher for a cocktail class at Bellini and a copy of the
soon to be publicly released ‘cocktail’ book with each featured cocktail having been made in Bellini.
The adept judging panel consisted of Hubert de Thoissy, General Manager of Louis Vuitton New Zealand, Renee Wright
co-presenter of TV1’s Headliners, Norm Thompson Air NZ Group General Manger, Marketing, Network and Sales and John
Ingram, Hilton Auckland General Manager. When asked about the judging, John Ingram commented, “Judging such a diverse
mix of cocktails was not an easy task for us, especially as they all tasted delicious. The judging criteria was set
against the perfect cocktail based on taste, presentation and flair”.
Hilton Auckland is an elite Sponsor of Air New Zealand Fashion Week and what better place for New Zealand’s top fashion
designers to showcase their creativity than in Bellini, the most stylish bar in Auckland. All of the fashion designer
cocktails will feature on the extensive Bellini cocktail list during the month of October.
Hilton Auckland are focused on promoting the creative sector by sponsoring Air New Zealand Fashion Week, Artworks, the
Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards, the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival, Auckland Philharmonia, and Film Auckland.
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