Blumenthal and Keller's $7,000 Meal in New Zealand

Poor New Zealand probably doesn't get much celebrity chef love, which is maybe why this Thomas Keller/Heston Blumenthal dinner in Hawke's Bay, New Zealand this weekend costs so damn much money: the six-course meal costs NZ$7,000 (US$5,137)! Mind you, the price includes a three night stay at luxury resort The Farm at Cape Kidnappers, and we'll admit the Keller/Blumenthal match-up is pretty epic. But that's still a lot of money! You'd think that maybe you'd at least get one course per thousand dollars?

Also included in the price: "pre-dinner drinks and canape?s, gourmet dinner each night...full breakfast, complimentary mini?bar (excludes liquor and wine) and use of lodge facilities excluding golf and spa treatments." The six-course meal will be prepared by Keller, Blumenthal, and the resort's chef Dale Gartland. (Gartland replaces Australian chef Neil Perry, who had to back out at the last minute.)

So what's for dinner? The New Zealand Herald got their hands on a partial menu:

Dale Gartland
Cape Kidnappers beetroot with Over the Moon goat's curd, dukkah, cumin, and shallot
Matched to Dry River 2008 Lovat Gewurztraminer

Thomas Keller
Easterbrook duck breast, Swiss chard, glazed turnips, pickled blueberries and hazelnut
Matched to 2006 Dry River Martinborough Pinot Noir

Heston Blumenthal
Sound of the Sea and Taffety tart
Matched to Dry River 2007 Martinborough Chardonnay

Blumenthal also recently threw a dinner in Australia that cost $3,750 (US$3,766); it was only three courses, though.

· Three Chefs [Cape Kidnappers]
· $7000 Diners to Get a Taste of Wizardry [New Zealand Herald]
· Blumenthal Cooks Up Coast Feast [Gold Coast]