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Manaakitanga: A Special Mardi Gras Dinner

Manaakitanga: A Special Mardi Gras Dinner at The Butler

Head Chef Amber Doig and multi-disciplinary artist Arrnott Olssen combined their creative forces for an incredible celebration of good food, generosity and hospitality.

Manaakitanga: Silent Auction

Keeping in line with the spirit of Manaakitanga and generosity, we’re hosting a silent auction to raise funds for Qtopia Sydney.

Qtopia Sydney is the world’s largest centre for queer history and culture. They explore queer history from the earliest Indigenous experiences to today through interactive storytelling and inclusiveness – celebrating, commemorating and educating people through exhibitions, performances and programs.

We’ve got an incredible selection of prizes including:

– All-Access 2026 Mainstage Theatre Tickets at The Loading Dock: Two tickets to every remaining mainstage production in 2026 – that’s 12 unforgettable shows still to come this year
– The Loving Collection: Art, History & Access: Two coffee-table photography books celebrating intimacy, resilience, and joy across generations and six tickets to the Qtopia Sydney exhibitions,
– Archie Rose Blend Your Own Whisky Masterclass: Craft your own signature whisky at Archie Rose’s Rosebery distillery. You’ll leave with two hand-bottled and labelled 200ml whiskies to take home.
– Applejack Dining Voucher: The perfect gift for food and drink lovers. Treat someone special (or yourself) to $500 to spend across any Applejack venue.
– An exclusive artwork by Louis Wayling
– One year membership and a signed book by Arts Matter

All proceeds will be donated directly to Qtopia Sydney, alongside $1 from every Archie Rose cocktail special sold over Mardi Gras.

View Prizes & Bid

Championing their Pacific and queer communities, Chef Amber and Arrnott collaborated on an exclusive dinner event celebrating friendship, diversity, and Manaakitanga, a Māori and Pasifika concept embodying kindness, support, generosity, and hospitality.

Guests were welcomed with a cocktail on arrival alongside a selection of Chef’s snacks. Gathering on the terrace, they mingled over the welcome cocktail ‘Mango On Then’, part of our Mardi Gras cocktail list crafted with Archie Rose’s Signature Dry Gin, chinola, mango, lime and prosecco.

As guests took their seats, both hosts welcomed the room, sharing the ethos behind the evening: a share-style menu blending Māori and Pacific dishes with Chef Amber’s boundary-pushing fusion flavours. Chef Amber offered a Māori acknowledgment and prayer, welcoming everyone present and giving thanks for their generosity and spirit.

What followed was a feast. Hand-kneaded Rewens flatbread with airy seaweed butter, Humpty Doo Barramundi Kokoda in a fragrant coconut sauce, cold smoked Ōra King Salmon and Toroi, fermented green lipped mussels. After a short break, the mains arrived: handmade ravioli in a buttery clam sauce, market fish with Arrnott’s special Fijian Suruwa sauce, spiced green rice and fall-apart Mānuka smoked Wagyu short rib, slow cooked in banana leaf.

To finish, guests were treated to Aunty’s golden syrup steamed pudding and a tropical pineapple custard with pineapple sorbet, before Arrnott brought the evening to a close with a rousing rendition of Tina Turner’s ‘Simply The Best’. It was a perfect end to a night filled with warmth, joy and the kind of generous hospitality that made every guest feel truly at home.

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