Andrea Abbott previously worked with Auckland Community Projects funded to bring communities together through events and activities. She came to the Massey Auckland campus initially as a contractor to deliver an Open Day, which was 16 years ago. Since then, she has managed and overseen many red carpet events, exhibitions, concerts, conferences, and seminars. Andrea is extremely creative with an extensive network in Auckland, she can transform a simple outdoor area or meeting room into a magical festive space. Her creativity is also expressed in her love of all food, she loves food with lots of flavor – nothing bland.
Frances Healy has a background in numbers and banking. She came to Wharerata over 19 years ago when she picked up some after-hours work to earn a bit of extra money. Frances never left and eventually worked her way up the hospitality ladder. Her background and experience with managing events at Wharerata and Sport & Rugby Institute is phenomenal. Frances can move with ease from a premium wedding event, to looking after the Australian Hockey Team. With all the high-quality food and beverage she sees each day, nothing beats a good burger in her books.
Cory Anderson has worked in hospitality for most of his working life. He worked the café, bar, and restaurant scene before progressing into events management. He brings a wealth of experience to Massey Venues in Wellington having worked on major events like the Melbourne Cup, the Australian Grand Prix and the Avalon Air show all across NZ, Australia, and the UK. Cory has trained as a pilot which gives you an idea of his ability to balance attention to detail and getting the job done. In his downtime, he is partial to craft beer in particular Hazy IPAs.
Executive Chef Sean Kereama is a highly qualified chef with 30+ years’ experience, 16 of those years have been here at Massey. Chef Kereama covers Manawatu, Wellington and Auckland campuses, although is based in Wharerata on the Manawatu Campus. It is unusual in the hospitality industry for a Chef to stay in one place for so long, however Wharerata is such a beautiful venue with a great team of people it would be hard to find a better place to work. Sean enjoys food of any description but has a particular passion for Japanese style food.
Head Chef Taka Moriyama is a qualified chef with 20+ years’ experience. Taka hails from Japan and has worked at Wharerata for just over 10 years, having previous experience in local cafés, restaurants and even helped set up a food truck business. Taka sees Wharerata and guests as his whanau, it is all about the people – He tangata, he tangata, he tangata. He is at his happiest when he is eating fresh NZ fish paired with a good Sauvignon Blanc.
Please get in contact with the Massey Venues team today, and one of our Event Managers will be in touch to assist you with your next event.