World's top chefs swap menus for the Grand Gelinaz Shuffle

Gelinaz, a wild dinner party starring the world's top chefs, is returning on December 3 after a two-year hiatus. But with a twist.

Last time, the world's top chefs like Brae's Dan Hunter and Attica's Ben Shewry were sent to cook in another chef's restaurant. Ticket-holding diners didn't know who would be cooking their dinner (Alaine Ducasse? Rene Redzepi?) until they sat down.

This year it's the "stay in" tour. Participating chefs (Dan Hunter of Brae, Matt Stone and Jo Barrett of Oakridge, Victor Liong of Lee Ho Fook and Peter Gunn of IDES) stay put, however, they're tasked with presenting the obscure eight-course vision of another (unknown) chef.

Each participant, Hunter explains, was asked to "compile an eight-course menu that best represented us and our philosophies, but couldn't be dishes from our restaurants." They did not have to send actual recipes, either. It could be a haiku, or, as Hunter has discovered on receiving his "matrix" (entirely in French), a graphic home video. Ooh la la.

"It won't be a Brae night," says Hunter, who has gamely run his materials through Google translate and now has until December 3 to "remix" the threads into a cohesive and delicious dinner. Curious what Hunter will make of this: "the glaciers are visibly melting and the sea level will soon overflow on firm ground"?

Last tickets via gelinaz.com.