Events That Give Back
Sustainable events, community connections, and food designed around you.
by That Food Guy
I work with a small number of weddings, charitable or community occasions, and special celebrations each year, designing menus around you, your guests, and the culture of the occasion. Not a set menu adapted to fit - something built from the ground up to feel genuinely right for everyone there.
With 40 years in hospitality and 23 in catering, including extensive international experience, I bring a depth of expertise that shapes every event I take on - from the first conversation to the last plate, through to the packdown and leaving the space as we found it.
Sustainability runs through everything: locally sourced ingredients, thoughtful food waste management, and front-of-house staffing drawn from community groups whose contributions go straight back to their organisation as a fundraiser, so your celebration gives back too.
The event runs on a break-even basis across all costs, with a professional fee for my time pulling it all together.
If this sounds like your kind of event, I'd love to have a conversation.
Our clients say:
"Kia ora Mark, just wanted to pass on our thanks for the delicious kai today. 😊 It was perfect. (Lots of comments on the cheese rolls – wondering if you have some secret ingredient going on???....) Thank you so much for tailoring this event to our needs. We enjoyed everything and appreciated the labelling on the boxes."
Hospitality and Business Planning
Practical, experience-based solutions for your business.
That Food Guy is a contemporary food and catering business created by Mark Townsend, a life-long hospitality professional.
Drawing on his considerable hospitality experience, Mark has built That Food Guy into a multi-faceted business offering online ordering for ready-to-go catering, bespoke catering solutions for weddings and other private functions, and is continuing to grow the operation into new ventures.
Mark is also available as a consultant to assist other commercial hospitality ventures with planning, launching and operating their business. He works with each business to understand their objectives and offers valuable insights on designing commercial kitchens, planning workflows, employee relations and contracts, government compliance and licensing, and more.
