Who you are hiring
We run the evening so you can attend it.
Taste The Night is an event company based in Riverton/Aparima, Southland, working across New Zealand. We plan themed evenings and company events, bring the crew, the equipment and the scenography, and hand the room back the way the venue gave it to us. We do not own a venue, we do not cater, and we do not sell anything that can be won.
Start to finish
Seven steps, in this order.
The first call
The occasion, the date, the guest count and the venue if you have one. Fifteen minutes is usually enough to know which formats fit.
The written quote
One final total for the package described, with its conditions stated. No verbal pricing, because nobody remembers a verbal price the same way.
Agreement and deposit
A deposit of 20-40% of the total once the agreement is signed, the balance 5 to 10 days before the event. The date is held from the moment both are done.
The venue check
Floor area, headroom, power, access, finish time and the venue’s own rules. In person where we can, on photographs and a plan where we cannot.
The timing plan
Written and shared with you and the venue about a week out: bump-in, doors, every block of the programme, the finish and bump-out.
The event
Bump-in, a technical check before guests arrive, then the programme with one coordinator holding the clock and talking to the venue so you do not have to.
Pack down and the balance
Bump-out the same night unless we agree otherwise, the room back as handed over, and the final invoice with nothing on it you have not already seen.
What we hold to
Five things that do not move.
One contact
One person organises your event and one coordinator runs it on the night. You never have to work out who to ring.
Scope before you order
Everything in a format is listed, with measurements and crew numbers, before you sign anything. If it is not written down, it is not promised.
Taking part is voluntary
No activity is compulsory. Watching, eating and talking are a complete evening, and our hosts never push a guest into a game.
20+ for casino-style
Casino-style programmes are for guests of 20+. Where under-20s may be present, we run one of the daytime or team formats instead.
Written confirmation
Quote, timing plan and any change to either: all in writing. It is the only way a plan survives contact with a real evening.
Who turns up
The crew, by role.
Which roles come to your event depends on the format — the list with each format tells you exactly how many of each. We name roles rather than people, because the crew for a date is confirmed about a week out.
- Coordinator
- Holds the timing plan, talks to the venue, solves what goes wrong before you notice it. On site for every event.
- Host
- Works the microphone: opens, explains, cues speeches, closes. Keeps announcements short, which is harder than it sounds.
- Host-dealers
- Run the casino-style tables as themed activities, teach the rules at the table and keep the rotation moving.
- Station crew and game masters
- Run puzzle stations, quiz scoring and field activities, and reset everything between rotations.
- DJ
- Builds the set from your playlist and your do-not-play list, and reads the floor on the night.
- AV technician
- Builds and operates lighting and sound, runs the technical check, and is there when a venue circuit disagrees with us.
- Bump-in crew
- Four to eight people depending on the format, who build the room and then take it apart again.
Division of labour
Ours, and yours.
We bring
- the programme, crew and equipment listed with the format
- planning, the written timing plan and one coordinator on site
- transport anywhere in New Zealand, bump-in and bump-out
- all taxes due, GST included in every figure shown
You arrange
- the venue itself, with its furniture, power and bathrooms
- catering, bar service and drinks of any kind
- accommodation and travel for your guests
- gifts for guests and a stills or video photographer
Said plainly
An event company, not a gaming one.
Our casino-style programmes are entertainment at a venue you choose. The chips are props with no denomination: they are not sold, not topped up and never exchanged for money, goods, vouchers or prizes. No stake is placed, no cash is won, nothing happens online, and guests are 20+. The service is not gambling under the Gambling Act 2003.
Start with a date.
Even an approximate one. We will tell you whether we are free and which formats fit the room you have in mind.