Sydney's most exclusive restaurants have joined forces with eBay to auction off VIP tables on Valentine's Day, in a bid to end world hunger.
As part of a campaign, A Table to End Hunger, created by McCann Sydney for The Hunger Project, restaurants with notorious reservation waits are giving up their tables to the highest bidder, with proceeds going to charity.
Restaurants including the infamous Noma – which already has a waiting list of 27,000 – along with Aria, Bennelong, Quay, Marque and Guillaume, have given up tables on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from this Valentine’s Day weekend until March.
Auctions for tables go live weekly for forthcoming weekend reservation on a special eBay site for the project.
McCann Sydney executive creative director Dejan Rasic says: “The Hunger Project's commitment to ending world hunger is more than just a mission statement.
“We worked hard to develop an idea to drive PR and lift awareness of The Hunger Project and support for their incredible work. Bidding on a table to put food on someone else’s simply made sense.”
The Hunger Project is a global non-profit organisation which aims to end world hunger by 2030 by breaking the cycle of poverty rather than handing out food.
Funds raised from the A Table to End Hunger project will enable the organisation to help women and men living in rural India, Bangladesh and Africa end their own hunger by providing training to build resources and skills.
The Hunger Project Australia CEO Cathy Burke says the campaign will appeal to the “foodie” culture in Australia.
“Australia is a nation of foodies whose appetite for the greatest and latest in the dining-out scene is insatiable,” Burke says.
“That’s why we’re thrilled to partner with McCann and Australia’s top restaurants to help solve chronic, persistent world hunger.
“Although this might seem like a lofty goal, in the past 25 years the number of people living in hunger has actually been cut in half. By unlocking their capacity, creativity and leadership, we can empower these people to transform their futures and end their own hunger.”
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