Diners urged to leave small 'tip' for charities

When you're dining out, $2 on the bill is neither here nor there - maybe half the price of that final cup of coffee when you're replete with the main and dessert.

But if thousands of diners added an extra $2 to their restaurant tab as part of their Christmas season celebrations, and all that money went to charity...now that's an idea worth raising your glasses to.

In a nutshell, that's the DineAid concept. 

It's an idea that Auckland-based chef Mark Gregory has brought here from Britain.  Mark is recently returned to New Zealand after 18 years of work at top-end British restaurants. Over there the StreetSmart scheme launched in 1999 has grown from small beginnings to one where the token gestures of diners last year netted a massive $NZ2.5 million for charity.

He's working hard to get restaurants on board in New Zealand so that the ‘add on $2 for DineAid' plan running November and December will add up to a Christmas bonus for local charities such as Wellington City Mission, Project K and Kids' First.

The focus of the fundraising is families at risk and youth training and mentoring. "One hundred percent of money donated by diners will got to the charities," Mark says.

Chow and Lone Star in Petone are on board (as are their Wellington restaurants), and also signed up so far are: Logan Brown, The Engine Room, Boulcott Bistro, Monsoon Poon, Shed 5, Vista Café, The General Practitioner and The Tasting Room.

"Our aim is to have 30 to 40 Wellington region restaurants and cafés involved," Mark says - but obviously time is running out to get them signed up for the 28 October launch.

And hopefully diners celebrating Christmas with a staff party, friends or family lunch or night out will remember that for some families, there's not even enough money to put basic food on the table let alone fine fare.