Those fine dining domes that you see at The Dock in Kingston and out at the Lake George Winery are now being used to feed and shelter Ukrainian refugees.
Canberran Tim Purser, who brought the domes to the national capital, was proud to reveal the European manufacturer of the domes had provided 20 of the structures and placed them in the city of Tulcea on the Ukraine-Romania border to feed hungry refugees fleeing the war in their home country.
"They've set up 20 domes on the safe side of the border, partnering with Italy, Germany and Romania to provide shelter and food for the Ukrainian refugees spilling across the border," Mr Purser said.
"I think they're doing 5000 pizzas a day to feed the refugees as they're coming in."
The domes are made in Europe and more usually used as a unique dining experience, but in this instance, were providing a much more urgent function.
It was another case of the company reacting quickly to changing circumstances.
"Our manufacturer is an aerospace company who provides parts for Airbus but during the pandemic, Airbus wasn't flying. So they had to pivot and they pivoted into making these domes," Mr Purser said.
"But then when the Ukraine war started, they pivoted again to make bunk beds out of the same aluminium for the refugees coming into the neighbouring European countries.
"They domes are 100 per cent recycled. The aluminium is 100 per cent from recycled aluminium cans and the polycarbonate cover is also made from recycled plastic."
The bunk beds were being used in refugee camps while the domes on the border were a separate initiative.
Meanwhile, Mr Purser was in the midst of setting up dining domes at Circular Quay in Sydney for the Vivid festival, which opened on Friday night and continues until June 18. The domes are at the Luna Lu restaurant.
And more dining domes are on their way to Canberra for winter, providing a degustation menu.
The exact locations are still to be revealed but three domes will be located in the Parliamentary Triangle for winter.
Watch this space.
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