Fo o d and w i ne
written by Shona Cobham
Feeding the inner traveller DEVOUR DELECTABLE DELIGHTS
O
ne of the delights of travelling is connecting with a destination by enjoying local flavours. New Zealand has an abundance of regional delights to feed the inner traveller and, as fewer food miles can mean less cost, there’s good reason to seek out those local specialities. Food can also evoke wonderful holiday memories – the homemade Cornish pasties on the picnic table beside the river, fish and chips on the beach, the creamy blue cheese or chocolate brownie to die for at the farmers’ market. Here in Aotearoa that also means making the most of seasonal whitebait fritters on the West Coast, luscious fresh scallops in Nelson, greenshell mussels straight from the salty Marlborough Sounds, or a simple cheese roll oozing with Southland’s finest. Proximity to land and ocean ensures that we have some of the freshest, least-travelled produce in the world. You’ll find some of the best bites in humble roadside establishments, the likes of Nin’s Bin – a caravan serving crayfish near Kaikōura (named in Lonely Planet’s Ultimate Eat list), the coffee trailer selling whitebait sammies near Haast or in diminutive wayside shops like Featherston’s C’est Cheese, which is bursting its sides with the best of our dairy goodness. Fancy Saturday or Sunday brunch? Seek out the local farmers’ market and munch your way around the stalls. Three standout market experiences to take note of are: Hawke’s Bay at the Showgrounds, Nelson’s tasty Saturday morning market, and the Otago Farmers’ Market at the Dunedin Railway Station. Town or country, there’s a local food hero to be found almost everywhere. Spot them in the annual awards for the best cheesemakers, bakers, pie-makers and takeaways and find your way to their kitchens. Tauranga and Rotorua have our most awarded pie-maker, Patrick Lam, while Napier has Heavens, crowned Best Bakery nine years in a row. Queenstown has the celebrated
Image credit: Graeme Murray
Fergburger, Blackball has salami and sausages, and Mangonui has its fish and chip shop right over the water. Or, you can go directly to the source and catch your own lunch. At picturesque Anatoki Salmon Farm in Golden Bay, you can then let the chefs smoke it or serve it as sashimi for your lunch, or instead sample King salmon straight from the glacial waters at Mt Cook Alpine Salmon in Tekapo, the world’s highest salmon farm. For a seafood feast, cruise out to a greenshell mussel farm in the Marlborough Sounds and devour freshly steamed mussels served with a glass of sauvignon blanc. Then there’s the irresistible call of the lovely vineyards in the wine regions. There are some 450 experiences to be found on the winegrowers’ website – from cellar doors to tasting rooms, cafés and wine trails. Seek out the smaller, boutique operations where there’s a chance of meeting the passionate winemaker, not to mention snapping up supplies not found in your local supermarket. The smaller, emerging wine regions, like Waipara in North Canterbury or the Waitaki Valley, are also producing some mighty fine drops. Craft beer lovers can whet their whistles at a growing multitude of microbreweries, each producing their unique hoppy delights. Nelson produces some of the world’s finest hops and claims the title of craft brewing capital of New Zealand. Follow the beer trail from Founders Hop Garden all the way to Golden Bay’s Mussel Inn, a simple country place with brewing on site.
There’s good reason to seek out those local specialities
Image credit: Great South
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Image credit: Hawke’s Bay Tourism
Whatever your taste, it’s worth doing a bit of research before you leave home. A quick Google or check of the regional tourism websites will offer up plenty of tips on where to find the markets, cafés and restaurants, best bakeries, watering holes and food experiences.
Image credit: Fraser Clements
