Oct 23, 2019 What's On
Auckland’s Queen’s Wharf is turning into a four-day foodies’ playground with restaurants, brewers, growers and winemakers offering up delicious bites and drinks for Taste of Auckland 2019. Keep abreast with what’s happening food-wise in the city and with what some of our leading chefs are up to, with Taste.
Here’s why we think Taste will be a good day out:
From October 31 to November 3, the Cloud and Shed 10 will be transformed for the country’s biggest food and drink festival, with new festival zones (Decadence Collective, Ocean Terrace, The Shed , Artisan Marketplace and Spice Alley), a gin garden for VIP ticket holders and live music. VIP ticket holders also get exclusive access to the waterfront Platinum Lounge with spectacular views of the Waitemata Harbour, a glass of No. 1 Family Estate Cuvée on arrival and exclusive access to the Curiosity Gin Botanical Garden.
14 restaurants will be cooking signature dishes for the 20,000-strong crowd over four days, including Metro Top 50 Restaurants Culprit and Paris Butter , modern Indian newcomer Epicer, Herne Bay stalwart Andiamo, as well as Hugo’s Bistro, &Sushi, The Maori Kitchen (returning for another year with their Gourmet Hangi), Shucker Brothers, Lowbrow, and Crab Shack.
READ MORE: Your week in food with new wine bar openings, and Maori and Pasifika food trucks
As a bonus for serious foodies the ‘godfather of modern cooking’, Marco Pierre White, is coming to Taste for his first-ever public appearance in New Zealand. The legendary chef (and former MasterChef judge) will be performing cooking demonstrations at the festival, and punters hoping to see him in action should book tickets for Taste sessions between Friday evening and Sunday afternoon.
More than 80 producers will be at Taste, offering up premium ice cream, chocolate, spirits, wine, tea and more. Start the day with sashimi from &Sushi, oysters from Shucker Brothers and a glass of bubbles from No. 1 Family Estate at the Decadence Collective, then carry on to the Collab Kitchen where you’ll find European inspired fare like truffle dumplings with parsley puree, mushroom custard and cured yolk from Paris Butter’s Nick Honeyman; wild shot venison short ribs with sticky foraged Wanaka sumac glaze from Ode’s Lucas Parkinson; or fried potato focaccia, clams and fennel pollen from Melbourne chef Hayden McMillan (a former chef at the Lygon St restaurant Etta).
At The Shed they’ll be serving up all things fired, fried and fermented, and Spice Alley will ignite your taste buds with food from Epicer, a signature beetroot steamed bun with sticky pork belly, crispy shallots and pickles from Filipino joint Nanam , or crispy lamb ribs with green nam jim, avocado and mint from Asian fusion favourite Xoong.
Gaze out at the water at the ocean terrace overlooking the harbour and enjoy a cocktail or whiskey neat at the 9K International’s Speakeasy Whisky Lounge. If wine or beer is more your thing, there’ll be offerings from some of the country’s top wineries including Mount Michael, Yealands, Black Barn, Palliser Estate, Nautilus Estate, Mount Beautiful, Gibbston Valley and Villa Maria, and beer tastings from leading craft breweries including Fortune Favours, New New New and Liberty Brewing.
It’ll be a wonderful time to pop along to one of the biggest occasions on the Auckland hospitality calendar.
Taste of Auckland, Thursday 31 October to Sunday 3 November 2019.
Shed 10, The Cloud and Queen’s Wharf, Auckland.
Tickets start at $25 per session, or $32 on the door. Premium tickets from $65 and VIP tickets from $95. Group packages are also on offer with discounts on tickets for five and 10 plus. For more information, or to book tickets, click here.
