Food for Thought – An Evening Q&A Discussion

Come and enjoy a memorable Japanese Omakase course meal with Rika Rika, hosted at Benny & Brew Café.

A celebration of local produce with a wild food twist, cooked by award-winning chef Des Harris (Fish Restaurant at Auckland’s Hilton).

Kitchen Takeover and Bee First Apiaries have joined forces to offer a one-of-a-kind honey experience. Spend time in the hives, spin your own honey, and taste the honey and mead brewed on site, served with local cheeses.

Explore varied and wonderful local producers accompanied by an expert food guide. A selection of light tasting plates at four locations will keep you satisfied.

Kitchen Takeover and Kārena & Kasey Bird join forces again. Devour a five-course kai experience that takes you into the immersive world of Māori Atua (gods), and their connection with the natural world.

Experience the beautiful locale of The Cider Factorie while enjoying a tasting flight of 4 award-winning ciders each paired with a delicious bite.

Visit the Wine Portfolio, home to the prestigious, medal-winning wines of Leveret (formerly Morton) Estate & Mills Reef Winery. This is followed by lunch at The White House in Te Puna, and dessert and a cocktail at Salinity Restaurant & Bar.

Enjoy a lovingly-crafted morning tea featuring food platters that showcase the artisan flavours from our own Farmers’ Market producers.

Learn how to ice your own fancy cupcakes with and impress your friends and family with your new-found decorating skills!

Celebrating coastal Bay of Plenty and Māori culture, Fife Lane will use bountiful whakauru (ingredients) from both the whenua and moana.

This boutique, multi-sensory event combines leading Kiwi musicians, boutique food vendors, celebrity chefs, renowned wineries and craft breweries.

In Italy, ‘Il Pranzo’ is a hedonistic experience and the most glorious meal of the day. Join us for a 3 hour lunch with traditional recipes and plenty of wine!

Create and prepare a dish ready to be presented to our judges. It must feature ingredients sourced from the great outdoors – harvested from gardens, the ocean, bush, rivers or lakes. Enter to win prizes from our impressive prize pool!

Celebrate sustainability and the abundance of foods available from our local environment. The action-packed programme includes a wild food cooking challenge, demonstrations with food tastings, an interactive mystery box cooking challenge, live bands, a craft beer garden, food and market stalls.

Explore this boutique locals farmers’ market selling freshly-baked bread, vegan pastries, kombucha, honey, specialty meats plus local fruit and vegetables. Ready-to-eat food and live music is also on offer, so bring your basket and fill it up with exceptional products.

Come along and meet the people who grow beautiful fresh produce and create artisan food products in and around Waihī Beach. Gather a group of friends of family to sample and buy an array of products on the day.

This hands-on sausage making workshop is open to 12 lucky people and will feature classic flavours plus some out of the box ones. Taste the results in class and take the rest home with you. All ingredients and equipment are provided.

Whakatāne’s design studio and ethical lifestyle store, The Good Tonic, presents a fusion of food, fashion and music to celebrate their slow, sustainable production ethos and reuse/repurpose values.

This weekly artisan food market is held at Matua Park every Sunday evening until 26th March 2023. Serving restaurant-quality meals from a variety of the Bay’s best vendors, there’s something to tempt everyone’s tastebuds.

Come and celebrate the Bay’s plentiful produce with an evening of audacious appetizers by some of the Bay’s best chef talent. Held at the funky new eatery, Saltwater, in Mount Maunganui, your ticket includes plenty of food, three complimentary drinks with a choice of locally brewed Island beers, and delicious paired wines.

Take in the panoramic views of the stunning Tauranga waterfront while enjoying a unique, three-course menu designed by Executive Chef Rob Forsman.

Come and learn how to grow your own microgreens. Microgreens are a fresh, healthy and easy-to-grow addition to your diet, and we’ll show you how to get started and provide some recipe ideas for how to incorporate microgreens into your daily meals.

Learn how this award-winning chocolate factory came to establish itself in Mount Maunganui and discover their ‘bean to bar’ supply chain and impressive commitment to quality.

Broaden your culinary knowledge and stock up on unique pantry ingredients during this tour. Discover Pepper & Me’s rubs, pastes, salt-blends, sauces and more; Hemp New Zealand’s nutrient-rich superfoods and products, and edible plants at Décor Gardenworld.

Go behind the scenes of this Katikati honey packing facility – meet the honeymeister and learn about the journey from the hive to your home.

Join Blabla’s Secret Society at Special Mention for a night of tasting, learning and discussions with Whakatane’s Mata Brewery, Solomon’s Gold and Goodbuzz Kombucha.

Solera will celebrate our region’s future creative talents by inviting Toi Ohomai | Te Pūkenga students to work alongside established chefs to create a dinner not to be missed.

Visit Te Puke Truffles (as seen on Country Calendar) and discover the background and growing techniques of this small truffière (truffle orchard).

Lift off from Waihī Beach airfield for a 15 minute scenic Adventure Helicopter tour of Waihī Beach, Orokawa Bay & Matakana Island. Then head to Surf Shack Eatery for one of the best burgers in New Zealand followed by dessert.

Delight in a night of surprises as we discover some of the CBD’s best eateries. Dine like you never have before as we wind our way from one venue to the next, enjoying a different dish and paired drink at each stop.

Join the Dinner in the Domain team at the Papamoa Pony Club on Thursday nights from 5pm for an evening by the sea where you can enjoy a huge variety of delicious street food, a few cheeky beverages and live music.

Meet, taste and hear from the producers at Mystery Valley olive orchard and Te Puke Truffles followed by a late lunch at The Trading Post.

A Friday afternoon beachside long lunch, hosted by Cherie Metcalfe of Pepper and Me. Featuring recipes from Cherie’s new cookbook ‘Together’ and showcasing fresh local produce, you can expect fresh foccacia, warm olives, baked cheeses, porchetta, stunning salad platters and lots of sweet treats.

Check out live cooking demonstrations and a scrumptious range of gourmet street food at The Little Big Markets at Mount Maunganui’s Coronation Park.

Explore a culinary trail of the Mount’s most popular foodie spots. Enjoy a six-course set menu roaming lunch courtesy of Alpino, Hide Thirst & Hunger, Sea People, Solera, Saltwater, before finishing off at Master Kong.

Spend the afternoon at Picnicka to celebrate the wonders of our locally-produced mushrooms. Enjoy drinks and bites inspired by mushrooms including a large variety produced by Tony from Alice’s Restaurant.

After a sellout event in 2022, Sugo returns with a special Flavours of Plenty Festival Lunch. Choose between two seatings and dive into chef Ian’s spectacular culinary lunchtime experience.

Discover the secret to a perfect barbecue! Let the experts take you through fire and heat management, rubs and sauces, barbecue methods, food temperatures, smoking woods, meat selection and preparation plus other top tips, followed by a huge spread!