Get ready for the best summer ever burger lovers, with the inaugural Burger Nation 2024 set to kick off this week.
Celebrating the best burgers that Aotearoa has to offer, the month-long showcase sees more than 250 eateries around the country serving up their own unique take on this most humble of culinary heroes. And with organisers out to reclaim the essence of what makes a great burger, the celebration sees everyone from classic takeaway joints, to beach-side food trucks and city bistros taking part.
Mount Maunganui is home to the country’s tastiest toasted sandwich, with Freeport with Cleaver & Co taking top honours in the Great NZ Toastie Takeover 2023.
Talented young chef Brooke Moore has won the hotly contested title - and snagged bragging rights for the North for the second time only in the competition’s history - with her impressive creation Surf, Turf & Smoke, Monsieur!
A standout for competition judges, Moore’s winning toastie featured housemade smoked lamb pastrami, smoked prawns, mozzarella, smoked cheddar sauce and McClure's Sweet & Spicy Pickles, sandwiched between locally-made BreadHead miso tahini sourdough and served with smoked aioli and pickle juice gel.
Aspiring Auckland chef Julius Caesar has taken out top place at the Lee Kum Kee New Zealand Developing Chefs Challenge 2022.
A senior chef de partie at Ponsonby Road Bistro, Caesar competed alongside three other young chefs at the final event held in Auckland this week.
Open to all chefs under the age of 40 either working or training in New Zealand, the competition saw entrants submit a Chinese or Chinese-inspired dish and video online, using a minimum of three Lee Kum Kee sauces or condiments.
Taking home a $3,000 cash prize and the title of 2022 Lee Kum Kee New Zealand Developing Chef, the judges described Caesar as a “talented chef with a mature palette and a big future”.
The feast of theatre, dance, circus, cabaret, music and visual arts that is Auckland Arts Festival takes place 11-29 March, and Four Points by Sheraton Auckland has attractive package options for festivalgoers wanting a stylish stay in the heart of Auckland’s arts district.
Located on Queen Street and just a short walk from festival venues the Aotea Centre, Auckland Town Hall and Q Theatre, Four Points Auckland is the ideal base from which to kick back, relax and enjoy Auckland’s arts and entertainment scene.
For more information on package options, head here, and for more on the festival, head here.
Food lovers won’t want to miss this year’s Taste of Auckland, with Epicer, Andiamo, Hugo’s Bistro, &Sushi, Culprit, Xoong, Shucker Brothers, Lowbrow,Crab Shack and a Paris Butter & Friends collab just some of the restaurants confirmed in this year’s line-up.
With tickets on sale this week, the four-day festival on from 31 October to 3 November 2019 on Auckland’s waterfront is shaping up to be a veritable ‘foodies’ playground’. New festival themes to explore include Spice Alley, Ocean Terrace, The Shed and Decadence Collective, showcasing signature dishes from some of Auckland’s most exciting restaurants, and gourmet treats, condiments, fine wines and chef favourites just waiting to be discovered.
One of the biggest names in the food world is heading our way later this year for some very special Auckland appearances.
The ‘godfather of modern cooking’, Marco Pierre White is set to appear at an exclusive white tie dinner and at New Zealand’s largest food festival, Taste of Auckland.
New Zealand's biggest wine tasting event Winetopia is back, with a colourful line-up of wine experts, personalities, masterclasses, mouthwatering food and the opportunity to sample hundreds of world-class wines from over 60 renowned vineyards.
Shed 10, Auckland 14-15 June and TSB Bank Arena, Wellington 12-13 July.
Foodies, restaurant buffs and music fans will flock to Auckland's waterfront next week for what's gearing up to be an extra special Taste of Auckland.
The country's biggest celebration of food and drink, this year's tenth annual Taste kicks off next Thursday 1 November with a new seaside venue and a host of other firsts including a sustainable seafood theme, dedicated vegan and dessert eateries and some of the country's top music acts on the bill.
This year’s Taste of Auckland in partnership with Electrolux just keeps getting better with a host of big names in the food world newly added to the line-up including Nick Honeyman from Paris Butter, Simon Gault and Giraffe, Nic Watt of True Food & Yoga and The Tasting Shed’s Ganesh Raj.
Bringing the total tally to ten, four new restaurants join the already exceptional lineup of Baduzzi, Euro, Tok Tok, Saan, The Vodka Room and Miss Moonshines who will serve up their signature dishes at the festival.