Wild Food Cooking School | Treetops Lodge & Estate, Rotorua (New Zealand)

Wild side cooking school and dining put you in touch with natural flavours and ancient techniques in primeval wildreness.

Here’s a totall y new experience for couples who like to cook and eat on the Wild Side – the Wild Food Cooking School at Treetops Lodge and Estate in Rotorua, the heartland of New Zealand’s world famous therapeutic thermal region and its Wild Food capital.

Treetops is a unique, totally New Zealand experience, a sanctuary and retreat of breathtaking terrain, offering the ultimate in world-class accommodation, cuisine
and adventure. The Lodge’s elegant, ecology-inspired architectural style was derived from the country’s pioneering past, with timber and stone finishes echoing the natural
beauty and simplicity of the great outdoors. Treetops offers seven streams, on-site trout fishing, four lakes, and over 70 kilometres of adventure trails. New family experiences include photography safaris, helicopter tours, Geo-caching hunts, luxury treks to spectacular waterfalls, and a 4WD experience. And now its knowledgeable chefs introduce you into the secrets of food and flavours direct from the surrounding wilderness, gathered by you and cooked in the Lodge’s kitchens...

The Full-day Wild Food Cooking Experience begins with a memorable, guided 4-WD expedition deep into Treetops’ 2500 acres of native bush to discover the magnificent wildlife population of fish, birds and animals. Unspoiled brooks are packed with fat trout and eels, there are herds of deer and of wild pigs and both native and introduced game birds; the best way to prepare and cook each of these is explained. Next is a leisurely one-hour stroll through the bush to collect indigenous herbs and spices and then you’ll spend the afternoon in the Lodge’s open-plan kitchen. There, Treetops’ talented Maori chefs combine the produce and indigenous ingredients of the forest to create a dazzling variety of unique dishes. And you’ll learn how to reproduce the haunting flavours of the hangi or Maori pit-oven at home.

Half-day Wild Food Cooking Experiences begin with native-ingredient gathering in the pristine wilderness of Treetops’ 800-year old forest. Accompanied by a knowledgeable Maori chef, guests discover such indigenous tastes as tangy kawakawa and peppery horopito. Then it’s back to the Lodge’s open-plan kitchen to watch as these are transformed into gourmet garnishes and a range of unique flavourings to make dishes with Treetops’ own trout, game birds, reared venison and wild pork - dishes unlike any you have ever tasted before. You’ll also be inducted into the secrets of creating a hangi or pit-oven in your own garden or in your kitchen.