Every dish tells a story – of exceptional ingredients, passionate producers, and the remarkable places that unite them.
The North Island's food scene centres on its cities and coastlines. Auckland's restaurants lean on quality ingredients and the people behind them, while just a ferry ride away, Waiheke Island offers fresh oysters, vineyards and a micro-brewery. Wellington punches well above its weight, a MICHELIN-recognised dining scene sits alongside a genuinely obsessive coffee culture, with the Wairarapa's Martinborough cellar doors just over an hour away. Hawke's Bay is a food and wine mecca in its own right, with a climate suited to Bordeaux-style blends, syrah and chardonnay, while Gisborne remains one of the country's most underrated food and wine regions. Up north, Rotorua and Waitangi are where you'll find the traditional hāngī.
