Symbolising the triumph of light over darkness and good over evil, Diwali – or Deepavali, as it’s known in the south of India – will always hold a special place in Renu Sikka’s heart. Deepavali is one of those festive occasions when you feel the warm, enclosing presence of your elders – it’s like your … Read more
Alice Neville drank a lot of cocktails at New Zealand’s first dedicated cocktail festival in Wellington last weekend… here are a few standouts. Wellington’s always been a good booze town. These days it’s all about the craft beer and natural wine, of course, but years before hazy IPAs and pét-nats were de rigueur, there were … Read more
Curd nerd Calum Hodgson wants you to come to a small North Island town to stand in defence of the small-scale farmhouse cheese tradition. The Great Eketahuna Cheese Festival is a cheese community keen to connect with others in an act of #CheeseSolidarity. This is a small cheese fest in a small part of provincial New … Read more
Fermentation is having a moment, and it’s not all scobys and sauerkraut. Claire Adamson on the joys of embarking on a journey of discovery with her microbial mates. Connal Finlay is not content with waiting until the weekend to share his enthusiasm with me. Excitedly, he tells me about how cheese, pizza and coffee are … Read more
It’s Waitangi Day! Time to learn, respect, honour the treaty and eat some yum AF food. The ol’ midweek public holiday can sneak up on you – suddenly you don’t have to go to work but alas, you have no plans. Never fear: there are many cool Waitangi Day events happening around the country, all … Read more
Corn dogs, crayfish and multiple gin tastings convert a cynical ex-Wellingtonian to the joys of Tāmaki Makaurau’s annual food festival. Arriving at The Cloud (or, as I like to call it, the Great Corporate Sandworm of Arrakis) for Taste of Auckland, my cynical-meter immediately goes into the red zone. Bizarrely, all ticket holders need to … Read more
Seven-and-a-half years since the quake, food is playing a critical role in how Christchurch rebuilds, according to the people behind a festival that celebrates the city’s regeneration. When you think about the aftermath of the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, food probably isn’t what springs to mind. But it was an important thread that ran through the … Read more