As Feast Matariki sets, two other major constellations rise in our Eat New Zealand calendar. We start a search for the next cohort of Kaitaki; our next generation food story-tellers and we begin our journey towards the Food Hui; the most important food conversation in New Zealand. And it’s with great pleasure that we announce a major supporter for our Kaitaki, Our Land and Water National Science Challenge. As the science challenge is so closely aligned with our primary sector and committed to improving the environment our food comes from, it feels like a great fit. More details below. This will be the seventh consecutive year we’ve held the Food Hui, and the fourth in conjunction with the Restaurant Association of NZ. This year it will be held in Ōtautahi/Christchurch in the Town Hall on 27th & 28th September. It has always been a gathering of the Eat New Zealand clan. If you're interested in hospitality, food production, food systems and our food story you should be there. Again there are more details below. And there is so much other goodness coming, it’s an exciting time to be part of New Zealand food. Join us as a supporter for a free ticket to the Food Hui, and to be part of this kaupapa.

Food Hui 2021 is coming!

Monday 27th September - Day 1 by Restaurant Association.

Tuesday 28th September - Day 2 by Eat New Zealand.

Where: Christchurch Town Hall, Ōtautahi

Tickets are on sale now!

The Food Hui has been and remains a hugely important date in our yearly calendar - two days of talks about our food and the things that influence it. 2021 sees our seventh consecutive annual symposium. It is undoubtedly the most important food conversation in New Zealand, as it covers all aspects from production through to experience and celebration.

The vision for Food Hui 2021 is...WITHIN

An opportunity to look inwards. To embrace, celebrate and champion who and what we are as a food nation, while striving to lead a new way forward. A chance to celebrate what we have here, within ourselves. To seek guidance from our own leaders, thinkers and innovators. To encourage each other and to look for support on our own shores. We will draw on global experiences as lessons to help focus on our own narrative. To take pride in our industry, in our food, our people, our stories, our heritage and our land. To strengthen what we have already built and to come together to look within, as we look ahead to pave a more resilient food future for Aotearoa. Get your tickets and book your flights so you can join us and be part of the most important food conversation in Aotearoa. We'd like to thank our sponsors so far, Christchurch NZ and Venues Ōtautahi.

Secure tickets to the Food Hui 2021 !

The Kaitaki Hunt is ON!

It's been an incredible year since we launched our very first Eat New Zealand Kaitaki - a collective of next generation food storytellers. We've been blown away by the power in bringing together a group of 30 individuals, from all across Aotearoa, including Northland to Rakiura.

Among the collective were farmers, fishers, divers, food technologists, dieticians, gardeners, food experience providers, chefs, photographers, illustrators, writers, journalists, wine makers, coffee roasters, business owners, food growers, compost enthusiasts and more. Over the last year we've collected and amplified their stories through our Eat New Zealand platforms. It's now time for us to find our next Kaitaki and we'd love your help to expand this collective.

This is a unique opportunity for a young person to develop connections, build their personal brand or business and become part of a group of next generation influencers who are paving the way forward. We'd appreciate you passing this message on to those you think might be interested.

Who is eligible? Keen young people from across all levels of our food system, who have a passion for telling food stories.

You can find more details here.

Applications are OPEN NOW and will CLOSE Friday 6th August at 5pm.

Here's a few thoughts from our Kaitaki about what they enjoyed most from their first year... "Meeting likeminded people, witnessing the strength in unity and the possibility for change."

"I loved meeting everyone - they are all amazing. It was awesome to learn new things, it helped me find my passion and opened my eyes into what I want to study at university and what I want to do afterwards. It also allowed me to create many amazing connections!"

"Having a whānau of passionate youngsters with shared beliefs and passions!"

"The People! I loved the exchange of information across the country and the connections made over topics of discussion that everyone can relate to."

I'm interested in becoming an Eat New Zealand Kaitaki!

#EatNZTaewaHunt Winner

After much deliberation our guest judge Nadia Lim has chosen the winner of The Great Taewa Hunt - our photography and food storytelling competition brought to you by Eat New Zealand and Potatoes New Zealand to celebrate Feast Matariki.

We are pleased to announce the Winner of the The Great Taewa Hunt is - Marion Fumarola of @pahekolivingfoods.

You can see her winning image above and read her Taewa story below...

"The revival of indigenous and locally-adapted seeds is one of the keys to secure food crop diversity.

We need to maintain traditional crops through continued agroecological cultivation coupled with traditional knowledge, and keep the seeds in our hands to be passed on to the next generation.

Taewa are traditional potato varieties introduced to New Zealand in the late 18th century and became a staple Māori food crop.

I am in love of these treasures and so grateful that our community have protected these seeds and kept them where they belong : in our gardens and on our tables."

Thank you to all those who entered, Nadia was charmed by the images and stories and loved reading them all. It's been a fascinating journey to watch you all uncover these taonga and even if you didn't find one yourself - we hope you learn't a little more about our treasured #Taewa. We will continue to share some of the images and stories over the next few weeks.

Mussel Recipes

We have gathered the first of our recipe collection for The Mighty Mussel Gathering from some of our Eat New Zealand community. Our founder and award-winning chef Giulio Sturla will kick things off, as he shares an intricate and fascinating recipe for Mussel and Vegetable Crudo.

Over the coming weeks we will continue to share more of these recipes - with the aim to encourage more New Zealanders to celebrate and cook with mussels as an affordable and nutritious meal idea for their whānau. If you are a chef, food writer, keen home cook or general mussel enthusiast - get in touch and send your mussel recipes to kate@eatnewzealand.nz

#EatNZMussels #NZMussels

Share your Mighty Mussel Recipes with us...

Join Happy Cow Milk

Glen Herud from Happy Cow Milk has been on a mission to revolutionise the way we do dairy. It’s a unique platform that enables dairy farmers to supply ethical and sustainable milk to their local community, designing the entire milk processing and distribution system so that anyone can economically farm, sell or buy Happy Cow Milk. Having been generously supported so far and they are ready to take their innovative “milk factory in a box” to the next level.

Read more about the next steps for Happy Cow Milk and how you can get on board. Make a pledge to Happy Cow Milk

Street Eats AKL: 30th - 31st July

Free ticket for Eat NZ Supporters