Beef patty, with Harringtons bacon, smoked cheese, pickles, lettuce, sweet onion jam, pickleback mayonnaise, and BBQ sauce in a Breadcraft milk bun.

Pork belly and candied bacon, with smoked provolone, apple coleslaw, and bacon jam in an Arobake brioche bun, with smashed potatoes.

Ten wings. Ten different sauces. Can you handle the heat? This is hot ones for real, a raucous evening where diners work through escalating sauces, each wing a new test. The pace is quick (roughly 90 minutes), the energy high, and the challenge is genuine. You'll walk out with stories and probably a few tears, but that's the point. After the final wing, a supersized banana split ice cream sundae arrives to soothe the burn. Your ticket includes ten wings and the sundae. Boozy milkshakes available to purchase on the night to wash down the tears.

Set on a working regenerative farm just outside Wellington, this long-table dinner brings you as close to the land that produced your meal as possible. The vegetables and pasture-raised meat will come directly from Mangaroa Farms and other local suppliers, shared in a cosy winter-dinner setting designed to spark conversation, curiosity, and connection around food. This is an interactive dinner experience that blends food, conversation, poetry, live music and inner-enquiry into one cohesive experience. You're welcomed with whakawhanaungatanga, a warm welcome drink and canapés to acquaint your taste buds to the land. You'll gather in the yurt for a multi-course regenerative meal, with stories from the farmers and producers who grew the food. Woven through the evening will be live music from Casual Healing, poetry and reflective questions to open the table. Designed to foster a single, focused conversation, this Jeffersonian style dinner invites conversation across the table. You'll talk with strangers and leave with friends. Your ticket includes a snack and drink on arrival, a multi-course farm-sourced dinner complete with fresh baked bread, local sides and dessert with non-alcoholic beverages throughout the evening.

The first four Mondays in August, an up-and-coming chef takes over the Everybody Eats kitchen at LTD and delivers a three-course dinner built from rescued food, cooking it their way and style. Walk in, take a seat, and let the Everybody Eats volunteers whānau take care of the rest. No bookings. Pay what you can. Sixth year running, and the model stays simple: good food, good company, and a room full of people making a difference one plate at a time. Every course uses rescued ingredients, because eating is fundamental and everyone deserves access to something . 3 August — Oscar Little, Hummingbird Oscar Little started his culinary career five years ago as a commis chef at Shed 5 and The Crabshack, where he learned what it means to commit to a team. He’s since worked his way up to chef de partie at Hummingbird. Along the way he’s volunteered with Everybody Eats, and it’s that spirit of giving back to the community that drives him to compete this year. 10 August — Brayden Puketapu, Koji At 22, Brayden Puketapu is already developing a cooking voice that’s distinctly his own. Working at Koji, he’s drawn to the creative challenge of transforming overlooked ingredients and putting his own stamp on both classic and contemporary dishes. His heritage is central to that identity, grounding his food in something personal while keeping it fresh and inventive. 17 August — Eugenous Evan, Rosella Indonesian-born Eugenous Evan came to Wellington five years ago and hasn’t looked back. After stints at Shepherd, Hillside & Daisy’s, and Supra, he’s now chef de partie at Rosella, where he’s been for just over a year. For Eugenous, cooking is an act of care: a way to share something of himself with every person who sits down to eat. 24 August — Aryan Dhankhhar, Mosaic Venues (Mr Go's, Kisa, Ombra, Parla) Aryan Dhankhhar’s love of food started young, holding weekend cooking competitions with his sister and himself in their family kitchen in Haryana, India, with their mother as judge. Since then he’s built a career spanning hotels, restaurants, and catering, working across techniques from sous vide to traditional barbecue. A highlight: leading the team at Wilson Barbecue during Wellington On a Plate 2024, where they set a world record selling over 6,000 burgers in a single day. Now at Mr Go’s, he brings that same drive and precision to every plate. Next Gen Cook Off is proudly supported by The Gas Hub.

Beef and pork hambāgu patty, with house-pickled daikon, shaved savoy cabbage, American cheddar, prune tonkatsu, and yuzu kewpie in an Asian Food Republic wasabi crumb brioche bun, with coconut salt crisps.

Since 1747, Maille has been synonymous with French gastronomy. The supplier to the court of King Louis XV, it remains one of the most recognised French condiment brands in the world. This August, Maille teams up with Le Bouillon Bel Air for Menu du Jour: a special collaborative bistro series served every Sunday throughout the month. Step into a classic Parisian-inspired dining experience and enjoy a three-course menu where Maille's signature mustards feature throughout each dish. Begin with a leek terrine dressed in a Dijon and wholegrain Maille mustard vinaigrette, followed by Poulet Gaston Gérard—chicken in a rich Maille mustard and cream sauce. Finish with a dark chocolate mousse accompanied by brown butter crumble, poached pear, and a mustard-sesame-honey tuile. This exclusive three-course menu is available for $85 per person, every Sunday in August.

Dry-aged Wagyu beef patty with cheese, pickles, onion, and MSG-spiked burger sauce on a Volco sesame potato bun.

Indian fermentation has long lived in home kitchens and ancient texts, yet rarely takes centre stage in restaurants, especially on the global stage. This collaborative event invites you into that quieter, largely unseen world as chefs Saavni Krishnan and Sriram Aditya from Melbourne's Saadi restaurant, and chef Vaibhav Vishen, from Wellington's Chaat Street, bring a fine-dining lens to India's deep fermentation traditions, set against Wellington's wild, coastal produce. Across an intimate evening, the menu combines age-old techniques and new terroir: cultured grains, pickles, kanji-style ferments, and lacto-preserved fruits. For both chefs their cooking is rooted in memory and comfort but expressed with restraint, clarity, and precision. Think fermented rice and lentil batters reimagined as delicate snacks, vegetables transformed through lactic fermentation to echo both Indian aachar and Wellington's coastal flora, and broths built on aged, cultured bases for depth and length. The journey traces a loose path from the grain and pulse-based ferments that underpin everyday Indian eating, through preserved vegetables and fruits, to experimental applications responding to Wellington's climate and producers. Your ticket includes a five-course tasting menu with thoughtful beverage pairings designed to echo ferment-forward flavours. Non-alcoholic options feature pickled, infused, and cultured elements without overpowering the palate. This event has shared seating.

Beef patty, with caramelised onion and miso glaze, kiwifruit and jalapeño chutney, smoked cheddar, onion ring, and black garlic aioli in a Cottage Lane brioche bun, with fries.

Two smashed Wagyu patties, with Swiss cheese, French onion, horseradish pepper mayonnaise, pickled shallot, Italian parsley, chives, and rocket in a housemade croissant bun.

Are you a foodie, a wine enthusiast or just someone who loves to eat? The Food Show is your ticket to foodie heaven. Join us to sip, sample and shop from over 100 exhibitors featuring the finest local and international food and beverage brands. Get inspired with live cooking demos from celebrity chefs including Manu Feildel & Colin Fassnidge from MKR & Off The Grid, all free to join with your entry ticket. And don’t miss out on exclusive show-only deals that will delight your taste buds. Indulge in a culinary adventure like no other!