How to be a foodie during Visa Wellington On a Plate
May 31, 2022
Welcome to Visa Wellington On a Plate 2022. With hundreds of unique festival events, Dine Wellington dishes, Garage Project presents Burger Wellington and Cocktail Wellington presented by Tommy’s to explore, we’ve put together a mini-guide to help you make the most of your August across the Greater Wellington Region.
Here are 10 things you should know about Visa Wellington On a Plate for 2022:
1/ The 2022 festival theme: State of Flux
Bringing up the festival theme during a foodie conversation is always a hot topic. Every year we create a festival theme to inspire participating venues and event organisers to create one-off menus, dishes, cocktails, burgers and festival events. The theme marks a moment in time and inspires an exciting and unique programme each year.
We can all agree the one constant in life is change, from the early buds to the flower, the wind and the seasons, and the eventual changing of the tides. This year is also one of change for Visa Wellington On a Plate as we look to 2023 and begin to unravel what the festival looks like as it heads into its 15th year. With big changes on the horizon, we're embracing our own State of Flux.
Chef Mark Olive
Chef Palisa Anderson
2/ Teamwork makes the dream work - Learn about our chef collabs
The chef collabs and takeovers are always hot tickets. This year we have famous faces from around the country, and even from across the ditch flying in! Celebrity Chef Mark Olive will be bringing a slice of the outback to the Australian High Commission. Chef Zak Tinsley of Congress Melbourne will be collaborating with his long-time mentor Helen Turnbull at 50-50. Chef Dariush Lolaiy of Cazador is bringing a taste of the wild at Garage Project's Wild Workshop. Chef Plabita Florence of Forest heads to Graze Wine Bar and Chef Palisa Anderson of Boon Cafe is bringing her fragrant noodles and more to The Larder.
Atlas is presenting a chef succession series with the who’s who of New Zealand’s scene dropping in including Chefs Martin Boseley, Des Harris, and Giulio Sturla; along with chefs from The Grove and Paris Butter. Keep your eye out for the Bar Magda event at Cinderella too.
Chef Morgan McGlone in Wellington
3/ Come to our launch event: The Sea Breeze Inn pop-up, 29 - 31 July
Ready for a taste of nostalgia? Join us at The Sea Breeze Inn, a new pop-up concept showcasing New Zealand’s own kaimoana, presenting sustainable seafood in a casual setting that embraces fun retro elements with a modern take. The pop-up is in partnership with Visa and Seafood NZ, with long-time collaborator and festival supporter, NZ-born celebrity Chef Morgan McGlone. Get set to tuck into fresh takes on classic fish ‘n chip style fare from Friday 29 to Sunday 31 July!
Te Papa's Te Marae Rongomaraeroa during Wellington Food Stories Speaker Series in August 2021
4/ Join us at Te Papa for our Wellington Food Stories Speaker Series
On the first four Tuesdays of August, head over to Te Papa and feed your brain with interesting discussions about various culinary topics within Wellington's unique food story featuring local chefs, historians and storytellers.
For its third edition, we start from where it ended last year, continuing our journey across the oceans and the lands. Hear from our immigrant communities - with takes from Malaysia, France, India and Ethiopia - that bring rich flavours to our table and make our food culture so diverse. Our speaker series takes place at Te Papa's Te Marae Rongomaraeroa after work on Tuesdays (5:15pm - 5:45pm).
5/ Learn how to navigate our website
We know Visa Wellington On a Plate is hard planning. But every year we introduce new features to our website to make it a joyful experience. Use our filters to find what works for your taste buds and then map it out with our Festival maps for optimal efficiency. If highlighters, crayons or post-it notes are more your things, print out the programme using the print button sitting at the top right corner of the map (desktop only).
Dockside Restaurant & Bar's Dine Wellington Festival dish - Super-pāuā-fragalisticexpialadoshus
Lulu Bar's Dine Wellington Festival dish - Bone Thugs-n-Truffley
6/ Read the Dine Wellington stories
Our food capital is rich in food facts and Wellingtonians are starving to know all of them so we asked our Dine Wellington participants to share their inspirations behind the dishes pulling from the Capital's topography, history, people as well as homages to restaurants gone before. They say food tastes better when you know the story behind it, so have a browse through our Festival Dishes and discover some of Wellington’s greatest food stories.
7/ Festival Events and Themed Pop ups
Every year, our restaurants pull together some incredible Festival Events and themed pop-ups you can’t experience any other time of the year. From chef collabs to flavours inspired from all around the world, masterclasses or interactive events, Festival Events and pop-ups are a great way to get some foodie knowledge down your puku all whilst having fun and sumptuous kai.
8/ Keep up with What’s Fresh
Our What’s Fresh blog now has a fresher look! You can access our podcast, blogs and *drumroll* foodie guides all in one place. These foodie guides will help you navigate the festival programme by destination and dietary requirements. Make sure you’re also signed up for our What’s Fresh newsletter for the latest festival updates, special giveaways and other foodie news.
9/ Pace yourself
With all Visa Wellington On a Plate has to offer, we understand the excitement and temptation to try as many Dine Wellington festival dishes, Cocktail Wellington cocktails and Burger Wellington burgers as possible. Remember to treat your puku responsibly, Visa Wellington On a Plate is a marathon, not a sprint. We’ve also introduced new non-alcoholic badges for Cocktail Wellington presented by Tommy’s to help you navigate the cocktails that have a non-alcoholic counterpart.
10/ Wishlist!
Create your wishlists (e.g. date nights, return of the burgies, etc.) by clicking the love heart icon on each of the Festival listings. Make sure you’re logged in so they’re saved forever and share them with your friends.
Congratulations! You’re all geared up to become a Visa Wellington On a Plate expert in no time. Explore our festival programme, pencil in your foodie outings and wait patiently for August.