Eat Your Way Up SH2

July 5, 2019

We’ve taken you up for a foodie roadie up State Highway 1, showcasing the very best of what the Kāpiti Coast has to offer for Visa Wellington On a Plate 2019.

Now we’re taking you up State Highway 2 to show off what’s happening in the Hutt Valley for Visa WOAP. Take a pick from high tea, coffee, whisky and five-course ceilidhs for the adults, or BBQ, woodfired pizzas and indoor picnics for the kids.

One thing’s for sure - there’s Festival events, Dine dishes and Burger Wellington burgers for everyone in the Hutt Valley. Take a trip with Visa WOAP up State Highway 2…

Festival Events

Gather up the fam

Head over to Alicetown with the fam for a BBQ feast fun day at The Gardens. It’s free entry and there’s a whole load goin’ on for those who like their food over fire. Gaucho’s Churrasco BBQ slow cooks a whole lamb on an open fire asado spit, and shares secrets on brining, spice mixes, seasoning, butchery cuts and slow cooking over flames. Rizzo’s hosts a masterclass on making the perfect pizza dough, with sessions for kids to make their own pizza in a wood-fire pizza oven. Top it off with a hot wings contest at Sin Bin, craft beer tasting at Hopscotch and a ton of activities for kids and families, this is an all-day culinary event for all ages.

Or visit Upper Hutt’s Expressions Whirinaki Arts & Entertainment Centre for an indoor picnic that’s great for families or a unique couple’s night out (if you want to leave the whanau at home). Pick your very own basket filled with handcrafted artisan food, including Kāpiti cheese and handmade chocolates, select some backyard BBQ classics, then unplug, unwind and enjoy! Make sure you check out Explore Bugs: Our Backyard Heroes exhibition and come up close and personal with friendly mini-monsters.

Whisky + Beer galore

You may want to leave the kids at home for this knees-up in Upper Hutt. Panhead Custom Ales and Whisky Galore host a night of tales, ales, malts and live music. Jump on a chartered bus to Panhead brewery, warm up with a whisky cocktail and indulge in a five-course menu fusing elements of New Zealand, Scotland and American low and slow BBQ, paired with special release beers, high-end American bourbons and fine single malts. And when those ceilidh spins turn your legs to jelly the bus will deliver you back home safe and sound.

Pinky’s up - it’s high time for high tea!

High tea conjures up images of sunny afternoons and springtime flowers. Well, imagine one set in front of a roaring fire, the smell of pine and winter mists in the air. Escape into a High Tea winter wonderland at Upper Hutt’s Aston Norwood Cafe at the foothills of the Remutaka Ranges, and enjoy a selection of delicacies such as snowflake macarons, glittering pretzel wands, mushroom meringues, croissants and mini pies, with your choice of Christmassy beverage. Afterwards you’re free to explore 14 acres of winter gardens by afternoon or torch light.

A roasty Ripe cuppa joe

Thought you knew everything about coffee? Not yet, you don’t! Petone’s Ripe Coffee Company presents an interactive coffee experience reflecting the journey of Indonesian coffee and illustrating the unique process of roasting and cupping. Hear their story of direct trade, see the process from green to roasted, take in the distinctive aroma, and taste the unique flavours of Ripe Coffee’s Indonesian origins.

Burger Wellington Roadie up SH2

Garage Project presents Burger Wellington brings you burgs, burgs everywhere along State Highway 2! Try pork patties in Petone, slide into some sliders in Lower Hutt or crack into crab in Upper Hutt. These are just a few of the Burger Wellington creations you’ll find when you motor along the Hutt Valley...

Seashore Cabaret (Petone)
Mother Pucker’s Pork & Pickle - House-smoked pork belly with red sauerkraut, pickled apples, crispy shallots, Good Fortune Coffee barbeque sauce and whole grain mustard aioli in a salted pretzel bun, with hand-cut fries.

Revive Espresso (Petone)
The Clara Burger - Angus beef with Scottie's streaky bacon, melted Kingsmeade Cheddar, caramelised onions, ranch coleslaw, sliced dill pickle and top secret insanity sauce in a sesame seed milk bun, with shoestring fries.

The Simply Grill Kitchen (Petone)
The Grill Burger - Slow-cooked pork shoulder with sliced pork belly, apple slaw, 'SGK' burger sauce, smoked Swiss cheese on a toasted Arobake brioche bun, with hand-cut chips.

Roadhouse Bar & Grill (Lower Hutt)
The Heat Wave - Jalapeño and sundried tomato meat patty, caramelised onions, smoked cheese, salsa and lime dressing in a sourdough brioche, with curly fries.

Buzz Cafe Restaurant (Lower Hutt)
The Black Ink Paua Burger - Housemade pāua patty with mesclun, tomato, onion, beetroot and Buzz's special seafood mayo sauce on a squid ink bun, with kūmara fries and battered onion rings.

Giuseppe’s (Lower Hutt)
Il Vecchio Patriota - Three sliders! Slider 1: Roasted portobello mushroom with onion jam and gorgonzola in a green brioche bun. Slider 2: Pork and fennel patty, with truffle pesto and mozzarella in a white brioche bun. Slider 3: Venison patty, with blackberry relish and smoked provolone in a red brioche bun. With a side of truffle and Parmesan fries.

Tricky’s Sandwich Co. (Upper Hutt)
Très Chic - Chilli and coriander chicken burger with cucumber and capsicum salad and chilli jam on a brioche bun.

Aston Norwood Cafe (Upper Hutt)
Crabalicious - Tempura crab with Asian miso slaw of red cabbage and shiitake mushrooms in a charcoal bun, with citrus kelp tempura green beans, broccoli and zucchini fries.

Panhead Custom Ales (Upper Hutt)
Don’t Fear the Reaper - (pictured below) Queso stuffed short rib and chorizo patty with chilli pickled onion rings, stout and treacle cured bacon, smoked jalapeño salsa, mole, Carolina reaper hot sauce syringe and smokey chilli con carne, with mānuka smoked chilli salt corn chips.

Check out more burgers in the Burger Wellington line-up here!

Dine Wellington - Festival Dishes

Cruise up the Hutt Valley and pop into these spots to try some of the region’s creative VWOAP Festival dishes.

Soprano Petone (Petone)
Wagyu beef, coffee and chocolate beef jus, mushroom chips, Zany Zeus smoked ricotta and rocket agnolotti, olive oil foam, parmesan crisp, microgreens, and truffle mist.

La Bella Italia (Petone)
Char-grilled Grass Fed Girls lamb cutlets with salsa verde and Lot Eight Harissa olive oil.

The Butcher and Brewer (Petone)
Austrian-style beef stroganoff with sirloin, Zany Zeus sour cream and sauvignon blanc, flamed at your table and served bound with fresh noodles and petite pois.

Bellbird Eatery (Lower Hutt)
Braised Wairarapa lamb shoulder on kumara and celeriac gratin, served with Kingsmeade parmesan, lemon blanched broccoli and smokey Zany Zeus yoghurt jus.

Tartines French Cafe (Eastbourne)
Buckwheat galette, filled with Parkvale mushroom medley, bechamel sauce, agria diced roasted potato and Lot Eight olive oil. Served with a garden salad and homemade French dressing.

Comes & Goes (Petone) pictured below
Sous-vide free range chicken breast, mixed grain risotto, Prana Greens microgreens and yuzu puree