Eat Good, Feel Good Visa WOAP Festival Events

July 9, 2019

Let’s face it. Visa Wellington On a Plate can be a bit of indulgent month. You overload on burgers and Festival dishes, sip on a cocktail or two - it’s a dabble in the heartiest of times.

So it’s nice to offset with some feel-good social enterprise. This year there are loads of mindful Visa WOAP events with a focus on charity, sustainability, community, foraging and nature. 

Here are some Visa WOAP events that’ll not only have you eating good, but feeling good about it too. 

Charity 

Fill your tummy as well as some tummies that need it with events such as Kaibosh Food Rescue’s Souptastic! It’s a free event and open to all at Civic Square and Midland Park to celebrate International Happiness Happens Day with potfulls of soup prepared by Shep Elliot of Shepherd, using the finest of Kaibosh-rescued ingredients, to warm the cockles of your heart on a cold Welly day. Just BYO mug!

Join the Australian High Commission for A Night at Bonnie Doon! You’re in for a ripper of an evening with some chips and dip, rissoles, chicken with seasoning, sponge cake and ice cream – all The Castle classics. After all, it’s what you do with them that counts! Experience hours of serenity at the official residence of the Australian High Commissioner and really get the vibe of the thing, whether it’s on the patio or in the pool room. All proceeds from this event will go to charity partner, the Wellington City Mission. 

Sustainability 

Kaibosh Food Rescue also returns with All Taste, No Waste, their annual culinary extravaganza of unloved, overlooked and neglected ingredients. This year, the event is led by Kelda Hains of Rita, who leads a team of next-gen Wellington chefs, as well as culinary and front-of-house WEl Tec students to create a unique and unexpected menu, whilst sharing clever ideas to reduce food waste at home. All proceeds from this event go towards funding Kaibosh’s daily operations, rescuing and redistributing quality surplus food for Wellingtonians in need.

When you catch or cook a fish, which are the bits you throw out? Tom Hutchison of Capitol wants you to hold off biffing those out, and challenges us to eat seafood and secondary cuts previously overlooked or judged as bait or fodder. Trash Fish & Second Thoughts is a long table party focusing on plentiful yet often overlooked seafood, and lesser-used cuts of meat following the philosophy of nose to tail dining. 

Join the New Zealand International Film Festival (NZIFF) and the Roxy Cinema for the Wellington premiere of The Biggest Little Farm, a documentary about American urbanites moving to the country to pursue their dream of producing a bio-diverse farm that can sustain their lifestyle. The Coco at the Roxy team will create a delicious vegetarian garden plate paired with a non-alcoholic beverage for you to enjoy, while a special NZIFF guest introduces the film.

Kiwi native, Kim Wejendorp, from Amass in Copenhagen, is notorious for his ground-breaking research into fermentation and sustainability. He joins Wellington’s own fermentation wizard, Jacob Brown from The Larder, to create eight courses of delicious food made from useable byproducts, which normally end up in the waste disposal. Pop along to Amass Merges with Miramar: Kim Wejendorp to get the idea…

 

 

Foraging 

Spend a morning of foraging and learning about wild ingredients, sourced around Wellington on The Hillside Forage with Hillside chef-owner, Asher Boote, and head chef, Max Gordy. Kick back at home for the afternoon, then head back to Hillside for a seven-course meal where your foraged food is put to good use.

Johanna Knox, author of A Forager’s Treasury, will enlighten you on the what, how, when and why’s of foraging during A Forager’s Tale, where you’ll enjoy an inspirational three-course vegetarian luncheon; most of which has been foraged or grown within 30kms of where you will be dining. 

Forager’s Feast is a Trans-Tasman collaboration, featuring the culinary talents of Bob Piechnizek from QT Melbourne’s Pascale and Jiwon Do of QT Wellington’s Hippopotamus. Both have a passion for natural ingredients and bringing the fresh, natural flavours of foraged ingredients to the plate. Fusing contemporary Australian cuisine of Pascale and French-influenced Kiwi flavours of Hippopotomus, they make the most of land and sea, using ingredients they’ve foraged themselves.  

Nature 

Hop away on an afternoon boat trip on the Kapiti Island Foodie Feast, where Waikanae’s Long Beach Tavern, North End Brewing and Kāpiti Island Nature Tours invite you on a long lunch, exploring nature and local cuisine on Kāpiti Island. Take a boat across the Rauoterangi Channel to Kāpiti Island Nature Reserve, where you’ll discover the island, relax and enjoy views over the marine reserve, whilst Head Chef Ricky Dennes from Long Beach creates a four-course feast using ingredients unique to Kāpiti Coast.

Or Escape to Nga Manu to experience the sights and sounds of Ngā Manu Nature Reserve.  You’ll feed the body and soul in this four-course lunch to showcase the best of Kāpiti produce, seafood and artisan products. See kiwi and eel in their natural habitats, whilst hearing the call of native birds. Each course is matched with a beer and wine pairing from North End Brewing and Johner Estate, and the menu focuses on seafood from Kāpiti and produce from the Tararua foothills and the farms in between.

Or head over the Remutakas for this unique, outdoor meets cuisine over-nighter on the Orui Station Coastal Walk. Take in the breath-taking Wairarapa scenery during a hike over privately-owned Orui station. On arrival you’ll select your cabin, then tuck into breakfast before walking up an appetite. Stop for a packed lunch and enjoy the views of the coast, while Michelin Star Chef, Adam Newell, and his team are busy preparing a hearty four-course feast for you and your fellow walkers on your return. 

So if you’re looking to get into some mindful eating this year, check out some of these Visa Wellington On a Plate events or check out more events on www.visawoap.com.