Win tickets to Essence of Tairāwhiti: a festival celebrating the unique food and culture of the North Island's East Coast

A festival that celebrates everything the region has to offer is coming to the Gisbourne-East Coast region, also known as Tairāwhiti. With local food and wine samples, hunter gatherer demonstrations and music, this will be one you won't want to miss out on: and we're giving away two tickets.

When: Saturday, February 27th.

Where: Bayleys House & Garden Area, Gisborne A&P Showgrounds

Celebrating the food, wine and flavours of Tairāwhiti, the East Coast, Essence of Tairāwhiti is a festival that aims to feed our guests' souls with local goodness, sharing the rich culture of the region and telling stories of gathering and preparing food traditionally.

The ticket price is all inclusive, with entry to the festival; buses to and from; a tote bag full of goodies; and a passport covering 22 food samples, samples from 4 of Gisborne's top wineries and an etched goblet. Plus, there will be spot prizes; music; hunter gatherer and cooking demos as well as live music and an artist doing a mural. 

We have 2 tickets to give away to one lucky reader, with a total value of $378, plus two bottles of wine from two of the featured wineries.

Simply fill out the form below to be in to win, or scroll down to read more and see a list of vendors. 

Click here to buy tickets (be quick, they're selling fast!)

Click here to see the Essence of Tairāwhiti Facebook page, or here for the Instagram.

Essence of Tairāwhiti
tairawhitigisborne.co.nz/essence-of-tairawhiti

Among the food there to sample will be...

•  Puku Ora - Tairāwhiti wilded pulled pork, plus Reka Keke from Tairāwhiti
• Smokey Bros- smoked wild venison sausages, smoked with heart wood from cherry tree, Smoked lamb with hand made Tortillas with caramelized onions 
• Torere Macadamias - Watermelon karengo dukkah East Coast pop corn with local honey macadamia nougatine 
• Cafe 35 - Iconic East Coast Paua Pie
• Good Day Dumpling - Wild Pork Dumpling, Tairāwhiti
• Persian Fusion kai - Vegetarian Mezze With Waimata Feta And Spice Plum Sauce, East Coast spiced Venison Kofta Balls With Waimata Feta, Spiced Plum On Handmade Flatbreads
• Village Berries - Raspberry and Meringue ice cream, Mandarin Ice Cream 
• Hat Nati -  Rua Cornbread, Whanau's Secret Kumara Dish

With more to be announced. 

Among the Hunter Gatherers who will be doing demonstrations and giving away samples are...

• Hamiora Gibson AKA Sam The Trap Man
• Tui Keelen AKA Hunting With Tui collabing with Food Cartel
• Keelan Poi
• Del Salnanzadeh- Persian fusion Chef
• Smokey Bro's
• Celebrity Chef Mark Gardner
• Chef Mark Gooding EIT Tutor