Explore Visa Wellington on a Plate's Chef Collaboration Series

It’s the final countdown to Visa Wellington On a Plate which runs from 5-21 May, offering more than 100 festival events and pop-ups, and 70 Dine dishes and Cocktail Wellington creations to try. 

With the return of the Chef Collaboration Series, presented by Singapore Airlines, festival goers will be able to taste food from some of the best chefs in the world – including New Zealand.

This year’s festival kicks off with the highly anticipated opening event on May 4-5 Yardbird Hong Kong Izakaya at Cinderella with chefs Matt Abergel (Yardbird and Rōnin, HK), Morgan MCGlone (Sunday Potts Point and Bar Copains, SYD) and James Pask (Cinderella, Atlas, Astoria, WTG). This much-anticipated event is a pop-up event that is strictly first in, first served.  

Lucho Martinez of Em in Mexico City brings a full day of fun with the Miramar Taco’ver pop-up at Double Vision Brewing. He’s teaming up with local favourites Food Lab, Taco Addicts and Double Vision for a full day of taco education, thanks to the Mexican Embassy. Enjoy authentic tacos as you explore Mexico’s diverse regions, with music and custom brews from Double Vision all day on Saturday, May 6. 

Born in Jammu, Prateek Sadhu grew up around family farms and the cooking of his mother and aunt, which instilled in him a love of food and cooking. He has since become one of India’s most renowned chefs and wings his way to Wellington to bring us the flavours of Kashmir with Vaibhav Vishen at Chaat Street for two nights only. 

Dr Jp McMahon is a chef, restaurateur, and author based in Galway, Ireland. He oversees Michelin-starred Aniar Restaurant, award-winning Spanish restaurant Cava Bodega, and the Aniar Boutique Cookery School; and runs the future-facing ‘Food on the Edge symposium. He teams up with Shaun Clouston of Logan Brown to bring his unique Irish flair to our shores.

Aotearoa’s own Kasey and Kārena Bird will bring their award-winning event, Taio: Food of the Gods to the festival with Kitchen Takeover. Through edible storytelling, guests will experience five unique ‘worlds’, each telling the legend of Māori Atua.

Chefs Josh Hunter and Mitchell Tierney will also join forces for Know the Whakapapa of Your Kai at Havana. Their collaboration shares the wider use of Māori food practices such as the importance of ahi (fire) and is a celebration of te ao Māori. There will be pohā (cooking kai in a bull kelp bladder) and roasted titi (mutton bird), all roasted over coals and traditional ferments of mussels and puha. 

Whatever your flavour, there’s something for everyone at Visa Wellington On a Plate. You can check out the full Chef Collaboration Series presented by Singapore Airlines as well as the full festival programme at visawoap.com.