Whakatāne's Local Wild Food Festival Returns This March

Following a two-year hiatus, Whakatāne's Local Wild Food Festival returns in March – this time bigger and better than before with multiple events across the weekend. The festivities will be held at a new location – Wharfside in Port Ōhope. Situated on the harbour’s edge, Wharfside is quickly becoming Ōhope’s newest hotspot.

Wild Food Gathering by the Wharf
The festival launches with Wild Food Gathering by the Wharf on Friday, 24 March. This one is for those who love fine dining, but also have a passion for the great outdoors and sustainable food practices. Multi-award-winning chef Des Harris will add a wild twist to fresh local produce to create a mouthwatering menu. Guests will arrive to canapes served with a bespoke Wai Mānuka cocktail, followed by a multi-course meal.

Des Harris is widely regarded as one of Aotearoa’s most prominent and personable chefs. He has led some of the finest kitchens in the country over a 25-year career, gaining countless accolades from restaurant critics and media, including Chef of the Year.

Now Creative Director at Hilton Auckland’s Fish restaurant, Des brings a calibre of food not seen before to Whakatāne.

Local Wild Food Festival
The weekend’s main event takes place on Saturday, 25 March.

Hunting, fishing, gathering and producing is an Eastern Bay of Plenty way of life. This event celebrates sustainable food practices and the abundance of wild food sourced from the local whenua.

This year’s festival programme is action-packed, with food demonstrations, market stalls, food trucks, live music, a craft beer garden and the main attraction - the Wild Food Cooking Challenge.

Local Wild Food Cooking Challenge
The original Local Wild Food Festival was about one thing – inviting trained and amateur chefs to create dishes utilising wild food ingredients. And we’re not just talking about the creepy-crawly type. Entries could include anything caught or foraged from the wild (think hunting, fishing and diving), or something you found on your evening bush walk.

On the day, entrants delight the crowds by preparing dishes on-site to be presented to a judging panel. Judges will be looking at several things - taste, presentation, creativity, the story behind the dish and the chosen wild ingredient. The overall winner will take home a Weber charcoal BBQ and there are plenty of other prizes up for grabs in the adults and kids categories.

Other festival highlights include food demonstrations from Whakatohea Mussels, getting creative with Koura (native crayfish), Japanese-style Kūmara, octopus and kahawai on an open fire, how to jazz-up cocktails using ingredients from the home garden and the ever-popular venison beast breakdown.

For more information and tickets, visit Whakatane.com/wildfood

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