Where we’re picking primo produce

There’s no rest for the food-obsessed... when the dish team is shopping for ingredients for our latest recipes, we love to check out the producers and artisans at our local markets. Below, we share our fave finds

Sarah Tuck, editor
Matakana Village Farmers’ Market (Saturdays 8am–1pm)
2 Matakana Valley Rd, Matakana

Just an hour from Auckland, the Matakana Village Farmers’ Market is storybook pretty and bursting with both punters and enthusiastic stallholders from the region. In addition to fresh produce they have loads of artisan products like sauces, kombucha, nut butters, health tonics, pasta, breads and so much more. The bespoke market area is absolutely charming with perfect winter-friendly additions like fireside beanbags and braziers for roasting marshmallows. The outdoor dog-minding service even means you can bring your fur babies along for the ride! Throw in an excellent coffee and you have the makings of a perfect Saturday outing.

Yvonne Lorkin, drinks editor
Hawke’s Bay Farmers’ Market (Sundays 8.30am–12.30pm)
Tōmoana Showgrounds, Kenilworth Road, Hastings

My Sunday worship has a postcode: Hastings 4122. Some folk attend church on Sundays, I attend the Hawke’s Bay Farmers’ Market (I’m also prepared to get feral about which offers the better miracles). Swinging open its gates back in October 2000, this market didn’t just arrive on the scene; it pioneered said scene. Now over 25 years old, it’s one of the country’s oldest and largest farmers’ markets, predating the whole artisan-everything movement by years. When the rest of New Zealand was still buying manky supermarket parsnips, Hastings was farmers’ marketing its butt off with crispy-fresh produce, jams, juices and preserves, heavenly honey, olive oils for Africa, wine, cheese and swoon-inducing coffee and charcuterie every week.

Running year-round, the market rocks along beneath a canopy of ancient trees in the summer and beneath the cosy confines of a retro exhibition hall in winter. Every stallholder must grow, make, rear, catch, bake, butcher, brew, pickle, smoke, roast or otherwise craft their own products. Whether they’re edible, drinkable, or decorative, you’re buying direct from the source. No faffing around. And get there early. It’s compulsory to get coffee from Hawthorne, one of the founding members, and a bacon sandwich from the creatively named Bacon Sandwich Co. This combo will set you up for the day and have you reconsidering all your other life choices. Then begin filling your bag with samples and your tote bag with goodies. There’ll be live music, and loads of spots to sit, take a load off, eat something from one of the food trucks and decide whether you need a third coffee or if it’s instead time to sample some gin. Which is why my home-town Sunday market is the way, the truth and the life.

Claire Aldous, food editor
Wesley Market (Tuesdays and Fridays 7am–1pm)
740 Sandringham Road Extension, Mt Roskill, Auckland

Set up in 1994, Wesley Market is Auckland’s largest and original midweek market. Definitely not your trendy weekend market, this melting pot of cultures means the variety of fresh, seasonal produce available is everything you could ask for fruit and veg-wise. For those who love to cook a wide variety of ethnic recipes and have trouble sourcing ingredients, this is the place to visit. Big bunches of lemongrass, herbs and aromatics sit alongside organic chook eggs and several takeaway food stalls serve delectable treats including the likes of otai, adobo, and char siu bao. Don’t be surprised to see several chefs buying produce for their restaurants. Have some cash on hand for purchases from the very small-scale, backyard growers.

Olivia Galletly, recipe contributor
The Old Packhouse Market (Saturdays 8am–1.30pm)
505 Kerikeri Road, Kerikeri

Our annual summer holiday to Kerikeri isn’t complete without a visit to The Old Packhouse Market. Once a working orchard and fruit-packing facility, the site has been transformed into a vibrant growers’ and artisans’ market that perfectly captures the laid-back spirit of the Far North.

The Saturday morning growers and artisans market is filled with fresh, locally sourced produce, seasonal fruit and vegetables, artisan cheeses, honey, olive oil, breads and pastries, alongside a fantastic range of hot food stalls. Eating brisket sandwiches or dosas with a coffee or fresh-pressed juice while listening to live music in the Northland sunshine is my idea of a perfect morning.

If you’re heading north this winter, be sure to grab a bag of Kerikeri oranges, they are exceptional. The Old Packhouse also operates as a café and bakery seven days a week and hosts a street food market on Friday nights, and a smaller eclectic market on Sundays.

Bel Bonnor, commercial manager
Otago Farmers’ Market (Saturdays 8am–12.30pm)
5/27 Anzac Ave, Dunedin

The Otago Farmers’ Market is described as ‘part of the fabric of Dunedin’, and it truly is something special. Many of the operators have origins or strong links to this Saturday market. It’s a collective of friendly vendors, offering high-quality produce from around the region and personally connecting with each of their customers.

Organised by a group of dedicated, passionate volunteers, it’s as much a social event and a chance to celebrate community as it is a weekly buying trip for many locals. There are great coffee options, and you’re spoilt for choice for an on-site breakfast or lunch! Every stall is high quality and worth perusing, but I personally recommend Breads and More, Company of Flowers, No.8 Distillery and Who Ate All The Pies.

Phoebe Holden, digital editor
Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market (Sundays 8.30am–12pm)
510 Richmond Road, Grey Lynn

My go-to market is the Grey Lynn Farmers’ Market. I’m there every Sunday, my favourite ritual! I usually make a beeline for the vegetable stand tucked down the far back left of the outdoor area, which has some of the best seasonal produce in the CBD. Everything is so fresh, with tonnes of leafy greens and herbs alongside rainbow carrots, gorgeously grubby potatoes, bundles of beetroot and all the other usual suspects.

Right beside it is a crêpe stand and a Basque cheesecake tent with testers I can never seem to walk past. Inside the community hall, there’s a very good cheesemaker, plus homemade kombucha and tonics, small-batch jams, free-range eggs, a refillable milk station and herbal remedies. It’s small in stature but mighty in its offering, and definitely worth a visit if you live locally.