That’s right people – another New Zealand food and drink festival – looking at our latest blog posts you would think all we do down here is eat great food and drink delicious wine. Sounds about right!
The next food and drink festival on the horizon is the Taste of Auckland event taking place on the 5-8 November in Western Springs. As the name would suggest, Taste of Auckland celebrates everything good about the Auckland food and drink scene and there is plenty to celebrate. From the gourmet restaurants to the social kitchen, the producers market to the music bandstand, this is a fantastic weekend full of great food and great drinks and a chance to sit back, relax and welcome in the start of summer.
What’s on at Taste of Auckland?
What makes Taste of Auckland different from all the other food and drink festivals we hear you say? Well, for a start it’s in Auckland and we haven’t had one up here yet so if nothing else, it’s a chance to come and visit New Zealand’s biggest city for the weekend. Second up, there’s so much going on which makes it different from other food festivals – here are just a few of the highlights:
- Brew Street – a line-up of craft breweries all housed together in one marquee bringing you a selection of their favourite drop.
- Canon Food Photography Studio – discover the secret ingredient to taking great food photographs and wow your friends on Instagram!
- Dilmah Tea Garden – the ultimate place to escape the red hot sun or pouring rain, relax with a nice cup of tea or refreshing tea cocktail (not sure about that!)
- Good Taste – join the team as they explore the food that’s good for your health, the planet and your taste buds – sounds very nice to us!
- Gourmet Hangi – this is a first at the Taste of Auckland event and your opportunity to taste food from the most exciting chefs cooked in the traditional Maori way.
- The Social Kitchen – sponsored by Fisher and Paykel, the social kitchen is a culinary hub where people can come together and think about new ways to cook food and the kitchen.
- TSB Producers Market – from luscious pickles and spreads to fine pressed olive oil, the Producers Market is a great place to stock up your cupboards or get some Christmas shopping done!
Wow – there really is a lot going on! Throw into the mix the live music, some of Auckland’s best restaurants including Maldito Mendez and Kazuya, The Qantas VIP Lounge and some great exhibitors and we have all the ingredients (see what we did there!) for a fantastic weekend of food and drink!
Sounds awesome…tell me more.
Session times and tickets
It all kicks off on Thursday 5 November at 5.30pm and runs through to Sunday at 5pm. The session times are all shown below:
- Thursday 5 November – 5.30pm – 10.00pm
- Friday 6 November – 12.00pm – 4.00pm and 5.30pm – 10.00pm
- Saturday 7 November – 12.00pm – 4.00pm and 5.30pm – 9.30pm
- Sunday 8 November – 12.00pm – 5.00pm
There are a range of ticketing options starting out with the early bird general admission ticket at $22.50 going all the way up to $120 for VIP tickets on the gate. You can check out the Taste of Auckland page for more information on tickets and pricing.
The event is cashless and operates using Crowns, the currency of Taste of Auckland and 1 Crown is equal to 1 Dollar. Exhibitors will accept cash and cards for products to take home but all the restaurants, bars, beverages and dishes must be purchased using Crowns.
Getting there and away
Western Springs is pretty easy to find and there is plenty of parking in the nearby area and VIP and Hospitality Ticket holders can access onsite parking. There is also a direct shuttle running from the city to the event at a cost of $5 per person one way. There are also public buses which will take you out to Western Springs so getting there is pretty easy. Wanting to get around at your own pace? You can pick up and Auckland car rental so you can explore more of Auckland.
This is a pretty awesome event and one that many of the GO Rentals team will be attending so get yourselves on out to Western Springs and fill your faces!
