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Food travel: Kārena and Kasey's top picks for Bay of Plenty food and drink

Kasey and Kārena Bird are hosting an event called Hāngī, as part of the Flavours of Plenty festival in the Bay of Plenty. Photo / Supplied

NZ Herald

By Alexia Santamaria

Sisters Kārena and Kasey Bird have to be two of the most memorable MasterChef winners in the history of the competition, and since 2014 have gone on to further win our hearts through TV shows, books and delicious, creative dinner events. This weekend, they are collaborating with the talented crew at Kitchen Takeover (who are well-known in the Bay of Plenty for their elaborate pop-up events at mystery locations) on Hāngī, one of the many events in the inaugural Flavours of Plenty festival (April 7-10).

Clearly the hot ticket in town, Kārena and Kasey's event has already sold out, but there's a packed programme of free and ticketed events to look forward to if you're in the region - check out flavoursofplentyfestival.com to find out more.

If you can't get to the Bay this weekend, however, there are still many delicious locations to put on the menu for your next visit. Here are Kārena and Kasey's top picks.

Kārena and Kasey Bird's home town of Maketū is their favourite place for fish and chips eaten on the beach. Photo / Supplied

Great place for a drink
Solera in Mount Maunganui is a great stop for delicious cocktails and food. They have an amazing wine list and great food to share.

Feelin' fancy
Fife Lane in Tauranga is perfect for a special night out. If you really want to treat yourself you can't go wrong with the wagyu and seafood platter - we love it so much that we even chose the venue for Kasey's wedding reception.

Macau Restaurant and Lounge in Tauranga is an award-winning restaurant and bar. Photo / Supplied

Pie stop
Patrick's Pies have awesome pies and they have a few shops around the Bay of Plenty. He is always winning at the New Zealand pie awards. Of course, there's no way we couldn't mention our local pie bakery Maketu Pies. So good.

Best licks
One of our favourite places for icecream is Mount Made Ice Cream - they have some really delicious and unique flavours. Kārena loves pairing the black Doris plum flavour with either the Whittaker's dark chocolate or vanilla.

Tauranga Farmers Market is one of the favourite places to shop for sisters Kārena and Kasey Bird. Photo / Supplied

Market Love
Tauranga Farmers Market is awesome for a weekly produce shop on a Saturday, and Pāpāmoa Farmers Market, which has recently started on Sundays, is great too

Yum Cha
Our top pick would have to be 88 Chinese Restaurant in Tauranga. The range and quality is amazing.

Home Baking goodness
Spongedrop in Mount Maunganui has delicious baking and is really popular with locals. Our go-tos are the cheese scones and cupcakes.

Izakai in Mount Maunganui is a top recommendation from Masterchef winners Kārena and Kasey Bird. Photo / Supplied

Other generally good food
We are so spoiled for choice around here. Black Stump Berries have the most amazing strawberries; we love our local fish and chips in Maketū - eaten on the beach is best; Macau and Lantern do delicious modern Asian; Izakai turns out some really unique Japanese/Māori fusion; Te Puna deli has great local treats and Avenue Pizza some of the most delicious pizza in the bay (their classic Margherita is excellent). Whether you're coming to the region for the festival, or a visit another time this year, make sure you come hungry.