Fishing host Nicky Sinden nets Kapiti Food Fair role

Nicky Sinden with a snapper. Photo / Captured by Friday

The celebrity chef for the upcoming Kapiti Food Fair is Nicky Sinden who is host of TradeZone Addicted to Fishing.

She was the first female fishing show host in Australasia and remains the only one.

Nicky knew she was stepping into a male-dominated arena and has more than made her mark and gained respect.

She's unapologetically groomed with locks in place and manicured nails but when that line goes tight, she fights hard.

Nicky is described as 'Mangawhai's Siren of the Seas' and her motto is 'Paint your nails, gut a fish, give anything a go.'

The food fair takes place at Mazengarb Reserve, Paraparaumu, on Saturday, November 30.
A special event will be held the day before where people can meet Nicky, have a drink, some fish n chips and a Paekakariki Pops treat — book your ticket via www.kapitifoodfair.co.nz.

Over 200 sites have been snapped up by vendors.

"We are delighted with the mix of returning and new vendors and there is definitely something for everyone," fair owners Helene Judge and Jeanine van Kradenburg said.

"At this stage around 30 per cent of sites are ready to eat vendors either in food trucks or cooking under gazebo, and the remaining 70 per cent are packaged products including a much larger liquor zone this year with craft beers and distilleries, liquors and ports, boutique wines and cider."

"Vendors go to much effort to make their sites attractive for visitors and we are asking them to align with our values of being professional, having integrity and fun, being connected and engaged and having healthy food options along with being hygienic on their site."

Meanwhile, the food fair's application to council's major events fund has been approved.
"With growth of the fair over the last three years this has added more demands on our infrastructure along with our own desire to run an innovative event.

"As a recipient of the fund for the last three years we have worked hard to perform with our return on investment being 6:1 in 2016, 10:1 in 2017 and 16:1 last year.

"This result spurred us on to apply for more funding to support our drive to reduce significantly our waste that goes to landfill, providing comfort for visitors in the form of more shade and contributing to our significant marketing spend.

"We are committed to ongoing development of a sustainable event that Kapiti can be proud of and that will wow all visitors, whether they are local or from out-of-town, and that will have them returning year after year.

"Our application was approved to fund $25,000 in 2019, $15,000 in 2020 and $15,000 in 2021.

"We are excited by our waste minimisation plan as it also includes planting an edible community orchard in the Mazengarb Reserve and for us to observe and align their growth with that of the fair.

"We have made a start on developing the entertainment programme as we have been inundated with registrations of interest to perform at the fair this year.

"Entertainment is super important to create a fun and vibrant atmosphere for visitors to stay longer and enjoy a day out with family and friends."