The forks are down, and the three winners of Visa's Wellington on a Plate (WOAP) have been revealed.
After a delay due to a Covid-19 lockdown, more than 400 festival dishes were served up across the capital with thousands of hungry patrons eating and drinking their way across the cityto narrow it down to five dishes.
These five were presented to a panel of experts who made the final call – and this year, it's Egmont St Eatery bringing home the Burger Wellington award.
The Kingston Tastee was matched with Garage Project's Golden Path hazy IPA, and paired a free-range smashed pork and beef patty with mango and pork fat chutney, blackened Penray Gardens chilli mayo, house-made cheese and spiced tobacco onions in a house-made milk bun.
Festival director Sarah Meikle said it was a standout.
"It got a lot of very positive feedback right through the festival, if you go back through social it's been a real standout so I don't think it will be a complete surprise it's the winner."
But there are other winners too – Boulcott St Bistro took home the best festival dish with its Crayfish Marseille. Butter-poached, local crayfish with sautéed house-grown green vegetables, harissa and saffron tomato sauce and Shoots NZ microgreens.
Boulcott St Bistro's crayfish dish. Photo / supplied
The final winner was C.G.R. Merchant & Co who took home the best cocktail Wellington with its old-fashioned donut.
Meikle says the special was "pretty rich" but looked incredible.
"It was a donut accompanied by a coconut rum infused old fashioned – a real crowd pleaser."
C.G.R. Merchant & Co's cocktail. Photo / supplied
Although lockdown disrupted the festivities, Meikle says having the festival ready for when level 2 hit gave hospitality a much-needed bounce back.
"Ultimately even though it was incredibly difficult for hospitality to literally be stopped in its tracks I think having WOAP to come back to coming into level 2 really gave hospitality the push they needed to get feet back in the door."
She says planning is well under way for 2022's festival – but fingers crossed there's no lockdown next year.
"It was a blessing in disguise – but not one we're keen to repeat!"
