Kasey and Kārena Bird with Wellington on a Plate chief executive Sarah Meikle (centre). Photo / Supplied
Kasey and Kārena Bird with Wellington on a Plate chief executive Sarah Meikle (centre). Photo / Supplied
Wellington on a Plate is kicking off tonight with a pop-up restaurant promising kaimoana delights and a new vegan take on fish created from algae.
The annual foodie festival was forced to press pause midway through last year, after the Delta outbreak plunged the country into lockdown.
The event pivoted with a spiced-up takeaway menu during alert level 3, with the online food directory At Yours.
This year the festival will go ahead as normal and is all about acknowledging feelings many have become very familiar with over the past two years - change, fluidity, comings and goings, staying still yet somehow always shifting.
Events start on Monday, but to get things warmed up an unassuming mechanic's workshop has been transformed into The Sea Breeze Inn this weekend.
There will be re-imagined seafood classics including vol au vents seafood royale, creamed pāua on toast, corncakes with crayfish and Old Bay, and a raw bar featuring freshly shucked oysters.
A clam chowder will feature Cloudy Bay clams, and Moana New Zealand will be providing the fresh catch of the day for classic fish 'n' chips, alongside NewFish "Bytes", which are a new vegan take on fish created from algae.
Kasey and Kārena Bird were the winners of MasterChef NZ in 2014. Photo / Supplied
The chefs bringing the pop-up restaurant to life include Morgan McGlone of Sunday Potts Point in Sydney, Shaun Clouston of Logan Brown and Bellamy's, and Kārena and Kasey Bird who were the winners of MasterChef NZ in 2014.
Visa Wellington On a Plate chief executive Sarah Meikle said the festival was all about encouraging people to eat curious.
"The Sea Breeze Inn pop-up encourages people to discover something new and get an understanding of the depth and breadth of seafood available to us, as well as an understanding of the seasonal nature of what is served. We are taking Friday night fish 'n' chips to the next level."
Meikle said it took a whole year to organise the festival and launch day was a little bit like waiting for a baby to arrive - a lot of excitement while being a little bit scary.
Wellington on a Plate runs for the month of August. Photo / Supplied
She said Wellington on a Plate contributed about $30 million to the local economy annually.
"To put it in context, before we started Visa Wellington on a Plate back in 2009, August was the quietest month of the year and now August is the second-busiest month of the year behind Christmas.
"Right now, getting out and supporting hospitality businesses after the last couple of years they've had is more important than ever."
Max Gordy, who is the head chef at a new wine bar in Kelburn called Graze, is looking forward to the new business being included in a line-up of well-established brands taking part in the festival.
One of Graze's events is a long lunch called Scale to Tail.
Over the course of the afternoon, Gordy will demonstrate his zero-waste cooking techniques, turning everything from the scales, eyeballs, guts, bones, fins and flesh into delicious morsels.
"When you've got these special events you can branch out, have a bit of fun, and do something out of the ordinary," he said.
Graze Bar in Kelburn Village makes use of locally foraged ingredients. Photo / Supplied
Gordy said Covid-19 was definitely on his mind.
He and his team came down with the virus a few weeks ago and they had to shut Graze for a week.
"That was really gutting, but at the same time a blessing in disguise because now we won't have to isolate for a while."
Wellington on a Plate runs for the month of August.
The festivities are made up of special one-off events that take place on just one, or a few nights in that month and there are also special WOAP dishes, burgers and cocktails.
