Ben Bayly is back on a culinary adventure as he ventures into the fourth season of his tv series, A New Zealand Food Story.
Chef, TV presenter and proud champion of Kiwi kai, Ben Bayly, has returned for another season of the popular series, A New Zealand Food Story.
In this new seven-episode journey across the country, Bayly will continue his mission to uncover the people, places and philosophies that shape the nation’s food identity, from hunters and harvesters to farmers, producers and the people who put Kiwi kai on the map.
This season will take viewers deeper into the stories behind New Zealand’s finest ingredients and the passionate Kiwis who grow and gather them, with visits to the Hawke’s Bay, Ruapehu District, Wairarapa, Canterbury, Central Otago, and the West Coast.
Each visit culminates in a new dish or item added to the menu at Ahi, Bayly’s flagship Auckland restaurant, showcasing how these local stories directly inspire his cooking.
Season four will introduce remarkable food innovators from the North and South Islands. Among them, on the wild Tora Coast, he meets the couple behind Tora Collective, who harvest kaimoana sustainably, launching their fishing boat into the water with a bulldozer, as well as Blue Duck Station on the upper Whanganui River, where a sixth-generation farmer turned remote wilderness into a thriving eco-tourism and fine dining destination alongside chef Jack Cashmore of The Chef’s Table.
In Central Otago, Bayly visited an all-electric cherry farm, Electric Cherries, at Forest Lodge Orchard, where premium export-quality cherries are sold directly to Kiwis. He also visited High Peak Station in Canterbury, a quality producer of honey, beef, lamb, farm-raised venison and game impressed Bayly with a high-country farm-to-fork experience, with wild venison, foraged ingredients and tales of multigenerational stewardship.
Bayly also ventured to the local Hawke's Bay Farmers' Market in Hastings, with many amazing local food producers showcasing their products.He sampled everything from figs, to cheese to walnuts, reinforcing the abundance of produce grown in the region.
“I believe our Kiwi produce is world-class,” said Bayly.
“But the faceless piece of steak or fruit in the supermarket - how was it raised or grown? We need to connect with the growers, the producers, the harvesters, and shine a light on their care and commitment.”
Throughout the season, Ben Bayly explored themes of kaitiakitanga, environmental and financial sustainability, and also the ingenuity of producers creating new income streams - often through unforgettable food tourism offerings.
“Some of these places are incredibly remote, but people are creating and living epic experiences - from fine dining in the bush, to local seafood straight off the boat,” he added.
“That’s our food story. It’s honest, it’s real, and it’s uniquely ours.”
A New Zealand Food Story with Ben Bayly - Season Four premieres Saturday 7 June at 7:00 pm TVNZ 1, with screenings on TVNZ DUKE (Sundays at 8:00 pm from 8 June), and streaming on TVNZ+.
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