Eat New Zealand has announced New Zealand’s first national food celebration, Feast Matariki, which will run throughout June and July.
Comprising over 40 events and regional activities across the country, the festival will celebrate indigenous flavours and ingredients, and is centred around Pipiri, the first lunar month of the Māori year.
“For thousands for years here in the South Pacific, we’ve been celebrating the winter months (Pipiri) by drawing close and feasting,” Eat New Zealand said in a statement. “It was the traditional time for the Māori people of New Zealand to give thanks for the food of our amazing country Aotearoa/New Zealand.”
Regional events taking place as part of the festival include Feast Festival in Taranaki, Elemental Feast in Auckland, Matariki Dish Challenge in Waikato, DineDunedin, F.A.W.C in Hawkes Bay, and Feast Matariki in Wellington. “The festival is a chance to recognise and celebrate our national food culture in a way that is uniquely New Zealand.”
For more information, visit: eatnewzealand.nz/feast-matariki
