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Feast Matariki – New Zealand’s First National Food Celebration Pipiri (June-July) 2019

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Eat New Zealand, a food movement dedicated to connecting people with our land through our food, are beyond excited to introduce New Zealand’s first national food celebration, Feast Matariki.

Running throughout June and July, Feast Matariki will comprise over 40 events and regional activations, rising to 100 as more are announced over the coming weeks.

The festival will include regional efforts such as 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.

In Wellington, Monique Fiso from Hiakai restaurant and international chef Charles Michel of Netflix The Final Table fame, will be offering a Matariki feast using foraged flora and an exploration of indigenous flavours and ingredients, alongside an evening of storytelling.

For thousands for years here in the South Pacific, we’ve been celebrating the winter months (Pipiri) by drawing close and feasting. 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. This period was signalled by the rise of the Mataraiki (Pleadies) constellation and these stars represented the water, earth, ocean, air and the bounty that came from them. It was a time for renewal, the end of one growing year and the promise of a new one ahead.

The festival is a chance to recognise and celebrate our national food culture in a way that is uniquely New Zealand. Feast Matariki seeks to re-emerge these stories by creating our nation’s first (modern-day) national food celebration. We want to create a platform from which our food culture and story can be expressed.

Throughout the country people will be taking the time to come together and share food, no matter what their heritage or background. It’s a moment to reconnect with where our food comes from and to recognize the truly incredible ingredients we grow, catch and make here. It’s also a time to acknowledge the manaakitanga or hospitality that is an intrinsic part of who we are as kiwis.

Events throughout the country will be as diverse as streets festivals, Matariki dish competitions, hāngis, community food celebrations, long tables and chef collaborations. Other parts of the world celebrate Thanksgiving and Christmas with food in cooler months too. It’s a way to slow down, bring people together, and enjoy the best of what can be put on our tables from the proceeding harvest season. This is something we did traditionally; we just want to highlight this again.

Chief Executive Marisa Bidois (Ngāti Ranginui) of Restaurant Association of NZ – Eat New Zealand’s strategic partner – agrees this is a significant milestone in the development of our food story as a country. It’s both important and exciting that the history of our food culture is woven into this story-telling. This event has been made possible thanks to the support from Auckland Airport. 

We hope that you will find your table, pull up a seat and join us!

Matariki ahunga nui. Matariki ahunga nui.

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