General Information » Culture & Lifestyle » Food & Drink

The fact that sheep have long outnumbered New Zealand’s human population has meant lamb has always been a mainstay of the country’s diet. Top quality meat is far from all New Zealand has to offer, however.

Fresh fruit and vegetables are plentiful in ‘the land of the long white cloud’, as is all manner of seafood and shellfish and, like the excellent dairy products, regularly prove good value for money both in supermarkets and restaurants.

As befits the country’s reputation, health and well-being are prime concerns for many New Zealanders, so expect to find vitamin-packed extras such as spirulina (made from powdered seaweed) on many cafe menus.

What might stand out, however, is the nation’s collective sweet tooth. Pineapple rings are routinely placed in hamburgers (to create, along with beetroot, the towering ‘Kiwiburger’), and honey is added to everything, from homemade fruit smoothies to some commercially brewed soft drinks. Even locally produced olive oil tends to be sweeter than its Mediterranean equivalent.

Despite a few local favourites there is no defining New Zealand cuisine as such. What you’ll be eating is fairly standard, if mighty flavoursome and well executed western fare. In recent years, New Zealand has been developing a sophisticated culinary palate. While the nation hasn’t embraced ‘fusion’ or ‘pacific rim’ (a blend of Asian and western flavours) cooking with quite the gusto of Australia, expect to find influences from across Asia and the Mediterranean in even the most humble cafe cooking.

The rise in residents from China, Korea and India has also improved authentic offerings. Everything from the finest bento box to the tastiest biriyani can be found in larger urban centres. Maori cuisine, however, doesn’t have a large presence in New Zealand. In fact, the closest you’re likely to come to it is to attend a hangi, which are widely practiced within local communities (Maori and otherwise) as commercial tourist activities.

In brief, the hangi (pronounced ‘hungi’) is a method of slow-cooking meat and vegetables by steaming them in an earth oven deep in the ground. Meanwhile meat, seafood and vegetables, including the ubiquitous kumara – or sweet potato – are wrapped in leaves and placed in baskets, which are lowered into a pit and covered with earth to seal in the steam and flavours. It usually takes several hours for the food to be properly cooked, at which point the oven’s earthen seal is broken and the baskets of food raised from within. The result is a moist, delicious and slightly earthy-flavoured meal.



New Zealand’s cool, moderate climate ...