The food and wine festival will see cafes, restaurants and cellar doors collectively produce a Central Otago Regional Menu celebrating the local cuisine.
With Central Otago being one of the best food and wine destinations in the country, Eat.Taste.Central aims to encourage culinary-inspired travel to experience everything the local food scene has to offer.
There are so many delicious dishes on our ‘to taste’ list – we’ve shared 18 of them that we can’t wait to try as we make our way around the region.
Brunch
Waipiata Musterer’s Big Breaky (GFO, DF)
THE WAIPIATA COUNTRY HOTEL, WAIPIATA
There’s nothing quite like a classic Kiwi big breaky with all the trimmings to start the day off the right way. We’re guessing we won’t go hungry after ordering the Waipiata Country Hotel’s offering, which comes with housemade baked beans and potato rostis, bacon, ciabatta bread, eggs, portobello mushrooms, tomatoes and kransky sausages.
Local Products: Locally grown tomatoes.
Beverage Match: Strong coffee
Mushroom @ Dawn (above)
THE COURTHOUSE CAFÉ, ALEXANDRA
Breakfast food is anything but boring at the Courthouse Cafe. In fact, we love a brunch that’s a little bit fancy, and that’s what you get with Mushroom @ Dawn. With the dish comprising a medley of mushrooms, ricotta doughtnuts, and truffle and lamb bacon, it sounds unique and super tasty!
Local Products: Mushrooms, ricotta, thyme, lamb bacon.
Beverage Match: Long Black.
Confit Vine Tomatoes (GF, V)
103 THE STORE, ROXBURGH
We love anything confit, especially when it’s beautiful local tomatoes. This dish comes complete with baked feta, pomegranate molasses, macadamia crumb and foraged miners lettuce.
Local Products: Flora’s tomatoes from Damn View Orchard, Pierce Orchard miners lettuce and garlic.
Tapas, Shared Plates & Boards
Low & Slow Smoked Platter
OMAKAU COMMERCIAL HOTEL, OMAKAU
Enjoying the food of an American smokehouse while in Central Otago surrounds sounds pretty good to us. We can’t wait to (literally) get our hands on the slow-cooked meat on the smoked tasting platter at Omakau Commercial Hotel, which includes juicy pulled pork, flavoursome ribs, succulent beef brisket and sides of slaw, waffle fries and your choice of dipping sauces.
Beverage Match: Omakau Ale – Dark Horse Brewwerkz.
Grilled Halloumi with Local Honey and Dukkah (GF, V) (above)
SCOTT BASE VINEYARD, CROMWELL
Anyone who doesn’t love halloumi has serious issues that need to be unpacked with a therapist! This delightful tapas dish of grilled halloumi and house-made dukkah is made extra special thanks to a drizzle of Lindis Gold Vipers Bugloss honey.
Local Products: Lindis Gold Vipers Bugloss honey.
Beverage Match: Scott Base Rosé.
“Tastet” Platter (serves 2) (GFO, V)
DUNSTAN HOUSE & CAFÉ, CLYDE
The word “tastet” means small taste of food, and the platter from Dunstan House & Cafe will give you little bites of Central Otago flavours. Snack on marinated mushrooms, nuts, cheeses and housemade beetroot hummus and crackers as you sip local rosé.
Local Products: Immigrants Vineyard Rosé, Central Nuts, Scrubby Gully preserves.
Beverage Match: Immigrants Vineyard Ruru Rosé.
The Cloudy Bay Journey at The Shed (GFO, DFO) (above)
CLOUDY BAY VINEYARDS, CROMWELL
This three-course platter with a paired wine immersion telling the story of Cloudy Bay Te Wahi would be a dream come true on a sunny afternoon.
Local Products: Produce by ‘Delicious Cooking’, local grapes, cheeses, European Bakery sourdough.
Beverage Match: Wine immersion of three wines: Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir & Te Wahi $10.
Pies, Burgers & Sandwiches
The Blondie Tartine (above)
WOOING TREE VINEYARD, CROMWELL
The pairing of this tartine with Wooing Tree Blondie almost looks too perfect to consume. Made of lightly-toasted locally made sourdough topped with peach, prosciutto and feta cheese with a hint of mint, it sounds like the perfect light lunch.
Local Products: Local feta cheese, mint and sourdough.
Beverage Match: Wooing Tree Blondie – included in the dish.
The SAMURAI (above)
THE STOAKER ROOM, CROMWELL
Whether you’re keen for a hangover cure or a food coma, the SAMURAI looks like it will deliver. This decadent burger is made up of a 100% Wagyu beef patty with Wagyu beef brisket, duck liver pate, onion marmalade and chipotle mustard, served with roast potatoes and honey mustard.
Beverage Match: Wild Earth 2019 Stoaker Edition Pinot Noir.
Orangapai Venison Burger (GFO, DFO)
THE WAIPIATA COUNTRY HOTEL, WAIPIATA
You don’t come across a venison burger every day, so we’re looking forward to trying the Waipiata Country Hotel’s burger featuring a juicy venison patty topped with hay cheese, accompanied by house sauces and berry chutney, encased within a soft bun and served with steak fries.
Local Products: Mrs B’s Chutneys, Red Tussock venison, housemade hay cheese.
Beverage Match: Emerson’s Pale Ale $12 pint.
Main Meals
Lamb Three Ways (GFO) (above)
OLIVERS RESTAURANT & BAR, CLYDE
Kiwis love their lamb, so a dish that prepares the meat in three ways is bound to be delicious. The dish uses premium Silver Fern Farms lamb served with peas and beetroot.
Local Products: Silver Fern lamb, Three Miners Vineyard Pinot Noir.
Beverage Match: Three Miners Pinot Noir 2018.
Apricot and Walnut Stuffed Chicken Thigh (GF, DF)
THE ORCHARD GARDEN, ALEXANDRA
Chicken thighs but make them fancy – The Orchard Garden has them stuffed with dried apricots and walnuts, wrapped in bacon and baked, served with Orchard Garden relish and salad greens.
Local Products: Dunstan Hills Sunbury Park apricots, Central Nuts, Earnscleugh leaves and greens.
Beverage Match: Weaver Estate Sauvignon Blanc.
Panzerotti Pasta con Tartufo e Porcini (V) (above)
ARMANDO’S KITCHEN, CROMWELL
We can’t go past a decadent pasta dish, so we are very excited to taste the panzerotti pasta from Armando’s Kitchen filled with black truffle, porcini mushroom and ricotta cheese, served in a creamy gorgonzola sauce with toasted walnuts, rocket, truffle oil and parmesan.
Local Products: Rocket, truffle, ricotta, walnut.
Beverage Match: Central Otago Quartz Reef 2018
Slow Cooked Roasted Merino Lamb (GFO)
BLACK RABBIT KITCHEN & BAR, BANNOCKBURN
The slow cooked and roasted Cardrona lamb from Black Rabbit is surely a dinner to die for. It’s served with parsnip purée, Bannockburn Lindis Gold honey roasted baby carrots, rosemary and lamb jus and topped with a mint pea and almond pesto.
Local Products: Cardrona lamb, Lindis Gold Honey.
Beverage Match: Domain Road 2018 Bannockburn Pinot Noir.
Desserts
Experience Central Otago Dessert (DF) (above)
PITCHES STORE, OPHIR
This sweet celebration of honey looks right up our alley with its thyme honeycomb and blue cheese with honeycomb bavarois.
Local Products: Honeycomb honey, Whitestone Windsor blue cheese.
Beverage Match: Aurum Port Molyneux.
Crunchy Rhubarb with Almonds (GF, V) (above)
OLIVERS RESTAURANT AND BAR, CLYDE
Our mouths are watering at the sight of the rhubarb and almond olive oil cake, poached rhubarb and vanilla crème fraiche that make up this dish.
Local Products: Farm Gate honey.
Gingerbread, Pear and Lavender Custard
THE OFFICE, CROMWELL
We love the look of this levelled-up, lavendar-infused custard topped with walnut praline and lavender flower, served with old fashioned molasses gingerbread with locally sourced pear infused in pinot and spice.
Local Products: Maori Point Barrel Reserve Rosé, lavender, pears and walnuts.
Beverage Match: Maori Point – Barrel Reserve Rosé.
Poached Pear, Frangipane, Chocolate Mousse
CARRICK WINERY, BANNOCKBURN
This dessert is reminiscent of apres-ski with its mulled wine poached pear, which comes with walnut and hazelnut frangipane and chocolate mousse.
Local Products: Pears, walnut, hazelnut, Carrick eggs.
Beverage Match: Carrick Pinot Gris 2018.