Flavours of Plenty Festival

26/05/2026

How good was this year’s Flavours of Plenty Festival?! 🔥🍴
For 18 days, we pushed the palate across the Coastal Bay of Plenty with bold flavours, creative chefs, unforgettable events, and plenty of delicious moments along the way.

Relive the fun, the food, and the festival vibes with this epic highlights reel. Hit play and start getting hungry for 2027.

🎥 Highlights video by
📹 Footage by and .video

14/05/2026

Yesterday morning, we surprised the team at .somethin.nz with not one, but TWO awards from the Plates of Plenty Challenge! 🏆🏆🍔

They took out both the People’s Choice Award and Judge’s Choice Award with their incredible Somethin’ Clucky burger, impressing both the public and judges alike 🔥

We also presented a special Distinction Award to the team at after finishing close behind in both award categories with their standout beer-braised pork cheek dish 👏

A big thanks to for sponsoring their well-deserved prize voucher 🙌

03/05/2026

🍞🫐🍲 What a feast! That's a wrap! Flavours of Plenty Festival 2026 brought the heat, the taste, and the fun!
🔥 Workshops, foodie adventures & incredible flavours everywhere you turned.
🙏 A huge thank you to our sponsors, supporters, participants & all festival-goers you made it another unforgettable year!
👀✨ More highlights dropping soon!

01/05/2026

☑️ Have you voted for your favourite dish?

You've got until the end of the weekend to vote for your favourite dish and be entered into the draw to win one of three $100 dining vouchers! 🎫

Can't decide? - remember you can vote more than once! 🍝🍛

Vote here 👉 https://flavoursofplentyfestival.com/vote/

30/04/2026

From the little ones to the seasoned foodies, this weekend's line-up is packed with events that push every palate.

Here's what's still up for grabs 👇

🥓 Bacon and Knives — Bacon curing is on the menu — roll up your sleeves for this hands-on session.
🌿 Crop Swap and Pesto Making — Bring what you grow, take home something new. A true celebration of community and local produce.
🍽️ Five Go Wild with Food — Some of the region's best chefs create a five-course degustation menu using Plates of Plenty Challenge ingredients. Bold, creative, unmissable.
🧁 Kiwi Kids Bake Off Fair — Open to young bakers aged 5 to 12, with two categories — technical cookies or showstopper cakes — and prizes for the top three in each. A sweet afternoon for the whole whānau.
🌶️ League of Fire Chilli Eating Contest — Think you can handle the heat? Come prove it.
🍷 Tasting Extravaganza — Exactly what it sounds like. Taste your way through the best the Bay has to offer.
🍺 The Brew Gauntlet — For the hopheads. Guests will test their palate through blind beer samples, flavour‑mystery bites, and premium upgrade rounds, scoring themselves as they go.
🍵 Art of Matcha — Try matcha cupping in this calming, hands-on session celebrating the art of the leaf.
🌅 Big Bay Brunch — Held at Pāpāmoa Surf Life Saving Club. Sun, surf views, and a seriously good spread.
🌍 Whenua Flavours — A deep dive into the flavours rooted in the whenua of the Coastal Bay of Plenty. Food as it connects to place.

👉 Tickets at flavoursofplentyfestival.com — don't wait, spots are filling fast!

Celebrate Flavours of Plenty Festival 2026 in the Bay of Plenty. 16 April–3 May. Food, drink, and events that push the palate across the Bay.

30/04/2026

🌶️🔥 THIS SATURDAY, Wharf Street is heating up!

The National Chilli Eating Champs 2026 is coming to Tauranga and we are HERE for it.

Here's what's going down on Saturday 2nd May from 12pm:

🍕 Spicy dishes across Wharf Street from The Barrel Room, The Grocer, Sugo & Crown and Badger — Spicy Chicken Tikka Pizza, Buffalo Chicken Loaded Fries, Confit Duck Wings, Plum & Dark Chocolate Chilli Semifredo and more 🤤
🍺 Festival beer on tap — Mount Brewing Co. Brewery's limited release Chilli Pilsner, Brain Strain, pouring at The Barrel Room
🛒 Hot sauce stalls from Chileez, Taste Lab, Spicy Boys, Emoyeni Products, Wicked Hots, Long Dog Sauce Co & Dragons Drool
🎵 Live music from + entertainment from The Rock 94.2
Whether you're brave enough for the chilli eating comp or just here for the vibes and the food — come on down to Wharf Street this Saturday! 🙌

Get your free tickets:
👉 flavoursofplentyfestival.com

29/04/2026

5 tips. One simple goal: waste less, enjoy more 🍽♻️
Over the past few weeks, we’ve teamed up with Envirohub (and some of our Flavours of Plenty Festival chefs) to share easy ways to cut down food waste at home.

From smart storage hacks to creative leftovers, these are the tips worth keeping.
Missed them? We’ve got you, here’s the full round-up 👆

Because good food deserves to be eaten, not wasted.
If you are keen to learn more, or want to get involved head to Every Bite’s website: https://www.everybite.nz/

26/04/2026

🌮🍖🥂 The festival doesn't stop when the weekend does!

Got a weekday free? Make it one to remember with some of the boldest events still on the Flavours of Plenty Festival calendar 👇

🌮 All You Can Eat Taco Night —Cadera in Ōhope anytime between 4–8pm for an all-you-can-eat taco feast with endless fillings, alongside exciting new festival flavours created just for this event. Come hungry.
They have Vegan and vegetarian options available. 🌱

🍽️ Dishrupted — Expect the unexpected. This one's for those who want their food to challenge them as much as delight them. A collaboration of Toi Ohomai and

🌊 A Taste of Trinity — Settle in at Trinity Wharf's iconic over-water restaurant for harbour views and a two-course lunch led by head chef Peter Jeffré, with each course paired with wines from Leveret Mills Reef. Flavours of Plenty A proper Bay of Plenty afternoon. 🍷

🥩 Nose to Tail BBQ Feast — A social long-table banquet at The Smokin' Goose in Awakeri featuring both premium and adventurous cuts — such as ox tongue — with live music and a rustic Western vibe. Dust off your boots. 🤠

👉 Grab your tickets before they're gone: flavoursofplentyfestival.com