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Diners are being invited to test their tastebuds at some of the 24 eateries that have signed up for this year’s Plates of Plenty Challenge.
The culinary competition is always a popular feature of the annual Flavours of Plenty Festival in the Coastal Bay of Plenty. But this year, the Challenge has been given an 11-day head start.
Each participating eatery is now featuring a unique Plates of Plenty Challenge dish, alongside their normal menu, ahead of the festival start date on March 27.
Diners and official judges have already started voting for their favourite dishes, with the Challenge competition due to close on April 13.
Each creation must use at least three of the nine locally produced ingredients supplied in the official Plates of Plenty Challenge boxes, which include avocados, blueberries, pale ale, and kūmara.
The Challenge has inspired the creation of bespoke dishes like the Surf Shack’s Te Reka o te Rā | The Sweetness of the Sun, featuring sourdough ice cream and a honey, soy and garlic panna cotta with olive biscuit crumb.
Pablo, in Pāpāmoa, has opted to combine chicken, coffee beans, and tortellini to produce their special dish, while Somethin’ Somethin’, in nearby Mount Maunganui, is hoping its beer-battered fish sandwich and avocado and coriander mousse dish will attract votes.
Flavours of Plenty Festival director Rae Baker says she’s always blown away by the impressive creativity the Plates of Plenty Challenge exposes in the region.
“It’s amazing how the super talented staff at 24 of our region’s top eateries can take a box of goodies and turn it into such an array of absolutely scrumptious dishes. I’d like to encourage discerning diners to travel around and sample as many as they can.”
Tourism Bay of Plenty is overseeing the foodie festival and dish challenge, and general manager Oscar Nathan says both highlight how the region’s unique foodie businesses are collaborating to support each other.
“We always enjoy sparking new connections between growers, producers, and hospitality venues via the Plates of Plenty Challenge. The ultimate goal is to inspire these venues to keep utilising these food and beverage suppliers in the future, to ensure the positive impact the annual festival generates continues well after the final event date.”
Southern Hospitality is once again sponsoring the Judge’s Choice and People’s Choice prize vouchers that this year’s Plates of Plenty Challenge entrants are vying for.
“It’s a privilege to support the businesses and individuals who are working hard to put our region on every foodie lover’s radar – those who are willing to dare to be different as they try new ingredient combinations to entice their diners,” says Southern Hospitality branch manager Jacqui Keene.
Diners who vote for their favourite Challenge dishes will also enter the draw to win one of three $100 vouchers, which can be spent at any participating eatery.
