Puanga on a Plate
Event date: Tuesday, 27 May 2025 | 09:00 AM
to Tuesday, 24 June 2025 | 09:00 PM
Puanga on a Plate is a vibrant food festival that celebrates Puanga Matariki with a delicious twist.
This event is a culinary journey where local restaurants are showcasing their creativity by crafting dishes that resonate with the Puanga Matariki themes of:
- Remembrance - honouring those we have lost since the last rising of Matariki.
- Celebrating the present - gathering together to give thanks for what we have.
- Looking to the future - looking forward to the promise of a new year.
Come together with whānau and friends to enjoy kai and community at one of the amazing local restaurants participating in this year's Puanga on a Plate competition.
Did you know? The different stars in the Matariki cluster have an association to the various domains from where we source our food:
- Waitī – tied to freshwater bodies and the food sources within them.
- Waitā – associated with the ocean and seafood.
- Tupuānuku – linked to food that grows in the ground.
- Tupuārangi – linked to food that comes from the air, such as birds and fruits.
Dishes will be available throughout the Puanga Matariki Festival which runs from 27 May 2025 to the 24 June 2025.
But that's not all!
Two esteemed judges have the exciting role of selecting the winner of this year's competition and you also have a voice in this culinary showdown through the People's Choice Award.
Voting opens on Friday 27 May 2025 and wraps up on Tuesday 17 June 2025.
The recipients of both awards will be announced on Thursday 19 June 2025.
But don't worry, all the amazing dishes will still be available to try over the last weekend of the festival until 24 June 2025.
Register your dish
Join the Puanga on a Plate competition and showcase your culinary creativity!
Bring whānau and friends together at your restaurant with a mouthwatering dish inspired by the themes and / or stars of Puanga Matariki.
Sign up now to be part of this celebration of kai and community.
Registering your restaurant for our Puanga on a Plate competition is a breeze! Just fill out the online form with your details and your mouth-watering Puanga Matariki dish creation.
Registrations close at 4:00pm on Monday 28 April 2025.
Don't miss out on the fun and the chance to be crowned the best Puanga on a Plate dish in town!
Puanga on a Plate dish registration
Registration requirements and benefits
You must:
- create a unique original menu item that resonates with the above Puanga Matariki Festival themes (the unique meal must be on offer throughout the festival dates)
- provide a dish name and brief description of concept and dish
- allow our photographer time to come in and capture your dish before the competition starts
- provide one free meal for our judges
- display the provided QR code on tables for the people's choice award
- be an eatery that can provide a dine in meal (to allow people to come together / connect) and be open in the evenings.
Benefits
- Puanga on a Plate is FREE to enter.
- Enjoy extensive festival marketing and promotion.
- Win the Judges Choice and trophy!
- Win the People's choice.
When
-
Tuesday, 27 May 2025 | 09:00 AM
- Tuesday, 24 June 2025 | 09:00 PM