I went solo to The Food Show today. If you’ve never been on your own before (this was my first time solo), it’s totally awesome. You can zip around quickly, miss the things you’re not into and spend longer chatting about food and to exhibitors generally being a big food NERD. Also, you can take photos of pretty packaging for as long as you like without anyone thinking, “Come ON, let’s GO (you weirdo)”. 

The Food Show is huge. Like, MEGA. You could conceivably visit every day for 4 days and still find new things you missed before. I recommend allowing 3 hours, any longer can be a bit overwhelming and it’s easy to get lost. If you do, don’t panic. Eat something and just enjoy.

I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again, The Food Show is packaging and food design HEAVEN. If you’re a budding graphic designer looking for food-related inspiration or even someone looking to get into making and packaging their own product. Go to The Food Show. I even saw creatives walking around handing out their flyers to the exhibitors to drum up business. It didn’t occur to me to be that forward, though I had my business cards in my pocket just in case.

This year was extra exciting for me as there were a few brands I’ve worked with that were exhibiting. It’s always super cool to see my work on display whether it’s photography or graphic design and something I hope I never get complacent about.

There’s so much great stuff and show specials that I’m not sure it would be fair to mention just a few. But if you are a fan of Ecostore, check them out at the show. Their specials were amazing. I would have bought more but I didn’t want to come home with boatloads of cleaning products, I wanted stuff I could eat.

It was awesome to see our favourite Indian restaurant – Satya – launching their range of spices. I picked up a gorgeous Kitchen King spice blend with a ceramic grinder and suggested they bless the retail market with their butter chicken secrets. Jury’s still out on that.

I bought Donovans chocolates (4 for $12), Culley’s hot sauce (4 for $20), Smugglers free range chicken and vege nuggets (2 for $15), Shott Beverages Quarter Past drink syrups (2 for $10).

I didn’t go to The Food Show with a shopping list, because this never works out well for me anyway but I’m super happy with my haul. I went home with more stuff than I could carry comfortably and with $1 change. Glad I didn’t blow the budget!

Here’s my haul:

Tips for The Food Show:

• Avoid the queues and buy your ticket online
• Bring cash, including coins (parking is $10)
• Bring an appetite
• Keep hydrated with a bottle of water, though there are plenty of drink samples around if you need and I also found a water cooler by the street food area.
• Bring a sturdy bag and sensible shoes. The Food Show trundlers are available for purchase if you realise you’ve bought more than you can carry
• There’s also a coat check where you can drop off your shopping
• Leave your jacket in the car (it gets warm inside)
• Check out the timetable for Whirlpool Cooking Theatre

The Food Show is on this Friday, Saturday and Sunday, 10am to 6pm at ASB Showgrounds so if you’re in Auckland and you like food and can deal with crowds, get yourselves down there and enjoy. Tickets are $28+bf for General Entry or $19+bf for a half day pass for Friday afternoon (online only) which is a great option as 4 hours is more than enough.

To find out more and to buy tickets online, visit www.thefoodshow.co.nz