Happy Friday everyone! We’re about halfway through October already and I am loving day light savings time. Longer evenings and we’re actually getting more sunny days than rainy days.

November is my favourite month and not just because it’s my birthday (although that certainly helps). November means that my favourite festival of delicious proportions, Taste of Auckland is back for the eighth year in a row.

Thanks to Taste of Auckland in partnership with Electrolux, I have three double passes to give away to three lucky readers (Total value $150).

To enter, fill in the entry form at the bottom of this post including a skill question: Adriano Zumbo will be demonstrating at Electrolux Taste Theatre on which 2 days?

The answer can be found here.

Running from Thursday 17 to Sunday 20 November 2016 and once again at Western Springs, Taste of Auckland will be settling in for 6 sessions over 4 days of al fresco dining with wine and cocktails. If I gush a bit in this post, please understand I am a Taste fan girl. I look forward to it every year and have been to every single Taste, which means I started attending before I started this blog. It’s even possible that Taste marks the beginning of my food obsession.

Check out my write up about last year’s event and the year before last if you’re feeling eager.

Restaurants

Think of Taste of Auckland as a “build your own” degustation as you graze upon dishes from fine dining restaurants such as Euro and Fish, no doubt serving elegant and sophisticated seafood dishes.

Farina will be back, to defend the coveted title of “Best in Taste” which Farina has won 2 years running. I’ve tried both their winning dishes (pictured below) and they were divine. I still haven’t made it to Farina on Ponsonby Road but I’ll definitely be trying their dish this year at Taste of Auckland.

Taste veterans include Depot and Miss Clawdy will no doubt be representing with Depot’s beloved raw bar and Miss Clawdy’s famous Southern fried jerk chicken.

Newcomers include Paris Butter, Artwork, Tok Tok and The Culpepper.

The menus are yet to be announced but I highly recommend having a browse before the event and curating your own DIY degustation menu.

Highlights

• Chef secrets – Create and share a meal with tos chefs such as Kyle Street (Depot, Culprit) as they cook one of their signature dishes. These masterclasses are $15 per person and includes food and a glass of wine.
• World renowned dessert genius Ariano Zumbo will be appearing for two demonstrations at the Electrolux Taste Theatre. Other chefs taking the stage include Dariush Lolaiy (Cazador), Nick Honeyman (Paris Butter), Nadia Lim (My Food Bag), Kelly Gibney (Bonnie Delicious), Phil Clarke (Phil’s Kitchen). View the full schedule for the Electrolux Taste Theatre here.
• Magners Cider Bandstand – If last year’s line-up is anything to go by, Peter Urlich will once again be curating a selection of upbeat, good vibe artists.
• Artisan producers and markets – Get your Christmas presents early this year with a showcase of NZ owned producers.
• ConversatioNZ Symposium on Sunday 20 November. TedX style talks about food in New Zealand. More info here.

Crowns and tickets

The festival currency is called a crown and 1 crown = 1 dollar. Festival currency can be loaded onto your Taste of Auckland card and these are used to make any purchases. You can get a full refund on any unused credit so don’t be shy about topping up using cash, debit or credit cards at any onsite Taste bank or roaming Crown seller dressed in pink.

Advance tickets General admission $25, Premium $60 (includes 40 crowns), VIP $110. Concessions available. Door sales $35 (if available). Tickets can be purchased via iTicket here.

For more information about Taste of Auckland visit their website here or keep up to date with announcements via the event page on Facebook here.

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Giveaway terms and conditions

• One entry per person.
• Open to NZ only.
• Passes are valid for any session of Taste of Auckland, Thursday 17 November to Sunday 20 November.
• Passes will be posted to the winners and it is the responsibility of the prize winners to redeem their prizes at Taste of Auckland.
• Prizes may not be exchanged for cash. Crowns (festival currency) to purchase meals and drinks are not included in this prize. Travel expenses are not included.
• Entries close 27 October 2016 and three winners will be drawn on Friday 28 October 2016, contacted by email and announced here and on Facebook.
• In the event that any winner is not contactable within 48 hours, Bunny Eats Design reserves the right to redraw a winner.

 

This competition is now closed.

Find out who won here.

 

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This post is not sponsored, however the good people at Taste of Auckland and Lemongrass Productions have provided the prizes for this giveaway. All opinions are my own.