NORTH & SOUTH
New Plymouth in the North Island and Arrowtown in the South Island have established impressive reputations for the quality of their cuisine and artisan products. Here at MiNDFOOD we believe they are the ‘best of the best’ gourmet towns in the country.
MiNDFOOD selects the best gourmet towns of the North and South Islands.
Drill a hole through the Earth from New Plymouth and you’ll emerge close to Bilbao in Spain. The cities have much in common: both off the beaten track, both ports that have seen better days. Both turned around their fortunes, and reputations, by taking a daring plunge into dramatic architecture and contemporary art, creating buzzing cultural and cuisine scenes.
In Bilbao, the shimmering riverside Guggenheim Museum; in New Plymouth, the soaring organ-pipe-like, stainless-steel pillars of the Len Lye Centre, its neighbouring Govett-Brewster Gallery and Puke Ariki Museum.
Until 2015, Taranaki meant dairy cows, oil and gas drilling and uncompromising rugby players. No more. The Len Lye Centre was the catalyst for its city to be vibrantly re-imagined and re-engineered. Building on that energy, entrepreneurs, chefs and artisan producers conjure one of the country’s most exciting eating and sipping scenes.
As one of New Zealand’s most picturesque villages, Arrowtown was established in 1862 as a gold-mining town. Nestled next to the Arrow River and below the surrounding peaks, the hard graft and toil that took place here in search of riches was immense. Arrowtown’s golden era lives on today with its stunning autumn leaves and golden hues creating pretty vistas that draw in the crowds. The town has transformed remarkably over the past 20-30 years from a two-pub and stables town to a vibrant culinary hotspot and boutique shopping haven.
With more than 20 eateries offering an impressive breadth of culinary treats incorporating a wide range of cooking styles from around the globe, Arrowtown has cleverly reinvented itself as premium food destination, showcasing the best local produce, which in many cases is some of the world’s finest, creating exciting and constantly evolving culinary propositions.