Zest Food Tour – Wellington

Posted by Ruth Atherley on May 22, 2010 at 5:42 pm

Thank goodness the Zest Food Tour has you walking around Wellington…otherwise, I think I would have gained ten pounds on this tour!

Wellington is such a compact city, it lends itself to walking. In fact, Wellingtonians are some of the fittest New Zealanders, with 11 percent walking to work.

Our group was made up of our exceptional tour guide Manfred Berthold, Carolyn Galloway – a young woman from Australia, Joanne Gourley of Tourism New Zealand Auckland, Makiko Ehara of Sunnyside Up – the agency that provides public relations for Tourism New Zealand in Japan, and Makiko’s colleague Akiko Takahashi.

We started at the Hill Street Farmers’ Market. This is a fairly new market in the city, but if the choice and quality of the offerings are any indication, it will be growing. The vendors were so friendly. As we were leaving a guy selling fish literally chased us down the street so he could give Manfred a big piece of smoked fish. That is a visual I will have for sometime, this big man running down a city street waving a large chunk of smoked fish over his head!

We then went for coffee at Mojos, which I was very grateful for. I love coffee, and so do Kiwis. New Zealander’s take their coffee very seriously and it never fails that when I ask them about it, a lively conversation of what makes good coffee ensues. I have heard several people who have visited tell me that outside of Italy, New Zealand has the best coffee in the world.

We then went to a grocery store. Really? A grocery store on a tour? Moore Wilson Fresh is fantastic. Perhaps it is because they have different things from what I would find in a gourmet grocery store at home. We had a great cheese tasting here.

We then headed over to Kura Gallery for a honey tasting. The art gallery was amazing. I saw a piece in there that will stay in my dreams for quite a while. (I wonder what it would cost to ship it home?)

Then we went to Ciocco Chocolaterie and Espresso Bar for a chocolate tasting. That was so much fun. The chocolate artist infuses chocolate with lavender, strawberries, black pepper, Earl Grey tea, and many other interesting ingredients.

Then it was off to Floriditas Café and Restaurant for lunch and, of course, wine. We started with a La Strada Rose from Marlborough, which was lovely, light and perfect for the moment. With our main course (see why we need to walk!) we had a Love Point Chardonnay from Martinborough. I had to sneak out a bit early as I was due at the Museum of New Zealand Te Papa Tongarewa, so I missed the next course, which I think was dessert. Like I needed to eat any more…

I saw a sign on my way out that I thought was worth sharing. “Feeling stressed…that’s just desserts spelled backwards – get a piece of cake, you’ll feel better.”

I have to say, the Zest Food Tour was excellent. Manfred is knowledgeable and friendly and he brought Wellington to life for me.

Click here to see more yummy images!