The most distinctive meal in New Zealand is cooked in the ground. For a hāngī, stones are heated in a fire, laid in a pit under baskets of pork, chicken, lamb and kūmara, then covered with wet cloth and soil for three or four hours. In Rotorua you can watch it lifted from the earth at a Māori cultural evening, and in Whakarewarewa village the food is steamed over natural geothermal vents instead.
The rest of the food experiences follow the produce. New Zealand has few big cooking schools; what it does well is wine regions you can cycle between, farmers markets full of growers, seafood bought straight off the boat, and walking tours through the café and craft-beer scenes of Auckland and Wellington.
For what to eat and how much meals cost, see our New Zealand food guide. This page covers the classes, tours, tastings and farm visits where you learn by doing.
At a Glance#
- Hāngī and Māori food: cultural evenings with an earth-oven feast in Rotorua, and steam-box cooking at Whakarewarewa.
- City food walks: small-group tours of Wellington’s cafés, laneways and taprooms, and of the markets and Asian food courts of Auckland.
- Wine by bike or ferry: cellar doors on Waiheke Island, 40 minutes by ferry from Auckland; cycle tours around Blenheim in Marlborough and on the flat trails of Hawke’s Bay.
- Central Otago: Pinot Noir in the Gibbston Valley, 25 minutes from Queenstown, and high-country farm visits across Lake Wakatipu.
- Markets: Wellington’s Harbourside Market on Sundays, the Otago Farmers Market in Dunedin and the Hawke’s Bay Farmers Market near Hastings.
- Costs: about NZ$100 to 200 (57 to 114 USD) for a cooking class or food walk, NZ$130 to 260 for a hāngī evening, NZ$150 to 300 for a full-day guided wine tour.
Rotorua and the hāngī#
Rotorua is where most visitors eat a hāngī. Evenings at Te Puia, Mitai, Te Pā Tū and the Whakarewarewa village combine a pōwhiri (formal welcome), a kapa haka concert and a buffet of earth-oven food, often with a walk to see the hāngī pit opened. Expect roughly NZ$130 to 260 (74 to 148 USD) with transport from your hotel, depending on the operator. At Whakarewarewa you can also try sweetcorn cooked in a hot spring, and some marae-based operators around the Bay of Plenty let small groups help lay the hāngī. Read up on protocol first in our New Zealand culture guide.
Rotorua is also sheep country. Farm shows outside town feature shearing, sheepdog trials and lamb feeding, a quick introduction to the pastoral farming that supplies New Zealand’s lamb and wool.
Auckland and Waiheke#
Auckland has the country’s widest range of cooking classes, mostly short evening sessions at small schools and in chefs’ homes: dumplings, Pacific Island dishes, pasta, sushi and modern New Zealand cooking with local seafood. Classes cost about NZ$100 to 200 per person and usually end with dinner at the table. Guided food walks cover the city’s Asian food courts and the Auckland Fish Market at the Wynyard Quarter, and the French-style La Cigale market in Parnell runs at weekends.
Waiheke Island, 40 minutes by ferry from downtown, is Auckland’s wine and food island. Its 30 or so vineyards, many with restaurants, are linked by a hop-on hop-off bus, and guided wine tours with tastings and lunch run daily in summer. Matakana, an hour north of the city, has a Saturday farmers market and a small wine trail.
Wellington and the Wairarapa#
Wellington runs on flat whites and craft beer, with a brewing scene led by Garage Project and dozens of taprooms. Long-running walking food tours visit coffee roasters, chocolate makers, specialist grocers and bars in the compact centre, usually a few hours for about NZ$125 to 200. The Harbourside Market on the waterfront, every Sunday morning, is the city’s biggest fresh-produce market.
Over the Remutaka Range, Martinborough in the Wairarapa is a small Pinot Noir town where cellar doors sit within cycling distance of the village square. Trains from Wellington reach Featherston, where shuttles connect, which makes it an easy day out without a car.
Hawke's Bay and Marlborough#
Hawke’s Bay, around Napier and Hastings, is the easiest wine region to cycle. Flat, mostly off-road trails link wineries, orchards and the coast, and bike-hire companies drop you off with a map and pick you up at the end. The Hawke’s Bay Farmers Market at the showgrounds in Hastings on Sunday mornings is one of the best in the country.
Marlborough makes most of New Zealand’s wine, above all Sauvignon Blanc. Base yourself in Blenheim or nearby Renwick, hire a bike and ride between cellar doors in the Wairau Valley, where tastings cost about NZ$10 to 25 and are often waived if you buy. Combine it with a green-lipped mussel cruise on the Marlborough Sounds from Havelock or Picton, where you eat steamed mussels on board.
Queenstown, Central Otago and the south#
From Queenstown, wine tours and bike trips run through the Gibbston Valley, the world’s southernmost major wine region, with Pinot Noir tastings, cave cellars and long lunches; Bannockburn and Cromwell are further on. The steamship TSS Earnslaw crosses Lake Wakatipu to Walter Peak, a high-country sheep station with a farm show and a barbecue lunch or dinner.
In Dunedin, the Otago Farmers Market fills the car park beside the historic railway station on Saturday mornings. Further south, Bluff is famous for its oysters, in season from about March to August, and the Bluff Oyster and Food Festival in May. On the West Coast, Hokitika’s Wildfoods Festival in March serves whitebait, possum pies and stranger things.
Costs and booking#
| What | Typical price |
|---|---|
| Cooking class, 2 to 4 hours, with meal | about NZ$100 to 200 (57 to 114 USD) |
| Walking food tour | about NZ$125 to 200 |
| Hāngī and cultural evening, Rotorua | about NZ$130 to 260 |
| Guided full-day wine tour with lunch | about NZ$150 to 300 |
| Bike hire for a wine trail, per day | about NZ$50 to 80 |
| Cellar-door tasting | about NZ$10 to 25 |
Book cooking classes and hāngī evenings a few days ahead in summer; many small schools run only a few sessions a week. Wine tours run all year but the best time is February to April, when vines are heavy and harvest is under way. Prices change by season, so check before you go.
Drinking and driving
New Zealand’s legal limit for drivers 20 and over is 50 mg of alcohol per 100 ml of blood, and zero for under-20s. If you plan more than a sip or two, take a guided tour, hire a bike or use the spittoon.
Cycle the Hawke’s Bay or Marlborough trails on a weekday. Cellar doors are quieter, staff have more time to talk, and you avoid weekend groups.
For food across the region, see Food in Oceania and Food and Cuisine Around the World. To plan the wine regions into a road trip, see our New Zealand itineraries.
Best places for food tours in New Zealand#
More Things to Do#
New Zealand food tour FAQs#
Where can I try a hāngī in New Zealand?
Rotorua is the easiest place, at cultural evenings run by Te Puia, Mitai, Te Pā Tū and the Whakarewarewa village. Expect roughly NZ$130 to 260 including a concert and transport.
Are there cooking classes in New Zealand?
Yes, mainly in Auckland and Wellington, where small schools and chefs run evening classes of two to four hours for about NZ$100 to 200. Topics range from Asian dumplings to seafood and Pacific Island dishes.
What is the best wine region to visit in New Zealand?
Marlborough for Sauvignon Blanc, Central Otago near Queenstown for Pinot Noir and scenery, and Hawke’s Bay for easy cycling between wineries. Waiheke Island is the easiest day trip from Auckland.
Can you cycle between wineries in New Zealand?
Yes. Hawke’s Bay and Marlborough have flat trails and bike-hire companies that drop you off and collect you, and the Gibbston Valley near Queenstown has a cycle trail between cellar doors.
When is the best time for food and wine tours in New Zealand?
February to April, during the harvest, with warm weather and the most produce at markets. May brings the Bluff oyster festival, and winter is quieter but cellar doors stay open.