Hospitality closures have peppered headlines and social media in recent months, but Aucklanders will be able to celebrate the local food scene at this year\u2019s Auckland Restaurant Month. <\/p>\n
\n Now in its 16th year, the full line-up, released exclusively to Viva today, features collaborations from some of T\u0101maki
\n Makaurau\u2018s most beloved restaurants and chefs, including the likes of Depot\u2019s Al Brown, Ahi\u2019s Ben Bayly, and Gilt\u2019s Josh Emett throughout August.\n <\/p>\n
\u201cAuckland Restaurant Month shines a light on Auckland\u2019s vibrant dining scene and encourages people to discover restaurants they\u2019ve been meaning to try, or simply gives them an excuse to dine out a little more,\u201d Emett says.<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us, it\u2019s a chance to really spoil our guests. At both Gilt Brasserie and Onslow, we\u2019ve created menus that showcase the very best of each restaurant, giving diners a true taste of what we offer and, hopefully, inspiring them to come back again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Josh Emett is looking forward to his collaborations this Restaurant Month. Photo \/ Tony Drayton<\/p>\n
Food-loving Aucklanders will be able to experience special menus across myriad Auckland dining institutions, priced at $30, $45, and over $55.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s also the opportunity to attend one of 22 private events, as well as a series of local and international culinary collaborations.<\/p>\n
According to organisers, exploration sits at the heart of this year\u2019s programme. <\/p>\n
The How We Eat series, hosted by restaurants including Daikoku, Addis Ethiopian Cafe and Ongi, will explore rituals, traditions and communal moments such as pairing Korean street food with soju, Ethiopian coffee ceremonies and ceremonial Kagami Biraki rituals.<\/p>\n
New this year, the Next On The Pass teams AUT culinary students with some of our most acclaimed chefs to create dishes for the public.<\/p>\n
\u201cKai is one of the strongest ways we connect with different cultures, communities and memories,\u201d Bayly, who is among the mentors, says.<\/p>\n
\u201cProgrammes like Next on the Pass celebrate those stories, while also creating opportunities for the next generation of chefs to learn, contribute and grow.\u201d<\/p>\n
This Restaurant Month might be the most ambitious yet. Photo \/ Hugh Davidson<\/p>\n
A major part of Restaurant Month remains the special ticketed events and collaborations. <\/p>\n
This year, highlights include a sake tasting journey at Tanuki\u2019s on Queen St and Sean Conolly\u2019s \u201cYia Yia\u2019s dinner\u201d at Esther, which is described as a celebration of the Greek grandmothers behind a cuisine shaped by tradition and generosity.<\/p>\n
The chance to taste a specific time and place aren\u2019t off the table either. Vivace at Debrett\u2019s will host an Eighties Whisky Road Trip, pairing four P\u014dkeno whiskies with a menu of matched dishes. <\/p>\n
At Bistro Saine, executive chef Yutak Son and Tom Hishon will present a five-course meal inspired by 19th-century French cuisine, using local ingredients like p\u0101ua and Fiordland wapiti.<\/p>\n
And Michael Meredith and Wallace Mua will team up for a four-course dining experience that blends their restaurants: Metita\u2019s Pacific approach with Trivet\u2019s style.<\/p>\n
Ben Williamson of Agnes will also join Emett to create a four-course long lunch, and Advieh\u2019s Gareth Stewart welcomes Dariush Lolaiy of Cazador for a five-course dining experience inspired by Middle Eastern flavours.<\/p>\n
Chef Dariush Lolaiy grilling Danbri Farm beef.<\/p>\n
\u201cRestaurant Month is one of the best ways to experience what makes the Auckland city centre special,\u201d Heart of the City CEO Viv Beck says.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe calibre of chefs, venues and experiences involved this year speaks to the strength and confidence of the hospitality sector, and to the role our restaurants play in bringing people into the city. The inclusion of the next generation of hospitality talent will make this year\u2019s programme particularly memorable.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Hospitality closures have peppered headlines and social media in recent months, but Aucklanders will be able to celebrate…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":495846,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[2246,16891,51,22398,177,169,8606,156,3685,564,2070,305,42,15557,15220,440,1073,4486,3234,111,139,69,1118,234958,8244,2539,1517,1439,1072,1961,3010,810,1533,1530],"class_list":["post-495845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-2246","tag-able","tag-auckland","tag-aucklanders","tag-celebrate","tag-chef","tag-closures","tag-entertainment","tag-events","tag-food","tag-full","tag-have","tag-headlines","tag-hospitality","tag-line","tag-local","tag-media","tag-month","tag-months","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-of","tag-peppered","tag-recent","tag-restaurant","tag-reveals","tag-scene","tag-social","tag-this","tag-top","tag-up","tag-will","tag-years"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=495845"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/495845\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/495846"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=495845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=495845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=495845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}