Doors will re-open for Coromandel food producers as our Council supports them at the Auckland Food Show in November.

2020 has hit businesses hard through the COVID-19 lockdown period but our Council is here to support them and kick-start our local economy.

Our Mayor Sandra Goudie says we are pleased to announce we will be supporting our local food producers again this year, marketing the Coromandel as a foodie destination, and promoting homegrown. This year the Food Show has been rescheduled for November 19 – 22 from its usual July date due to the lockdown.

"This event gives our local food producers the opportunity to get in front of more than 35,000 people and showcase that we're not just pristine beaches and beautiful bush, there is a lot more going on here that drives people to come visit us," says Mayor Sandra.

“Supporting local is a focus we have at Council and this is a really good opportunity for local producers to get their products known further afield and in front of chefs who are looking for new products and the media covering the Food Show,” she says.

Five food or beverage producers located in our district are showcasing their products at The Coromandel Food Collective’s stand, located within the Food Show's 'Artisan Village', where handmade, high-quality goods are featured.

The Auckland Food Show has helped put Coromandel on the map as "Food experience hotspot".

“Food is becoming more and more important for tourism across the district and we have amazing restaurants, cafes, markets, home-made products and not to mention approximately 90 per cent of the North Island’s Green Shell mussels are loaded in Coromandel Town each year,” says Laurna White, our Economic and Communications Group Manager.

The local businesses that will be involved this year include:

• Corokai - Gluten Free Bread Mix

Corokai is an organic, gluten-free, plant-based, food maker based in Coromandel Town. Their base mix can be easily trasnformed into plain wholemeal loaf, seed loaf, banana loaf, raisin / fruit loaf, herb loaf or you can add your own extra ingredients. corokai.co.nz

• Uncle Dunkles Chilli

Uncle Dunkles Chilli's produces locally-sourced ingredients to make its wood-fired chilli sauces, slow cooked and smoked in a wood-fired oven with NZ tea tree wood. Flavours include chilli, chilli BBQ, and extra hot chilli sauce. Visit their shop at 20 Black Jack Road Kuaotunu. uncledunkles.co.nz

• Blue Fridge Brewery

Blue Fridge Brewery stays true to its roots by minimising its environmental footprint as they craft their beers: they use quality local ingredients, sell locally, reduce waste by giving their spent grain to animals on their lifestyle farm, and clean their equipment and brewery with eco-friendly products.

Their well-balanced, ultra-drinkable beers cater to different tastes, but they’re all made with heart. Blue Fridge Brewery is located by the beach in Kuaotunu. bluefridgebrewery.co.nz

• Blackbeards Smokehouse

Blackbeard’s Smokehouse is a family-run business in Whitianga. Inspired by the Coromandel’s spectacular pristine waters and amazing array of seafood. Blackbeard’s Smokehouse uses traditional methods of smoking Green-lipped mussels by hand with brine, manuka wood smoke and tasty recipes. blackbeardsmokehouse.co.nz

• Omahu Valley Citrus

Omahu Valley Citrus is a family business run on a small farm where they produce high quality, artisan citrus preserves and fragrances, claiming both national and international awards.

There are no artificial ingredients and the preserves are made from fruit grown in the farm's orchards. These are hand-crafted in small batches in the commercial kitchen on the property and the recipes are unique to the business. omahuvalleycitrus.co.nz

To find out more about the Auckland Food Show click here.

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