Taste at The Cloud to highlight NZ food and beverages

REAL NEW ZEALAND SHOWCASE: TASTE AT THE CLOUD
MEDIA RELEASE: STRICTLY EMBARGOED TO Friday 2 September 2.00PM
Taste at The Cloud to highlight breadth of NZ food and beverages

The best of New Zealand food and beverages will be on offer daily during Rugby World Cup 2011 at Taste at the Cloud, located on Queens Wharf, as part of the REAL New Zealand Showcase.

Taste at the Cloud opens its door on September 13. “It will be a journey through one of this country’s best kept secrets – our exceptional food and beverages,” says New Zealand Trade and Enterprise’s Operations Manager, Food and Beverage, Mark Roxburgh.

“The world knows we have top quality lamb and outstanding sauvignon blanc for example, but our food and beverage industry has expanded into so many other new culinary directions.”

Taste at The Cloud will feature signature dishes designed by some of New Zealand’s top chefs to showcase the diversity of the tastes of New Zealand. Chefs such as Josh Emett, Annabel Langbein, Justin North and Warren Turnbull have helped shape the menu choices, while 70 wines have been specially chosen to complement each dish.

Taste at The Cloud will feature four food zones: seaside, urban, winery/orchard and rural and four food options within each zone. Each dish can be accompanied by a specially selected New Zealand wine, though there are other beverage options available.

Each zone shows off its own unique ingredients and flavours. Amongst the food offerings are greenlip mussels with lemongrass and coconut fire sauce; beer braised beef and honey kumara pie with macadamia crumb; petit pavlova, saffron cream and kiwifruit medley salsa and horopito venison tataki, golden kumura crisps, puha and watercress pesto.

More than 350 wines were considered for inclusion in Taste at The Cloud and each was blind tasted by six qualified judges and winemakers. Those which scored highest in each variety and region were then chosen for inclusion. The wines were carefully matched with the menu options to offer a complete, creative culinary experience for visitors. The wines on offer will change daily, giving plenty of incentive for a return visit to Taste at The Cloud.

A special passport comes along with the ticket, and allows visitors to track what zones they’ve experienced, take home featured recipes and learn more about New Zealand’s food and beverages industries, including where products can be sourced once visitors return home.

Entry is free, and ticket packages are available starting from $17 per person. Taste at The Cloud opens on Tuesday 13 September and will be open daily from 11.30am to 6.00pm weekdays and 10.00am to 6.00pm on weekends. For more information about Taste at the Cloud, please visit www.tasteatthecloud.com And for other REAL New Zealand festival events visit www.realnzfestival.com

ENDS

Images are available from www.nz2011.govt.nz/media-resources

Queens Wharf will be the heart of the action during Rugby World Cup 2011 in Auckland. All 48 matches are live on the big screens and the best of Auckland and New Zealand is on show every day with food and wine, fashion, music, business innovation and culture all as part of the REAL New Zealand Festival. Queens Wharf is open to everyone seven days a week from September 9 to October 24 and admission is free. The programme changes daily and there’s plenty for young and old right throughout the Tournament.

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