13th March 2010

Food Glorious Food at the 21st Hokitika Wildfoods Festival

This year’s world-famous Hokitika Wildfoods Festival – the 21^st – was one of the best yet and will generate up to $3 million for the West Coast economy, said organiser Mike Keenan.

“The West Coast turned on a glorious weekend for the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival and I was delighted with the positive way everyone entered into the spirit of the festival and really enjoyed themselves,” said Mike. “This is an event which has matured over the years and increasingly offers a real entertainment event, with headline acts like New Zealand rock band Elemeno P playing on the opening night”.

Mike Keenan said being listed as one of the world's top 300 Unmissable Festivals this year by UK travel giant Frommers, is a recognition of the event's established and growing reputation.

"Our event is based on the Coast's rugged individualism, which we know from experience brings a unique approach to delivering a mix of local and wild delicacies particular to this part of the world. The payoff in terms of exposure to target tourism markets is huge".

An estimated 13,500 well-behaved Wildfood Festival goers were given a range of exotic choices to feast on at the festival from more than 80 stalls this year.

Amongst those running a stall was Robyn Perkins of Christchurch, who has run a stall selling as many as 30,000 wildberry waffles over the last 20 consecutive years. “The Wildfoods Festival has become part and parcel of what our wider family does every year, and we’ll be back again next year,” said Robyn.

The best New Food prize this year went to Shane Wratt of Glasseye Creek Foods for his Glasseye Creek Wild Meat Sauce, which carries the imaginative slogan Tried and Tested on Cooked Animals. A portion of the prize money and proceeds from commercial sales from Shane's stall are being put into a fund for the daughter of Dave White, the popular publican of the Little Wanganui Hotel south of Karamea who died after an incident in the Hotel last year.

For the second year running the overall prize for best stall went to the Udderly Divine Desserts stall run by mothers of the Kaniere Play Centre. Their pikelets made with bovine colostrum, the milk produced by the mother cow after the birth of a calf, and ‘colostrum shooters’ were again a real hit.

Amongst the food items at the 2010 Hokitika Wildfoods Festival was a popular free sampling of Pukeko, described as tasting like a cross between wild pork and venison, which was made available from a limited local cull of the bird, which is not a protected bird.

Food for sale at the Hokitika Wildfoods Festival included the ever-present whitebait patties (10,000 of them), westcargots - snails in garlic butter, duck giblets, mountain oysters, exotic sausages, huhu bugs, worm sushi, pickled and raw punga and wasp larvae ice cream.

For more information and photos contact: Stephen Olsen, (021) 266 4427 stephen@morris-ppr.co.nz
See also: www.wildfoods.co.nz

Photos and captions available for:

1. Taste of Pukeko anyone?

2. English Baron experiences a touch of the Moulin Rouge at the Hokitika Wild Foods Festival

3. Marilyn Monroe lookalikes munch down at the Hokitika Wild Foods Festival

4. Westcargots supplement Girl Guides biscuit sales at the Hokitika Wild Foods Festival

5. Udderly Divine Dessert wins best stall at Hokitika Wild Foods Festival for second year running

6. Arrow Miners Band wouldn't miss the Hokitika Wild Foods Festival "for quids"

Media Release

4 March 2010

Good Response to Wildfoods Festival 21^st Weekend

Hokitika Wildfoods Festival organisers are delighted with the public’s response to the addition of Friday night entertainment to this year’s programme, as a bonus for patrons to celebrate the Festival’s 21^st birthday.

Headlined by chart-topping Auckland band Elemeno P, organiser Megan Wilson says the idea of providing music at the venue on the eve of the big day has helped ticket sales exceed last year’s trend.

“Some people travel a long way to get to the event so we thought we should do something special on the Friday night as a birthday treat. Sales are up about 20% at this stage with more than 7,000 tickets sold.”

The full programme for the Friday evening, 12 March, is:

Megan says Elemeno P have invited senior music students from Westland High School to join them for their sound check and watch their act from backstage – “this is a big gesture by the band as Hokitika seldom sees such a class act in the town – the kids are buzzing about the opportunity.”

Tickets for all Festival events available from www.wildfoods.co.nz.

Ends

Contact Megan Wilson on 03 756 9048.

Pukeko is on the menu at the 2010 Wildfoods Festival for the first time ever AND it's free! Read what's been said about this tasty morsel.

Media Release

 17 February 2010

21^st Hokitika Wildfoods Festival all set to go – now ranked in World’s top 300 events – plus Hokitika linked English Baron to judge best food

The festivities, unique blend of wild delicacies and “fear factor” on offer at this year’s Hokitika Wildfoods Festival is now ranked in the world’s top 300 unmissable festivals by a major travel publisher.

Travel publishers Frommers UK have included Wildfoods in their recent 300 Unmissable Festivals and Events Around the World, something of a surprise but pleasant 21^st birthday present for the event.

Organiser Mike Keenan said global recognition of the attraction of good mates and good keen gastronomes to have fun while they experience some of the world’s most unique flavours is “pretty good”.

The 21^st Hokitika Wildfoods Festival begins on Friday 12 March.

Keenan said this acknowledgement by one of the largest international travel publishers adds to their reputation – “our event is based on the Coast’s rugged individualism  which we know from experience, brings a unique approach to wild delicacies that cannot be obtained anywhere else in the world.

“Over the years, the Festival has shown there’s a whole lot more to wild food than the traditional delicacies like whitebait and venison and we’ve become famous for delights including huhu bugs, crouching grasshoppers, mountain oysters and wasp larvae ice cream,” Mike says.

“This year will be no exception with flavours to tempt most palates, from spare ribs to ostrich pies and the ever popular moonshine in a drench gun to wash it all down.”

The 21^st Festival features 66 stalls, offering beverages and foodstyles that reflect our cultural and other not-so-publicised traditions. Kava and kokada (raw fish) from Fiji, will appear alongside westcargots – snails in garlic butter – and meaty vegan gonads – vegetarian battered balls to match its sheep’s’ counterpart.

Mr Keenan said the growing stature of the Wildfoods Festival is reflected in the number of international visitors registering, including a delegation from Korea and an Australian food channel.

“Even Te Hiku TV from Kaitaia will be here,” Mr Keenan says.

English Baron, Lord Francis Stafford, whose family name adorns a Hokitika street and nearby old goldtown, and wife Katie, will judge the Festival’s New Foods section. He will also join local MP for West Coast/Nelson, Chris Auchinvole in welcoming Festival-goers and open the event on the main stage.

Lord Stafford’s family is linked to the English  gentry family of Fitzherbert (another Hokitika street) and is heir of a line of baronies dating back to 1299.  The most famous offspring of this line was Maria Fitzherbert, the first wife of King George IV.

This year there will be eleven new foods on offer with some, such as Wild Thai and Wild Curry House, reflecting Asian influences. As always, they are explorative and tempting , such as Gorse, It’s Berry Nice, New Generation Liquorice, and Unique Hangi Kai.

“Expect your taste buds to be thrilled, possibly numbed and certainly challenged,” Mr Keenan says.  He says the weather forecast for the Festival weekend is ideal.

Festival markets open at 5pm on Friday 12 March and close at 2pm on Sunday. Among the many festivities, there will be a concert on Friday night and the Wildfoods Festival Dance on the Saturday night.

Tickets available from www.wildfoods.co.nz.

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Media who want to risk their lives in a special taste tour of the Festival stalls at 10.00am on Saturday 13 March, contact   gerry@morris-ppr.co.nz. Pre registration is necessary. Photos available at 2.00pm on 13 March.

Contact Mike Keenan on 03 756 9049 or Gerry Morris on 0274 428 217.