Auckland’s new dining trend

More Auckland restaurants are growing their own produce as ‘savvy’ diners increasingly demand sustainable food options in menus.

Early pioneers of this trend, Hipgroup, operates its own farm in Auckland for growing some of the fruit and vegetables it uses – and in doing so mirrors what is happening in other city restaurants and on the international food scene.

Recent research, for example, by online restaurant reservation provider OpenTable Australia, found more and more restaurants there are sourcing fruit and vegetables from on-site gardens.

While 56 per cent of diners surveyed in Australia favoured restaurants using seasonal produce, more than 30 per cent also said they were attracted to venues growing their own.

A New Zealand Restaurant Association survey of 2000 of its members earlier this year showed this ‘paddock to plate’ concept is for real here too. The survey found almost two-thirds believe savvy diners are putting pressure on them to provide cuisine that is locally-sourced, sustainable and plant-based.

The restaurant association’s survey was conducted to find out what are the biggest food and drink trends in 2018. In comments made when the survey was released in April, CEO Marisa Bidois said consumers continue to be more informed about their food choices and the path food takes from farm to plate.

“Increasingly, savvy diners seek humane food experiences that promote sustainability to animals as well as the natural environment,” she said. “It is anticipated more menus will offer pasture-fed meals, farm-raised free-range eggs and we’ll see an increased demand for organic produce.

“There is a big movement towards supporting smaller, local producers who are committed to the ethical treatment of livestock.”

Of the key trends highlighted in the survey, 64 per cent of respondents said they believe there will be demand for restaurants and cafés to provide locally-sourced, sustainable and plant-based cuisine, 44 per cent mentioned health (including fresh and allergen friendly options and 28 per cent forecast an increase in vegan, vegetarian and plant-based offerings.

Australian-based digital city guide, Concrete Playground, last year drew up a list of sustainable restaurants in Auckland, providing further proof the number of eateries offering environmentally-friendly menus is growing.

And in an article written for market US analysts Bloomberg Pursuits, writer Amy Louise Bailey said the city now rivalled Sydney and Melbourne and had become “one of the most innovative culinary destinations in the South Pacific.”

She said restauranteurs in the city are standing out for embracing New Zealand’s Maori heritage but also for utilising the country’s compact geography to source local, seasonal produce – and predicted Auckland was sailing into a fresh boom in hospitality opportunities.

One of the best examples of this ‘let mother nature determine what you cook’ philosophy is HipGroup which, since its beginnings running a small café in Kohimarama in 2004, has grown to operate restaurants and cafés at 14 locations in the city, employ over 400 people and generate annual turnover of around $40 million.

As well as its farm near Kumeu in northwest Auckland, the group makes its own cheese and operates a butchery, all of which is central to its philosophy of provenance (knowing where the food has come from).

Fresh produce from the farm is delivered daily to its restaurants – and what doesn’t come from this property is sourced from carefully hand-picked growers who also practise sustainable farming. The group also buys its meat direct from local farmers and processes the animals itself at its Waimauku butchery.

These days Hipgroup is not alone in following the concept of provenance. Concrete Playground’s list identified other eateries which source local produce and, in some cases, grow it themselves.

Among them are Orphans Kitchen in Ponsonby, known for using unconventional native ingredients like karengo seaweed and kawakawa. It has a beehive and herb garden on its roof. Pasture, in Parnell, was another listed as having a strong focus on sustainability and others to make their list were Scarecrow, Cazador, Clooney, French Café, Hector’s, Janken, and Bird On A Wire.

Discover the flavours of Auckland at www.aucklandnz.com/flavours