Black Barn Bistro, Havelock North. Photo / Hawkes Bay
This year F.A.W.C! – the Hawke's Bay Food and Wine Classic – celebrates its 10th anniversary. Maggie Wicks travels to the Bay to get a sneak peek of one of our finest food and drink festivals.
The drive to and from Napier airport is a work of art. I mean, a literal work of art. The airport – recently redesigned, reopened and doubled in size – is fronted by wide roads and cycle-friendly paths, bushy berms of oioi grass and sculptures of godwits soaring. It's an artwork created by local artist and whakairo practitioner Jacob Manu Scott, in partnership with Waka Kotahi.
The roads, the roundabouts, the berms – they all tell the story of the kuaka, the bar-tailed godwit, who is both a local resident, nesting at the nearby Ahuriri estuary, and Aotearoa's most famous traveller (and currently the only New Zealander who is free to travel internationally, choosing Alaska for its annual holiday). The terminal itself mimics the shape of a kūaka in flight, and you will see a permanent flock in sculpture as you drive, welcoming – or farewelling – travellers.
And so, welcomed by the kūaka, let's begin our voyage through the food and wine of Hawke's Bay.
The Central Fire Station Bistro was, of course, once the Central Fire Station, and eating by a huge window that once was the doorway through which a fire appliance could drive is just as lovely as you can imagine. With each window about 4.5m high, every table is bright enough to feel like a window seat, even among the rich deep blues and greens that surround you.
First, the house-baked sourdough with brown butter arrives on the table. "It's like salted caramel," my mum says, with the kind of perplexed frown that comes over someone seriously enjoying their mouthful. The butter is whipped to give it the texture of clotted cream and dusted with sea salt. It is divine.
Next, a venison tartare served with delicate parsnip crisps. Someone must have been watching those slivers of parsnip like a hawk to be sure they didn't catch in the pan, and you can bet I had strongly worded feedback for the waiter (namely that these were the best parsnip crisps I had ever eaten). Finally, fish with fried capers and lightly pickled fennel – the whole meal like a love letter to whatever the chef could get his hands on that week.
Then dessert arrives, and it mirrors that first simple plate – the scoop of brown-butter icecream mimicking the butter quenelle we had fawned over just an hour ago, right down to the dusting of sea salt across the top. It's the tidiest little finish to a perfect meal, and had this been Hollywood I would have risen to my feet to slow clap the chef. Instead I am reluctantly bustled out, misty-eyed and planning my return.
Event: Central Fire Station Bistro is teaming up with Millar Road to host the ultimate barbecue, cooked by CFSB's chef and owner Sam Clark, November 10 from 6pm.
They say Hawke's Bay is a fruit bowl, so what better place to establish a cidery. This year, the New Zealand Cider Festival is being held in the North Island for the first time, running as a part of the F.A.W.C! festival. So it only makes sense to stop into Zeffer's cidery. Here, the vibe is so welcoming and warm and the staff so friendly and enthusiastic about what they're selling, that this truly feels like a family business. Which, of course, it is. Zeffer was started by partners Hannah Bower and Sam Whitmore. After growing their business from a stall at the farmers' markets at Matakana, they moved their distillery to Hawke's Bay, and now they're slowly taking over the world, as well as running this relaxed tasting room in Fernhill, between Napier and Hastings.
It's clear the staff are proud of the product, eagerly offering tastings of their favourites, and laughing about some of the crazier iterations over the years (such as the infamously crowd-dividing mango and tumeric). But a tasting flight will get you samples of four, so no harm in trying the whole range.
Event: Zeffer is hosting Cider Sunday & Pies on November 14 from 11am.
Travelling with my mother is like travelling with the heroine of When Harry Met Sally. She wants a glass of ice, with gin, but it has to be New Zealand gin, and not too much tonic, thank you. The gin has notes of pine and citrus? Okay, so she'll have the Indian tonic, thank you very much, but with more liquor than mixer in the glass.
At Black Barn bistro in Havelock North, this level of fussy is welcomed – the staff know the menu inside and out, beverages as well as food. We try goat croquettes, Waiheke oysters (Black Barn hosts oyster happy hours, so be sure to book for the right time), profiteroles piped with liver parfait, and a blue cheese souffle with witloof. After dinner, we are invited to move ourselves to the fireside, order a final glass of Black Barn's beautiful lip-staining syrah , and sink deep into the velvet and leather couches as the nights folds in around us.
Event: Buck Wild at the Black Barn bistro is an evening of game and fine wine, November 9.
Want less pretension with your pinot? At Clearview Estate, in the tiny town of Te Awanga, they're serving up top-class wines in a down-to-earth way. At rustic tables (handmade by co-owner Tim Turvey 35 years ago, when he started this business) under a corrugated iron roof, grab a spot by the fire – or outside in the garden if it's nice - and order tasting platters made from old wine barrels and loaded with mussels, calamari, croquettes and ika mata.
But wait, first head to the bar, where staff will take you through a tasting of Clearview's range of wines. Try the sauvignon blancs, to which the heat of the Hawke's Bay sun has lent tinges of pineapple and lime, and their gorgeous chardonnays (White Caps is the estate's attempt at a big butterscotch-style chardonnay of the 1980s, and Beachhead is an award-winner).
Bonus for families: Clearview has one of the best restaurant playgrounds you'll ever see, fully fenced with climbing equipment, a Wendy house, a tractor and more.
The experience is warm, cosy, and completely without airs. For a relaxed long lunch with some damn fine wines, it's hard to think of a better spot than this.
Event: Enjoy Gin v Wine, a battle of Clearview's wine and the National Distillery's spirits, matched to a degustation dinner, November 12.
Take your hair tie and your coat, because up on Te Mata Peak, the wind is not messing around. As it whips around the precipice, the beautiful views come and go as your hoodie and hair whip around your face.
Sufficiently wind-beaten, return a short way down the mountain, and swing into Peak House, where you'll feel and hear the fire crackling on a cool day, and a sunny balcony and garden full of picnic tables on the warm ones. No matter the weather, the views are exceptional – Peak House looks north across Hastings and out to the ocean, with the bush and the foothills of Te Mata in between.
Open Wednesday to Sunday, they serve breakfast, lunch and dinner (Thursday only). The menu is concise and on point - there's a hearty burger offering, lovely vege options (think dahl, curried cauliflower and the like), and enough cabinet goodies to warm the tum after that bracing walk you took.
Newly owned by partners Juliet Burton and Haydn Middleton, (their backgrounds are in design and events), Peak House is dog-friendly, kid-friendly and gig-friendly – check their Instagram for what's on.
Event: Get Lucky, a Mexican street party, is on November 13 at Peak House, featuring Lucky Tacos.
Strange things are afoot in Havelock North. Blood orange sours and piquant mignonettes, fried pickles and chilli butter prawns. On a stormy night, Mary's Wine Bar offered us warmth, friendly and professional service and a bevy of delicious dishes. This small bistro-diner-style establishment is a collaboration between Craggy Range and chef Casey McDonald, and the offering here – a combination of cool surroundings and beautiful vibrant fresh flavours - somehow led two pretty overfed people to eat a full three-course meal.
Snuggled up next to the heavy golden velvet curtains, we order martinis, Northland oysters, and blue warehou, prawns and grilled peppers, and a crunchy salad of Te Awanga greens, parmesan and toasted walnuts with chardonnay dressing. We order cocktails and chocolate truffles to finish (a cocktail is a dessert, right?). If Havelock North wasn't on your radar, I'm here to tell you, this is an eatery worth the journey.
Event: Mary's is hosting A Night in Paris, where a slice of Havelock North will transform into a French bistro, on November 11 and 12.
Sunday morning and the sun is shining on Hawke's Bay. At the legendary Hawke's Bay Farmers' Market (at 21 years old, it is one of the oldest farmers' market in New Zealand), there are hundreds of people milling about, chatting, nibbling on little toothpicks of food, drinking coffee in the sun. It's busy and crowded, but the atmosphere is relaxed, with music, kids playing in the shade, and dozens of people demonstrating their expertise at the market shuffle – slowly, they approach the stalls with their eyes on the prize of those testing dishes, moving slowly enough that they don't stand on any toes, but fast enough so they don't miss out on that last slice of freshly grilled chorizo or walnut brittle.
I have been eating and drinking all weekend. I've had cheese platters, and seafood platters, fine dining and greasy (gorgeous!) plates of fries. I am stuffed to the gills, and yet when I leave the market, my bags are heavy with local treats specialities. Fig paste, homemade chorizo, olives, honeycomb and coffee grounds all find their way into my bag. My plan was to return home, and become a cheeseboard professional, inviting friends over to ooh and aah at my scrumptious, elegant offerings.
Days after we returned home, lockdown put paid to that idea. But every day since, I peruse the pantry, and every day, a new treat emerges – a slice of fig salami, a piece of hazelnut brizzle, a spoonful of honey - so that I can relive the taste of Hawke's Bay. And as soon as lockdown levels allow, you should too.
Each of the venues listed is taking part in the FAWC Summer Series, which runs 5-14 November and features around 60 events. Events sell out quick, so buy your tickets now at fawc.co.nz
When there's nothing as far as the eye can see, you may appreciate the company.