Food and Wine Discovery Tours for Foodies

Welcome to Finding Flavour, Auckland's specialist foodie tour company

Come and join us on a food exploration tour in Auckland and beyond.  There are other foodies to meet, delicious cuisines to discover and markets to shop on a Finding Flavour tour.  We take you to meet the people passionate about their cuisine, and to markets and specialty food outlets which will enable you to recreate authentic dishes at home.

Get a behind the scenes look at some of the Auckland region's unique food and wine suppliers. We will enjoy some delicious food tastings and of course, time for shopping!  Pick up useful cooking tips and ideas to take home.  You will be taken on a tour of discovery by experienced guides who are also foodies.

Or learn to cook the freshest produce of the season at one of our seasonal cooking classes.  Savour delicious cuisines at our special themed lunches.  We have a foodie world to discover! 

Join us!

New Programme, February - June, 2010

Join us on one of our exciting upcoming foodie day tours, lunches or cooking classes. 


Tues 9 Feb        Seasonal Flavour Cooking Class:  Summer 
(evening)           with Chef Sarah La Touche

Sat 20 Feb         Chinese New Year Event and Dinner 
                         hosted by Jean de Bruyne

Sat 6 March        Wellington Foodie Discovery Day Tour

Sat 13 March      World in a Day Tour: Eastern Suburbs

Tues 23 March    Seasonal Flavour Cooking Class: Autumn 
(evening)           with Chef Sarah La Touche

Sat 27 March       Chocolate Lovers and Easter Treats Tour

Sun 18 April         "Food Alley Feast", a discovery lunch of
Asian foodie delights in Auckland's best food hall,
                           hosted by Jean de Bruyne

Sat 24 April          World in a Day Tour: West Auckland

Fri 30 April -         Sydney Foodies Weekend Tour
Sun 2 May

Sat 29 May           World in a Day Tour: Central Suburbs

Tues 15 June        Seasonal Flavour Cooking Class: Autumn
(evening)             with Chef Sarah La Touche

Sat 19 June           World in a Day Tour: North Shore

Sun 20 June          Mexican Fiesta Lunch
(TBC)

All tours/events subject to minimum numbers.  Finding Flavour reserves the right to amend/alter any tour/event if necessary.

 Recent Event:  Christmas Baking and Treats Tour, 5 December, 2009

    
     Santa joined us in a photo!

"Fabulous festive food, delectable delights tempting our taste buds - a wonderful introduction to the Christmas season." 
"Had a fantastic day exploring unknown places with beautiful and delicious food of all kinds. Thank You"
"Great day, very friendly, had a great time."
Comments from satisfied participants on our recent tour (far more fabulous words than I would write myself!)

This is the third Christmas season that we have offered these Christmas tours, and we love sharing our discoveries with you.  Our group of shoppers even came decked out in festive colours, so the day was off to a great start!

    
The day of tastings and shopping begins....

Buche de Noel

Christmas cake to taste

Traditional Swiss baking for 6 December

Cheers!

Shannon demonstrates some great gadgets

 
Grand finale shopping - Merry Christmas!

Join us next year for a festive day of Christmas foodie shopping.

Recent Event:  Gardens for Foodies Tour, 29 November

We received some great feedback on this special foodie adventure:

"A great way to spend a day.  Likewise thinkers and doers; level playing ground of ideas".

"So great to have a mind-opening experience without getting on a plane.  Best Christmas present I ever bought for my Mum who has everything!"

How lucky we were to enjoy almost perfect weather for our day out in the vegetable patch!  We started by heading over the Harbour Bridge to visit three diverse gardens.

First up was the vegetable garden in the beautiful grounds of the Wilson Centre.  The gardens here are maintained by a dedicated group of volunteers and one full-time staff member.  The vegetable garden has been created by the volunteers for their own use.  Volunteer Meredith Walker met us there and told us about it:

Then it was off to Meredith's own garden in Devonport....every inch of the garden around the historic cottage is beautifully planted and vegetables and flowers live together very happily.  

    
One of Meredith's vegetable beds   Capsicums and roses harmoniously together

Next was the organic communal garden of the Framework Trust.  Programme Co-Ordinator Paul Crowhurst explained the background to the garden and its purpose as a stepping stone back into the community for mental health clients.  If they can achieve such a vegetable paradise on an old parking lot (!) then none of us can complain about poor soils in our own gardens! Composting, worm farms and organic solutions of all kinds (ie fish heads!!) are just some of the ways that the soil is enriched.

Paul was a veritable fount of knowledge, and many of us were furiously scribbling notes during our visit.

The public is welcome to purchase organic vegetables and salad greens from the garden, 27 Lake Road, from 9am-3pm, Monday to Friday.

       
Paul shows us an endive        One area of the Framework Trust garden

Then it was back across the Harbour Bridge to visit Lynda Hallinen...she took time out from filming a television programme to show us her fascinating garden...

     \

     
No, these aren't real!                          

Tuovi sets out our lunch buffet

We relaxed in the sunshine and ate our lunch in Lynda's garden.  Requests for the recipes for the potato salad and lemon cupcakes were very flattering....  We indulged in a little retail therapy on our return to downtown Auckland.  Thank You to our hosts who opened up their gardens (and homes!) to make this such an interesting and relaxing day.

Recent Event:  Inaugural Sydney Foodies Weekend, 6-8 November

We could not have had three more relaxed and cheerful participants for our inaugural Sydney Foodies Weekend than Mary, Jean and Penny.  They were prepared to "go with the flow" and enjoy the moment.  It was also very special to have Jean's brother, Alfred and his partner Thais join us from Melbourne for our Saturday shopping and dinner.  They have all given me lots of great feedback, so our next tour (yes, we will do it again in May!) will be even better!

Take a look at our adventures.....


G'Day, Sydney! 
Bubbles before Friday night dinner.


 
Cheers to the weekend....David Jones Food Hall

Pyrmont Good Living Market:
  
Penny and Little General Olive Oil staff    


Chef Judy buys fresh greens for our salad

 
Fresh flowers for sale 
                     

Al fresco breakfast at the market

  
Sydney Fish Markets
 
Tuna           

Saturday Evening Dinner in our suite:
       
Our chef, Judy Leach        Judy and Jenny filling zucchini flowers

    
Tomato and Buffalo Mozzarella Salad


Our Entree

  
Blue Eye Cod for the main   
  

Our dinner party with lights of Sydney around us

      
On Sunday we walked the amazing "Sculpture by the Sea" in Bondi,
then had lunch at Sean's Panaroma Restaurant

  
Menu at Sean's Panaroma                    Yabbie Salad

  
Mary tucks into lunch                    Divine Strawberry and Blood Orange Tartlet

Our group farewells Sydney!

Thank you to Mary, Penny and Jean for being such a fantastic "test" group.  We ate and laughed our way through the weekend.

Our next Sydney Foodie Weekend tour is proposed for the weekend of 30 April-2 May, 2010.   This is timed to visit the Good Living Market at Pyrmont.  Chef Judy Leach will again cook us a delicious seasonal dinner in our suite.  If you are interested in receiving more information about this weekend, please email lynn@findingflavour.co.nz

We also intend to offer another Sydney Foodie Weekend tour in late October, 2010, timed to coincide with the Sydney Food Festival and with the wonderful Sculpture by the Sea exhibition. Watch for a Melbourne Foodie Weekend tour planned for November!