Food and Wine Discovery Tours for Foodies

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

Praise from Nici Wickes, presenter of "World Kitchen " tv series and restaurant reviewer for Viva, NZ Herald, who joined our World in A Day: Eastern Suburbs Tour, 21 August, 2010:

"I loved the tour from start to finish! Lynn introduced us to places and products I never knew existed in my own city. It was fabulous to meet the people behind the businesses and to sample delicious food all day. A perfect day in my books!"
Nici Wickes

 

Come and join us on a food exploration tour in Auckland, Wellington 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.

The places that we take you are the places that we want to share with you.  We are totally independent and pay for all our tastings.  The only thing that we ask of the businesses is to give you a warm welcome!

Savour delicious cuisines at our special themed lunches or cooking classes. 

We have a foodie world to discover!

Join us!

   

 

Programme, February-July, 2013

Ongoing any Tuesday-Saturday by arrangement:
Mt Eden Village Foodie Walking Tour and optional lunch

Newmarket "World in a Day" Foodies Walking Tour and optional lunch

New! Miramar (Wellington) Foodies Walking Tour



Sat 23 Feb                   World in a Day: South Auckland Foodie Discovery Tour


Watch for a Harvest Cooking Class on Preserves, Jams and Pickles - TBA


Sat 2 March                  Mt Eden Village Foodies Walking Tour


Sat 23 March                 Better than ever!
                                   French Food Tour, Cooking Class and Lunch hosted by Sarah La Touche

Tues 26 March                Special Newmarket Foodies Walking Tour


Sat 6 April                      Revised! Wellington Foodie Highlights



Sun 14 April                   New!  Avondale Market Shop and Asian Cooking Class with food writer Connie Clarkson

Sat 11 May                  Eritrean Lunch and Coffee Ceremony 
                               

 Sat 25 May                  World in a Day: Eastern Suburbs Foodies Discovery Tour


21-23 June                    New! Hawke's Bay Weekend hosted by Grant Allen, NZ Herald on Sunday food writer and caterer,
                                    and Finding Flavour's Lynn Huhtala  Participate in the HAWC events (Hawkes Bay Food and Wine Classic)


Sat 15 June                   World in a Day: North Shore Foodie Discovery Tour

Remember!  Our Mt Eden and Newmarket Walking Tours in Auckland and our new Miramar Foodies Walking Tour are available Tuesday-Saturday by prior arrangement.

NEW!  NEWMARKET "WORLD IN A DAY" FOODIES WALKING TOUR:

Praise from Judy Bagley, participant on recent Newmarket tour:

"I absolutely loved the walking tour of Newmarket  yesterday.    I enjoyed the small group as it made for easy walking on the footpaths  The tour was certainly full of surprises and to think we didn't venture onto the main street of Newmarket but found all these wonderful shops on the outskirts.  Yes unpacking my bag of goodies felt a bit like Christmas.    (This tour)  is one of the best you have."


Newmarket has evolved into a fantastic foodie shopping destination.  On this easy flat walk we take you along the mainstreets and sidestreets to discover Russian, Asian, European, Japanese, Scandinavian, French and even Kiwi foodie delights.  Meet the passionate people who run the businesses, hear their stories, learn about their food products and how to use them, enjoy lots of tastings and of course, time for shopping!  We conclude the tour with an optional shared Chinese yum cha lunch.

Tour only cost $75pp plus optional yum cha lunch extra $20pp.  AVailable for 2 people or more any Tuesday-Saturday by prior arrangement.  BOOK NOW!

     
Here are some photos from our recent tours.  Read more about our Newmarket tours and see the photo album on the Finding Flavour Facebook page.

Recent Event:  Delicious Indulgences Hands-On Gelato Making and Croissant Rolling, Saturday, 1 September, 2012 - A Finding Flavour Exclusive!

This exclusive opportunity to get behind the scenes at Auckland's most popular gelato maker and at a busy French bakery sold out quickly! 

Gianpaolo and Annarosa Grazioli welcomed us to Giapo Gelato where we learned (some) secrets of gelato making and of their delicious products.  Hint:  use the best quality ingredients and make everything from scratch!  We are amazed at how effeciently they use the small production space.  Our keen group of foodies soon got into the action and made a delicious batch of Zabaglione ice cream.

Still wearing our Finding Flavour aprons we headed over to Paneton Bakery where the Colombie family gave us a warm welcome and hairnets!  After a brief demonstration by Dominique, it was our turn to roll the croissant dough and gently brush with egg wash. All that "hard work" was worth it - the freshly baked pastries were divine!

 
Separating the many eggs

  

Ciao!  Group at Giapo Gelato

 
Rolling croissants with Dominique
 

Don't we look lovely? Croissants "before" and "after"



See all the photos on Finding Flavour Facebook.  You can experience this exclusive hands-on experience for your own group - just contact lynn@findingflavour.co.nz

 

Miramar and Petone Foodie Walking Tours as part of Wellington on a Plate, August, 2012
"A Great Time was had by All"

What a great time we had hosting our Petone Foodie Walking Tours and new Miramar Food Stars Walking Tours in August during Wellington on a Plate.  We love meeting the people involved  - both those running the businesses and those participating on the tours.  Magic happens when fellow foodies get together!  Our tours were sold out, so we know that people are keen to learn about our foodie discoveries and share in a very special tour experience.

Special thanks to colleague Donna McCormack of Feast and Vine for hosting the Miramar tour on 25 August, and to colleague Tuovi Peach for helping the tours to run smoothly.

Donna and I are already talking about some fab new events for WOAP next year, so watch this space!  In the meantime, join us on one of our upcoming events, or get a group together for a special tour or experience just for you!  Contact lynn@findingflavour.co.nz

Here are just a few images from the tours...see them all on Finding Flavour Facebook and Feast and Vine Facebook.

Miramar:

  
Morning coffee at Coco, Roxy   Roberto at Merkato Fresh

  
Tastings at Marpet Merchants   Lunch at La Boca Loca


Petone:


  
John and Leigh, Davis Trading with goody bags
 


Lorraine demos gadgets, House of Knives




  
Antonio with tour participant Sam at La Bella Italia 
          


Food Mastermind Stephen at On Trays


See all the fun in our photo album on the Finding Flavour Facebook page and the Feast and Vine Facebook page.

Recent Tour:  World in a Day: South Auckland Foodies Discovery Tour, 28 July, 2012

We managed to score one of Auckland's few sunny days this winter for our explorations in South Auckland.  The Otara Market was bustling as usual and overflowing with fresh produce. Brilliant orange clementines, snowy white cauliflowers and green broccoli and lots of fresh Asian greens.  We found a stand with bins of baby vegetables (so expensive in specialty shops) and our local guide, Melissa, pointed out the seasonal Blue Hawaiian kumara.


    
Hawaiian Blue Kumara         Baby vegetables

 

Say "orange"!  Our group at Otara Market

After morning coffee we ventured into the heart of suburban Manurewa to visit our favourite artisan Hungarian sausage and smallgoods maker.  It was a quiet morning due to the Olympics, so Istvan had time to spend with us to explain all about the labour-intensive process.

We love visiting a friendly specialist supplier of Middle Eastern and International food products.  Our tour coincided with Ramadan but they opened just for us and conveyed their usual hospitality:

Our international tastings



We enjoyed lunch at our favourite Vietnamese restaurant in Otahuhu - you will have to believe us that it was good - we dived into the food and forgot to take a photo!

A short stroll after lunch took us to a well-stocked Indian supermarket and then to Auckland's leading maker of Indian snacks and sweets.  Another occasion was being marked here - the brother-sister gift-giving celebration.  The store was packed with shoppers and our tasting plate included still-warm carrot halvah.  Just divine!

After all that food our wine tasting at Villa Maria was a relaxing way to conclude the tour.  Several people opted to enjoy the garden view with a cup of tea or coffee.

A mark of a successful tour is the amount of shopping we manage to do on the day, and this group of keen foodies did us proud!  Lots of shopping bags of goodies in the minibus on the way home.

I was flattered to receive this feedback from one of our lovely participants:
"Just a quick thanks for the great tour on Saturday - loved it - I felt like I had gone to India and a few Pacific Islands but hadn't needed to pack or go through customs! Enjoying my purchases and will do for a few weeks to come!"



Watch for a possible repeat South Auckland tour in October or November...remember this tour makes a great year-end or Christmas outing so book your Saturday now!

Recent Tour:  World in a Day: North Shore Foodies Discovery Tour, 26 May, 2012

We were long overdue for a return visit to the North Shore and we were slightly anxious that our group included four locals!  However, we managed to surprise and delight them with our foodie finds.  It was also our honour to have our Venequelan friend and chef, Grace Ramirez, along for the day. 

We had two special treats included in the tour:  morning coffee and short cooking demo at the home of my charming Italian colleague, Raffaela Delmonte; and afternoon tea with a tasting platter of baked delights served by Kim Evans herself at Little and Friday.  What a great day!

We started with a visit to a bustling artisan German bakery - complete with trays of freshly baked goodies to taste.

   


We love visiting Raffaela for her "kiss on both cheeks" welcome - and for her special Italian biscuits with our morning espresso.

  

We visited the friendly South African family who run Fred's Fine Foods.  Fred himself was there to meet us and offer us tastings of their homemade biltong, boerwoerst and sweets.

    

One of our surprises on the tour is to "take" our guests to the Middle East - via a wonderful Halal butcher and exotic food import shop!

Lunch was on a Korean theme - we shared several delicious dishes, along with the many side dishes, including kimchi of course!  We followed lunch with a visit to a Korean supermarket, to pick up some of their specialties.

  
    
Grace does the honours stirring the bibimbab

Our world culinary journey concluded with a visit to a French deli and a luscious Kiwi afternoon tea with tasting platters.  Somehow we managed to eat almost everything!

 
Kim Evans serves us with one of our gorgeous tasting plates for afternoon tea.

What a perfect way to spend a Saturday - a day of delicious tastings, shopping and great foodie company!  Join us next time!

Recent Tour:  Hawke's Bay Foodies Weekend, 21-22 April, 2012

What a deliciously fun weekend our group of foodies had together in Hawke's Bay!  The weather lived up to the Bay's sunny reputation and the art deco team, food businesses and restaurants could not have been more hospitable.  We tried to give our group a special experience with some behind-the-scenes insights and lots of good food.  I think we succeeded!  Here are just some of the photos from the weekend:

 
We just had to start our weekend with an art deco experience and we did it in style!  Thanks to Tony, our guide "par excellence".

   
Tony with the Packard             Our gorgeous morning tea

Then it was off to learn about an apple growing, packing and export business from "grow to go".  Taylorcorp is a family-owned and run business that has operated in Hawke's Bay for many decades.  Director Kelvin Taylor took us on an "all access" tour...

  
Kelvin Taylor talks apples          Apples on the conveyor belt to be 
                                              checked and packed

  
Quality control supervisor          Boxed and ready for export

We were impressed with the sophisticated technology used in all stages of the business - almost every apple could be tracked from tree to box!

Time for lunch and we were looking forward to our visit to Elephant Hill, where an episode of NZ Masterchef had been filmed.

  
Elephant statue in front of the winery          A light(!) lunch

The afternoon was all about delicious desserts...

Trish Gibson came in especially to show us her immaculate production facility for her "Country Culinaire" desserts and premium ice cream.  She gave us very generous tastings and who were we to say no?  They were just too delicious!

  
Dessert product range           Trish serving us pavlova 
                                          passionfruit roulade


Trish's story is inspiring and we wish her well in her new export ventures.

Then it was off to another famous Hawke's Bay dessert/treat business:  Rush Munro's Ice Cream!  Retail and events Manager Liz Read came in to the historic ice cream gardens (on her daughter's birthday) to tell us the Rush Munro story and tempt us with ice cream tasting plates. We happily succombed!

 
Liz Read tempts us with ice cream tasting plates


We managed to fit in a quick visit to the excellent Arataki Honey Centre before returning to our motel in Havelock North to freshen up before dinner.  Yes, some of us did manage to fit in another meal - we did not want to miss out on Terroir Restaurant at Craggy Range.

Terroir Restaurant has a warm and rustic ambience enhanced by the warm professionalism of the staff.  The fire was crackling in the huge fireplace and we had a nearby table. Chef Leyton came out to say hello and sent us superb tasting treats throughout the evening. The menu has a French influence and features fresh produce from their own gardens.

   
Fabulous food at Terroir Restaurant, Craggy Range

Our run of good weather continued into Sunday and our explorations of the Hastings Farmers' Market. This market has been running for 10 years and is one of the best in New Zealand.  Almost all of the specialist food makers and suppliers in the region have a stall, which makes the browsing very interesting and tempting!  After a short time for orientation, we were joined by Ian Thomas who gave us background on the market and took us to meet several of the stall holders.

 

   
 
Autumn colours and abundance at the Hastings Farmers' Market

  
 Origin Earth milk producer           Village Press olive oil

A real highlight of the weekend was the degustation lunch prepared for us by Kent Baddeley at his 1024 Pakowhai Road restaurant.  He uses fresh local products and works closely with his local suppliers.  Our 3-course lunch turned into a 4-course meal courtesy of Kent and we relaxed in the sunny courtyard as we enjoyed the beautiful food (served to us by Ian, our market guide).

  

Two amazing but very different starters:  fig with pancetta and
carpaccio of alpaca

  
Chef Kent Baddeley and colleague Ian Thomas

 
Iconic Te Mata Vineyards

   
     
View from the top of Te Mata Peak

Special thanks to our inaugural tour participants Launa, Marie and Martin who were a "dream team" of foodies.  And of course, a special thanks to the many friendly people of Hawke's Bay who made the weekend such a special experience.

Have we tempted you to join us for another fantastic weekend in Hawke's Bay?  Springtime is a perfect time to visit, so let me know if you would like to come along for a very special weekend of Hawke's Bay hospitality.  Email lynn@findingflavour.co.nz for more information. 

 

Special Look at a Private "Milestone" Birthday Tour, 25 February, 2012

 

We love having the opportunity to create special tours or experiences to mark personal celebrations, for partner programmes or corporate groups.  I had such fun organising a variation on our South Auckland Foodie Tour with Sarah Andrews to celebrate a milestone birthday. 

 

Our minibus was full as we took Sarah and 11 of her family and friends on a magical mystery foodie tour for the day, complete with surprises!  Our momento of the day for the guests was an Indian sari from an emporium in Otahuhu.  The women had such fun putting them on, with help from the friendly shop assistants.  They even wore them back to Sarah's home where they enjoyed a well-deserved wine tasting and dinner.

 

Sarah has kindly allowed us to show you a couple of photos of her special day:

  
Otara Market is a "must visit"           Adel wishes Sarah a Happy Birthday

 

  
Sheron gives sweets for a sweet              Gorgeous Girls!

 

Thank you to Sarah who put so much thought and effort into her day.  Thank you also to the businesses who made our birthday girl - and the group - feel so special.

 

Sarah has this to say about her tour with Finding Flavour:

 

"Lynn is a superb organiser and great fun to spend the day with - we visited never heard of places and tasted different foods and bought new and interesting food items to use at home.

Thank you so much for facilitating such a wonderful day for us all on Saturday - EVERYONE enjoyed themselves immensely."

Xx Sarah

 

If you would like to organise a special tour or experience for a celebration or if you are looking for something different for a conference activity, we can help!   Take a look at our Special Groups and Conventions page or email lynn@findingflavour.co.nz and I will be happy to email you our Programmes for Special Groups, Conventions and Incentives.  Or just give Lynn a call at (021) 550-510 to discuss your upcoming event.

 

 

Recent Tour:  Mt Eden Village Foodies Walking Tour, Saturday, 18 February, 2012

What luck that our first tour for the new year was Auckland's perfect summer day!  This special Saturday tour of Mt Eden Village attracted four keen local foodies.  Here are a few photos of our day...

We set out from Fraser's Cafe to explore the Village.  Adrienne, the owner of our favourite deli, was able to take time to tell us about her business (site of one of Auckland's original delis) and her favourite products. 

We are truly fortunate in Mt Eden Village to boast two artisan bakeries and one boutique cake shop.  At the first bakery we indulged in their light-as-air mille fueilles:

   

After a reviving tea tasting, we visited the longest-running business in the Village, K C Loo:

We couldn't resist showing you the new purple cauliflower!
We also tasted the new "baby" kiwifruit, minus the fuzz.  Perfect for snacks at home or at work.

Around the corner to the Village's newest business where owner Olaf told us about the baking processes - no shortcuts here!

 

Then we learned about all the breads - with tastings!

We stopped in at the butchers (the site of a butchery for many years) and then followed our noses to this gorgeous cake shop.  We were treated to a cupcake decorating demo and were given a beautifully wrapped sample to take home:

 

City Cake Co. co-owner Maureen with our group

We love the treat of lunch at Molten Restaurant.  Michael and Belinda Van de Elzen have moved on, but the quality remains.

New on the lunch menu is this Chicken Caesar Salad.  The calamari and the gnocchi with fresh artichokes were also outstanding!

 

Tour participant Marsha Fellett had this to say about the day:

"Thanks so much for the delightful Mt Eden foodie tour.  I personally can't wait to go back and try more of the items at the places we visited.  You chose a lovely selection of stores and highlighted the personality of each through the talks and well as the taster biven by the owners."

 

Thank you to the specialist food businesses of Mt Eden Village for hosting our foodies to a lovely day.  Your passion for quality products and personal service is outstanding! 


Thank you to the foodies for joining us on this tour - we know you will love shopping in the Village as much as we do!

You can enjoy this Mt Eden Village Foodies Walking Tour any day from Tuesday-Saturday with prior arrangement.  We only require a minimum of two people to run the tour!