Wellington on a Plate 2015: Wrap Up
One of the biggest highlights of my year, Wellington on a Plate is a decadent 17 days of eating as restaurants from all over the region offer Wellington's finest produce on a plate, in a burger or mixed in a cocktail. This year we've had the opportunity to sample new restaurants such as the Bresolin and Egmont St Eatery, as well as old classics like Matterhorn, El Matador and Ti Kouka. The food philosophy behind this is simple - celebrate local.
As usual, I've had an amazing time. With social media sites like Instagram, Facebook and Twitter becoming ever so popular, word really does get around when there's something good in town, so I was smart to leave a few days open at the end of the festival so I could cherry-pick the best of the best. The festival started off a little shaky however, with several reports of unpreparedness from quite a few restaurants. I would expect that, for the year's biggest culinary event, staff would be trained properly, kitchens stocked adequately, bookings made and preparations done to ensure a smooth and enjoyable customer experience.
Let's take a look at some stats:
14 Burger Wellington entries eaten
10 Dine Wellington menus eaten
1 Capital Cocktail entry consumed
13 doughnuts consumed
Dined with 34 different people (dined with Jordan and Tim 12 times!)
1 kilogram gained over 17 days. Which I've promptly lost again :(
And I guess the big one you've all been waiting for...
$871.33 spent gorging my face on delicious food
My top picks this year are:
Best Burger Wellington Entry: Ti Kouka (Aporkalypse Now), Pan de Muerto (Burger Mexicana), Grill Meats Beer (Chook n Swine, Fire n Spice)
Best Dine Wellington Menu: El Matador
Best Entree: Tequila Joe's (Grilled Mexican sweet corn)
Best Mains: Matterhorn (Wharekauhau Texel lamb rump)
Best Dessert: Mishmosh (Kaffee Eis PB & J gelato) and Tequila Joe's (Mexican custard flan)
The winner of the Burger Wellington competition was Egmont Street Eatery, with best beer match going to Laundry. This marks the third winning burger entry I've had so far - Ti Kouka's All About Longbush Pork (2013), Charley Noble's Shooting Charley's (2014) and this year's Cheese, Beets and Meat. If this isn't a sign of good taste, then what is!?
There we have it! Wellington on a Plate 2015 is over. Thanks to all who made it so memorable, especially those of you who traveled from Auckland to experience the best that Wellington has to offer.
Posted by Jeremy at 9:02am on Tuesday September 8, 2015 :: 0 comments :: 