Image: Matt Crawford
In New Zealand, food is one of the simplest ways to get to know a place. Not because it arrives with theatre, but because someone has taken the time to tell you where it came from. The ingredient growing in the ground outside. The cooking method passed down through generations or the vineyard whose soil and climate can be traced in the glass.
Here, provenance isn’t simply a word on a menu. It’s a way of understanding the land, the people, stories and traditions connected to it. A hāngī in Rotorua offers an introduction to Māori food culture; a day around Taupō reveals how the landscape shapes what ends up on the plate; and in Hawke’s Bay, wine offers another way to taste the region.
It’s in these moments, that travel can slow down. You arrive looking for a good meal, but leave having paid closer attention to the people, landscape and culture around you. Perhaps that’s part of finding your 100 per cent; being present enough to notice what makes a place different.
Start with the people
At Te Pā Tū in Rotorua, the evening begins beneath the tawa trees, where Māori hosts welcome you with a fire ceremony before sharing stories of the connection between people, whenua (land) and kai (food). A three-course Māori fusion feast follows, where the earth oven itself becomes part of the experience, steaming under the stone and soil. It’s an evening spent listening, learning and sharing food, with Māori culture woven through every part of the experience.
Let the evening linger at Pāmu PurePod, just 10 minutes outside Rotorua’s city centre where floor to ceiling glass brings the surrounding landscape into view After an evening immersed in Māori culture, it’s a quiet place to take it all in.
Follow the landscape
A short drive away in Taupō, that connection between landscape and plate starts long before your dinner reservation. Spend a day moving through the scenery around the lake by kayak, taking in the cultural significance of Mine Bay Māori rock carvings or soaking in Otumuheke Stream’s mineral-rich waters, before ending the day at Embra. Here, chef, owner and born-and-bred Taupō man, Phillip Blackburne focuses on local produce and the changing seasons by plating up dishes that reflect the landscape around Taupō. Think New Zealand king crab with macadamia and apple, smoked kingfish with curried spelt risotto, or venison loin with mushrooms and watercress. The setting may be contemporary, but the connection to place remains.
Taste the region
Further south, in Hawke’s Bay, the landscape is impossible to ignore. A walk across Te Mata Peak allows you to see the region from above, including its vineyards, coastline and the rolling landscape that makes this one of New Zealand’s celebrated food and wine regions. Set against the Tukituki Valley, Craggy Range, brings that landscape to the table with wine and food inseparable from the land that produces them.
The new Gimblett Gravels Vineyard to Table Experience is an expression of this in its most delicious and tangible form. Launching in October 2026, guests will explore the working winery, gaining a rare insight into the craft behind each vintage alongside an immersive seated tasting experience before returning to Giants Estate to settle in for their Signature Table menu at Craggy Range Restaurant.
And after a day of walking, tasting and taking in the landscape, staying among the vineyards at The Craggy Range luxury accommodation gives you time to linger, rather than rush onto the next stop.
Finding your 100 per cent doesn’t have to mean tasting it all or filling in every hour. Sometimes, it’s about slowing down enough to really get a taste of where you are.
Come find your 100% in New Zealand
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