Our first BA5 for 2022 was a celebration of local businesses, food and flavours as Tourism Bay of Plenty launched the programme for their inaugural Flavours of Plenty Festival.
Held in the Tauranga Art Gallery, attendees were invited to enjoy a selection of local wines and beers, and tuck into their individually made hampers full of locally produced delights (thank you to Tauranga Farmers’ Market for the goodies!).
After a welcome from TBOP General Manager Oscar Nathan, he introduced Stacey Jones, owner of Kitchen Takeover, Chamber Member, and project lead on Flavours of Plenty.
As a passionate foodie herself, who runs a hospitality business, Stacey saw an opportunity to put the Bay of Plenty on the map as a food and produce destination. She saw other regions, like Hawke’s Bay, and thought, ‘What’s our food story? We have plenty of bountiful produce and products made locally, so why don’t we celebrate this?’
What began as an idea snowballed into conversations with local business owners, they formed a steering group, TBOP came on board and soon the idea flourished into Flavours of Plenty, a brand which will be used to celebrate and showcase the plentiful produce of the coastal Bay of Plenty.
The festival is the brand’s flagship event, and will take place across three days in April, at locations from Waihi Beach to Ohope. The programme includes an exciting mix of speciality dining nights, brewery tours, events (such as Dinner in the Domain and Vegan Vibes) and even a cheese rolling contest!
Full details can be found on the website: flavoursofplentyfestival.com
Thank you to TBOP for hosting our first BA5 for the year and for everyone who attended to connect with us. We’re always keen to continue with our events where possible and our hosts help enable that. Our community tells us they see the value of getting together in person and it’s a great way to keep supporting local, so even in the face of Red traffic light, we want to work within the guidelines and carry on.
On that note, our next BA5 is TBD (thanks COVID-19!), so keep an eye on our events calendar for details.
