MORE than 81 events are planned for the third annual Visa Wellington On a Plate culinary festival this August.
The festival includes an Asian night market, a five course chocolate menu, blind dining, master cooking classes and a club baking competition.
Event co-director, Sarah Meikle says events on this year’s programme have surged almost six-fold over last year with more than 152 eateries taking part.
“This year’s dine Wellington menus read like a guide to what’s cooking in the region,” Meikle says. “Think Parkvale mushrooms, Kapiti Kingsmeade cheese and Lavender’s Green – it’s a very tasty local line-up.”
The Malaysian Kitchen says it will be bringing the lights, smells and excitement of Asian night markets to the city. Visitors to Opera House Lane will be able to taste the best authentic street food produced by Wellington’s Malaysian restaurants.
“Wellingtonians are such big fans of Malaysian cuisine ,” Parveen Chiba of the Malaysian Kitchen says. “There are over 20 Malaysian restaurants in the city, many of them which have been around for over 25 years.”
Celebrity chef, Chef Wan, is making a special guest appearance at the Wellington festival with two Malaysian cooking demonstrations. Wan is a household name in Asia as a chef, author, actor and TV host and food critic.
For chocolate lovers a full-on chocolate fix is promised at Wellington’s Chameleon Restaurant with a five course Chocolate Degustation menu being served. Senior sous chef, Andreas Reinhardt, says the menu will feature surprises for those who who think of chocolate only  as a sweet course.
“Fresh fish seared in cacao butter with chocolate agrodolce [Italian sweet and sour sauce] and roasted chicken wrapped in Sarrano ham and sage, served on a soft white chocolate and Kapiti mascarpone polenta are two of the menu’s savoury items,” Reinhardt says.
The Wellington On a Plate festival runs from August 5-21.