Expats moving to New Zealand will find that the cuisine is seasonal and food is made with the local produce. With a variety of fresh food available and dishes from other countries there will be something new that you can try. Majority of the food is quite similar to those in Australia, and the influence of takeaways is becoming quite popular with the choices of other cuisines. For those who don’t want to cook, will find good quality restaurants around the country which allows them to take their own alcohol, there are many pizza outlets and Asian cuisine restaurants.
In the summer months, majority of the citizens enjoy getting together and doing barbecues and picnic areas are available on roadsides which have barbecue facilities. The main foods cooked in a barbecue ranges from different meats including lamb, venison, lobster and fish as well as vegetable dishes.
On certain occasions, residents will invite people to dinner parties and ask them to bring a choice of their own dish, this is a now a tradition called ‘Bring a plate’ gathering. Individuals may also be asked to bring their own alcoholic drinks ‘Bring your own’ to dinner parties.
Another cuisine which is quite popular in New Zealand is ‘Maori’; this provides different options of foods for people in the country. Maoris grew plants such as sweet potatoes and other native plants which are prepared in an oven. A ‘Hangi’ is also prepared in the oven which is a meal that serves large dinner parties with dishes of traditional foods such as pork, potatoes and sweet potato as well as the ‘boil up’ which is a meal with pork, dumplings, sea food, vegetables, potatoes and sweet potatoes.
New Zealand has a tradition of adapting foods from other cuisines which include British, Indian, Chinese and Mediterranean dishes.
There is also a good reputation of quality wines being produced in the country with different regions producing different types of wines. Restaurants serve alcohol and the licensing hours are from 11am – 11pm.