Wellington On a Plate

The tradition & historical record

Wellington On a Plate is an annual food festival run by the Wellington Culinary Events Trust (WCET), a profitable trust in Wellington's hospitality industry during the winter low-season. The first Wellington On a Plate festival was held in August 2009. Visa has been a naming rights sponsor of the festival since 2010, and the festival is known as 'Visa Wellington On a Plate'. The festival consists of various events and special festival-only dishes, cocktails and burgers. The festival showcases local chefs and producers attracting visitors from New Zealand and around the world. Economic studies have shown the festival contributes $30m NZD to Wellington's local economy each year. Wellington On a Plate is one of the largest food festivals in the Southern hemisphere based on consumer participation across all platforms. Typically more than 250 hospitality venues take part in Wellington On a Plate each year. There is a different theme each year which sets the tone for the festival.The best of the festival are recognised at annual awards in August. Traditionally Wellington On a Plate has been held in August, however in 2023 the festival was split into two editions every year in May and August. The May edition of Wellington On a Plate presented festival events, Dine Wellington and Cocktail Wellington. The August edition included Burger Wellington and Beervana, a craft-beer festival that attracts around 16,000 people each year. ¹

The festival began in 2009 with 35 participants. In 2022 there were more than 250 venues participating from across the Wellington region. Since 2009 there have been more than 87,500 Festival events tickets sold and 1500 festival events held across Wellington. The Burger Wellington challenge first started in 2010. From 2013 Wellington Craft Beer Brewery Garage Project became a major partner of Burger Wellington, with the name changing to Garage Project presents Burger Wellington. In the past the festival has included Dine Wellington, and Cocktail Wellington. Dine Wellington challenges local chefs to create a dish that showcases local produce and serves 'Wellington On a Plate' that relates to the festival theme. ¹

The May Edition ran from 5–21 May, and offered just over 100 events and pop ups, 70 Dine Wellington and 70 Cocktail Wellington entries. Diners submitted 5000 ratings to help determine the May Edition finalists. The August Edition of Visa Wellington On a Plate ran from 11–27 August, and had 200-plus burger entries, as well as burger and beer-related events. ¹

The theme for 2022 was 'State of Flux'. That year more 12,000 foodies rated 70 different Dine Wellington dishes, explored 80 different drinks as part of Cocktail Wellington, and visited 200 hospitality venues participating in Burger Wellington during the Wellington On a Plate festival. Typically 250,000 burgers are sold through the festival each year. Two new awards were introduced to the festival in 2022: ¹

The Next Gen Cook Off at Everybody Eats which saw five young chefs compete weekly and cook meals for the charity organisation with a restaurant located in Wellington’s CBD. The initiative raised more than $18,000. The Lumina Lamb Rising Stars Awards recognise emerging hospitality talent, and nominations are put forward from Wellington’s venues. ¹

Each year festival participants are given awards. Categories include Burger Wellington, Dine Wellington and Cocktail Wellington. Past winners are listed below. ¹

2023: One80 2022: Chaat Street 2021: Egmont St Eatery 2019: Cafe Medici 2018: Wilson Barbecue 2017: Mr Go's 2016: Apache 2015: Egmont St. Eatery 2014: Charley Noble 2013: Ti Kouka 2012: Boulcott Street Bistro 2011: Café Polo 2010: Lembas Café ¹

The text above is adapted from the Wikipedia article “Wellington On a Plate”, available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. ¹

Wellington On a Plate is annual food festival held in Wellington since 2009, according to the structured record cited below. This entry was generated automatically from that record and has not yet been reviewed by a person familiar with the tradition. ²