Plenty to see and do at the NZ Olive Festival.

MEDIA STATEMENT – 20th September 2011
Issued by Food Hawke’s Bay

Local chefs? Spit the Pit? Plenty to see and do at the NZ Olive Festival.

If you are not yet an olive lover, you will be after Saturday 24th September at the NZ Olive Festival 2011. Being held at the Hawke’s Bay Racecourse, Hastings, the NZ Olive Festival promises to deliver something for everyone.

If spitting pits is your thing then we hope that you have been practising as we will be holding the spit the pit competition: its simple all you need to do is eat the olive and then spit the pit as far as you can – it will be measured. It is a bit of fun but some people take it very seriously.

A most talked about feature of this years’ festival is once again the Chefs Table with Dish Magazine. Hosted by Victoria Wells, Editor of Dish magazine, we invite the public to sit round a table for ½ hour with a local chef, sip a glass of Vidal wine and ask those burning questions you always wanted to know. Local Chefs include Terry Lowe from Black Barn Bistro, Paolo Pancotti from Milk & Honey, James Beck from Taste Cornucopia, Jillene Slui from Vidal, Shane Fox from Fox on the Quay and Dame Alison and Simon Holst will all be available at set times over the course of the day to talk to. First in first served so make sure you are there all day!

Stallholders this year include The Village Press, Matapiro Olives, Esk Valley Olives, Aquiferra, Telegraph Hill, Lusatori Olives, Aurum Coffee, Simply Squeezed, Olives NZ, Hawthorne Coffee, Dish Magazine, Juno Olives, Ellsgrove Olives. There will be some great food for sale; paella, platters, salads and rolls and some local juice or wine to compliment these.

With Olive Oil appreciation workshops, olive tastings, food, wine, bouncy castle for the children, spit the pit competition and entertainment - the NZ Olive Festival is a must attend event on the 24th!

10am – 4pm, Hawke’s Bay Racecourse, Prospect Road, Hastings
Rain or shine Entry $5 adults, Children under 15 years free
Gate sales.

ENDS

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