Visitors to Murihiku Southland will be able to get a taste of the region more easily by way of a new food guide.
Murihiku Eats, a food guide to Southland, includes 24 food and beverage establishments from across the region that celebrate the Southland food story, a map to locate them and information about some of our signature food stories, including tītī muttonbird, Hokonui Moonshine, Fiordland venison, and the iconic Bluff oyster.
Great South Destination Development Manager Amie Young said visitors often wanted to try foods and learn about the culinary delights of a particular area and this guide would help make sure they can do that in Southland.
“People often come to Southland knowing about cheese rolls, but there are so many other foods to savour, and we want to make sure visitors get the opportunity to experience as many as possible.”
The businesses included in the guide were those that best showcased local produce and food stories, Ms Young said.
Great South has been working on various initiatives to develop Southland as a food tourism destination, such as supporting the development of Savour the South and other events that celebrate our local food offerings, and working closely with Eat New Zealand.
An event to encourage the hospitality sector to utilise local ingredients and share our unique food stories, ‘Our kai, our people, our place’, was held earlier this year.
The opportunity to attract visitors to Southland based on the strength of its unique food was identified as part of the Southland Murihiku Destination Strategy developed in 2019 and this was further explored within the Southland Murihiku Food Tourism Strategy, released in 2021.
Murihiku Southland was one of the first regions in New Zealand to undertake such a comprehensive analysis of its potential to become a food tourism destination.
“There’s still plenty of opportunity for development and we hope this guide will encourage other eateries to champion local food stories and highlight them with their customers,” Ms Young said.
The guides can be picked up at the establishments listed in the guide, as well at visitor centres across the region.
For those wanting to have Murihiku Eats guides available at their business, they can be ordered at greatsouth.nz/brochure-orders.
An online version of the guide can be found at southlandnz.com.
