Evening food market celebrates ‘rescued’ food

Rescued ingredients were the heroes in a menu of food and drink prepared by ākonga from Otago Polytechnic’s Bachelor of Culinary Arts programme last Thursday night.

125 guests filled the Manaaki courtyard for the evening food market - Kai Puāwai - hosted by 28 first year students as their end of year showcase event.

The group have been working on the project since mid-September.  They were tasked with designing and developing pitches using ‘rescued food ingredients’ from local suppliers.

The students worked with a range of products including donated by-catch fish from Harbour Fish, donated frozen fries, peas, pastry and bread from Kiwi Harvest, and beef shins and beef bones from Robertson’s Butchery.

Other fresh seasonal ingredients were bought from the Otago Farmers Market along with garden items from Otago Polytechnic’s Living Campus Gardens, to support the ‘hero’ items.

Six different mains with drink pairings were served up to the evening diners by the BCA students...

Papura Blossom:  Canapés made from rescued Kiwi Harvest bread: beetroot & feta tartlets, beetroot tartare, and beetroot pani puri.

"The unique challenge was that we are all new chefs so everyone wanted to try new things. Making three different canapes meant people can try different varieties of food" - Manvinder Singh 

Fishy Business:  Harbour Fish by-catch fish tacos with grilled and pickled asparagus.

"Challenges?  Obviously the fish, we don’t know if we’re actually going to get it. What type of fish we’re going to be using, how much we’re going to get. And the price of everything." - Connor Rolfe

Grazed & Braised:  Robertson’s beef shin & fennel potato top pies with a carrot ketchup.

"We were tasked with using beef shin, which is an ingredient that’s commonly wasted. And we had to repurpose it put it into something yummy and edible for everyone." - Ella Macleod

Kiwiana Kai:  Spudnut is a savoury potato doughnut made from rescued Kiwi Harvest fries. With a vegetarian ‘roast dinner’ filling, glossy gravy glaze and crispy peas.

"We chose a classic Kiwiana theme. And our dish is like a Sunday roast in a doughnut form." - Sally Rawson

The Puff Patch:  “Planter Box” pastries filled with a mushroom “soil” base, and fresh spring greens “growing” on top.

"The idea of the project was to incorporate manaakitaka throughout our whole event. And really that hospitality, the interaction with guests and showing them how we’re going from soil to plate." - Lucy Morrison

The Hazelnut Grove:  Dunford Grove Hazelnut meal, chocolate and berry swirl ice-cream cookie sandwich.

"Our hero ingredient was hazelnut pulp – which is hazelnut that’s been processed and had the oil taken out. That hazelnut meal would otherwise go to waste – they feed it to pigs. So we’re trying to show that it’s a tasty, delicious ingredient that can be useful." - Ashlee Drummy

Food Design Institute lecturer Hayley Dodd says the project challenged ākonga to think differently about food while developing their gourmet food stall dishes.

“Working with rescued kai means our ākonga have got to think creatively and find smart solutions, while considering the food experience design principles to develop dishes that guests will find engaging and memorable,” she says.

“This event gives our Bachelor of Culinary Arts students a real-world opportunity to develop and showcase a wide range of industry applicable skills,” Hayley says.

“It connects manaakitaka, by caring for people, kai, and our environment, with what’s actually happening in industry around food waste and sustainability and following real world food and restaurant trends.”