New Zealand Cuisine - Contemporary Scene

Contemporary Scene

As a result of various developments, the food scene of New Zealand in the early 21st century is in a state of flux: cosmopolitan Pacific Rim fares reign is now the norm in much of metropolitan eating out scenes, and traditional hearty settlers food, now dubbed Kwisine Kiwiana, but reinterpreted through Pacific Rim cooking knowledge, is a popular cooking style for eating out scenes even in the most remote rural regions. Most of the home cooking prepared at households in Auckland is now a mix of traditional Kiwiana dishes heavily modified by Mediterranean and Asian techniques and ingredients, and adapted versions of Mediterranean, Chinese, and Indian dishes. In the more culturally traditional parts of the country, such as rural Canterbury and the West Coast. However, traditional Kiwiana fares are still the norm at many homes.

Certain vestiges of traditional Kiwiana dishes remain popular throughout the country, such as fish and chips, meat pies, custard squares, pavlova, and others. An active nostalgia movement supports the traditional Kiwiana cuisine, as spreadheaded by the popularity of television series Kiwi Kitchen presented by Richard Till, which is believed to be a public response to a common perception that the traditional Kiwiana dishes are disappearing from the New Zealand tables. Home baking is particularly believed to be the last bastion of New Zealand cuisine still unaffected by international trends.

Concurrently, food habits are changing in Australia to lighter fares influenced by the Mediterranean, and subsequently Southeast Asian, styles of cooking. The proximity, common history, and strong modern political, economic, cultural, and family ties between the two countries means many New Zealand diners and chefs have always been well informed of the trends in the Australian dining scene. Many chefs had worked in Australia and endeavour to learn from their trans-Tasman counterparts, and in time the changing Australian culinary scene has trickle-down effects on the New Zealand cuisine as well.

In general, there are minimal differences between the food preference of New Zealand and Australia. The food trends in New Zealand tend to trail its trans-Tasman counterparts by a few years to a decade, such as the Mediterranean cookery did not become mainstream in New Zealand until the dawn of 1990s, while its influence was already felt in Australia by the 1980s; and while Australia has by the early 21st century developed a well established niche specialist produce distributing channel, a similar system is still in its infancy across the Tasman. However, in recent times Auckland and Wellington have food fashions moving essentially in sync with that of Sydney and Melbourne.

One major recent development in the food scene is the emergence of a genuine cafe culture and disappearance of the traditional institution of tearooms at large. Before the 1990s, tearooms proliferated throughout the country offering cream tea, with scones, cream, and cucumber sandwiches, muffins, and custard squares, with filtered coffee or tea as drinks. New Zealanders have copied the Australian habits of adopting Mediterranean practice of drinking espresso derived coffees. In time, cafes became wildly popular and many tearoom owners converted their businesses to cafes and learned to use espresso machines in a rush. Cream tea has gone out of fashion in the contemporary New Zealand dining scene, and scones are baked at homes rather than served in eateries.

Vegetarianism had been regarded as an alternative lifestyle for many years; but became more mainstream during the 1980s even though consistent vegetarians are still rare. Despite exhortations by the Ministry of Health and their allies for people to eat less meat, and more cereals, fruits, and vegetables, a highly meat-based diet remains a part of New Zealand culture, albeit with decrease of red meat consumption and intake of fish and chicken has been on the rise.

Gluten free foodstuffs have become part of the dietary trends in New Zealand, with cafes and restaurants increasingly offering gluten free versions of popular foods such as cakes, pizza, and hamburger buns. Some supermarkets, delicatessens and bakeries similarly offer gluten free products and there has been a rise in speciality stores.