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Windy city's farmers' markets

Simon Farrell-Green

Plan your Sunday around a visit to the City Market.
Plan your Sunday around a visit to the City Market.WellingtonNZ.com

Some time in the past few years, Wellingtonians – along with the rest of New Zealand – became thoroughly enthusiastic about farmers' markets and local producers. Suddenly, it seems, there is a handful of farmers' markets scattered through the city and the wider region, with a host of local artisan producers making everything from cheese to olive oil to preserved lemons.

Possibly, it's something to do with geography. Wellington is compact, and it has Wairarapa – a broad rolling series of valleys a bit over an hour north over the vertiginous Rimutaka range – close by.

Possibly, it's something to do with climate – New Zealand has distinct seasons: eating particular things at particular times of the year isn't a lifestyle choice, it's a necessity borne of the fact that you simply can't grow certain things at certain times of the year – so there are strawberries in summer, oysters in winter, asparagus in spring. Then, there's the typical Kiwi habit of supporting the little guy, combined with Wellingtonians' enthusiastic support for anything Wellington. The result? Some very good eating.

The Harbourside Markets ...There's been a market in the area since 1930.
The Harbourside Markets ...There's been a market in the area since 1930.WellingtonNZ.com
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Inside Wellington, the City Market (citymarket.co.nz) makes for a brilliant Sunday morning. Owned by chef Martin Bosley and specialist seafood supplier Rachel Taulelei – his day job is at his eponymous restaurant; hers is Yellow Brick Road (yellowbkroad.com) – it's a brilliant place to stock up. Recently, Taulelei's stall had tiny greenshell mussels from the Marlborough Sounds, harvested much earlier than the standard export-oriented monsters, when they're small and sweet. You'll also find local beer and olive oil from the Wairarapa. Best of all, it's covered: an important consideration in a city known for a wind that whips off the Cook Strait and howls through the city.

Nearby, and also on a Sunday, is the Harbourside Market (harboursidemarket.co.nz), a little rougher around the edges, on the waterfront near the national museum, Te Papa. There's been a market somewhere in the vicinity since 1930 – these days you'll find market gardeners serving produce that is both cheap and fresh, alongside salmon from Stewart Island, olive oil from Waimarama and a stack of stalls serving lunch.

On Saturdays, meanwhile, head for the Hill Street Farmers' Market (hillstfarmersmarket.co.nz) in the well-heeled suburb of Thorndon. It's a community-run market, with a strict criteria: producers must come from within 350km of Thorndon. Check out Kapiti Free Range Pork (kapitifreerangepork.co.nz), ethically farmed pigs from just north of Wellington, and local favourite Lavender's Green (lavendersgreen.co.nz) – exquisite lemon products from the Wairarapa, including preserved lemons to end all preserved lemons.

The Wairarapa itself is served by two very fine markets. The Wairarapa Farmers' Market (marketground.co.nz/fmnzwairarapa) – in the rural service town of Masterton – operates year-round. A highlight is Kingsmeade Cheese (kinsgmeadecheese.co.nz), where Miles and Janet King make a ewe's milk cheese farmed just outside of town, and are the producers of New Zealand's only manchego, but you'll also find olive oil, organic produce and bread baked locally as well as local wine – the area is famed for having some of the oldest pinot noir vines in the country. Over the summer – if you hurry, you'll catch it before it ends in April – the Wharekauhau Wine and Food Society Farmers' Market (thesociety.co.nz/events) operates in the bucolic surrounds of Te Kairanga Vineyard near Martinborough on the first Sunday of every month.

Back in Wellington, there are options outside the market scene. Moore Wilson (moorewilson.co.nz) has done as much as anyone to foster local artisans – for years, the very word would inspire sighs from envious Aucklanders. The company has supplied the trade around Wellington for decades, specialising in a brilliant mix of fine imported products and local producers. Lucky for you, it's also open to the public and is a brilliant place to acquaint yourself with artisan New Zealand producers.

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Keep an eye out for Hardieboys Beverages, which has supplied cafes and restaurants around Wellington for more than a decade: Rebecca Hardie Boys' recipe for ginger beer cuts no corners, and is produced by hand in a steampunkish factory in Porirua. One day she'll crack the recipe for cola, but look out for her lime soda in the meantime. Nearby is On Trays (ontrays.co.nz), seriously enthusiastic purveyors of quality smallgoods – be sure to stop in on the way to the Wairarapa.

And save time for Lower Hutt's Zany Zeus (zanyzeus.co.nz). If there's a local hero in the Wellington food scene, it's Michael Matsis, who started out making cheese based on his Cypriot mother Letki's recipe, becoming famous for his excellent haloumi. Since then, he's expanded to selling organic cheese, cream, milk as well as cream cheese, yoghurt and, most recently, ice-cream. It is phenomenal – and all the more remarkable that it comes from a city the size of this.

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