Delicious Dunedin

From chocolate mixed with bee pollen to craft beer infused with deer’s anatomy, this town on New Zealand’s South Island has a lot to offer the adventurous eater

- Alana Schetzer

You may not have heard of the New Zealand town of Dunedin, but it packs a lot of flavour. Located at one of the southernmost points of the South Island, it is the sort of place that seems designed for hearty drinks in front of a fire, a gourmet picnic in its green woods and experimental degustation.

With a population of just under 130,000 but sprawling across 3,314 square kilometres, Dunedin is small enough to feel like a genuine getaway from big city life, but not so small that your options are restricted. Dotted with 19th-century buildings, an NRL stadium and university, it’s a big city bundled into this southern pocket of New Zealand.

Along with food, Dunedin’s natural environment is its calling card for visitors. Be prepared for bracing fresh air while wandering the intense greenery of the surrounding hills, where huge parcels of land are dotted with trees and bushes, or take a scenic train ride with Dunedin Railways through Taieri Gorge, a 40-kilometre-long canyon of exceptional natural beauty in Central Otago’s wilderness.

Dunedin is emerging as a fresh foodie destination, where local produce is mixed with international flavours and a broad range of creative culinary influences. One of the town’s newer restaurants, Moiety, illustrates this “local but global” approach. Created inside the historic Terminus building, a former 19th-century hotel, Moiety has a strong Japanese influence that is expressed through its dedication to using fresh, local ingredients.

Chef Sam Gasson, along with partner and head of house Kim Underwood, opened Moiety in 2018 after spending six years abroad, including stints in Europe and Australia. Both Dunedin natives, they returned home to create something that reflected their own approach to food.