Wednesday 24 June and Thursday 25 June, 2026. 6 – 8 pm
Avondale / Hui Kōrero, Auckland / Tāmaki Makaurau, New Zealand / Aotearoa

The main street of Avondale is dotted with small eateries, each one a microcosm of food and social history. The owners are serving kai with love. Kai that emerged, in its current form, in the last 300 years. From the evolution of tea houses in Southern China, and taquerias in Mexico in the late 1700s, the fish and chips that developed on the streets of Britain and Banh Mi that fused Vietnamese and French cuisine in the mid 1800s, to the popular American smash burger and Pacifica lamb flaps that have their roots in the mid 20th century. 

All of these food traditions are surprisingly young, still innovating and adapting to changing tastes, ways of working and ever increasing cross cultural influence. What will they be like in the future?

Melissa Laing and Whau the People invited the community to join us on a tasting walk along the Main Street of Avondale. Over the course of the walk we sampled the wide range of great food on offer while participating in a speculative conversation about the future of everyday food in Aotearoa. Musician Gerhard Lottermoser composed a song for the walk, which was performed, in draft form, during the walk. This was later developed and released as a recorded song. 

Tasting the Main Street was made possible with the support of the Auckland Urban Development Office and Whau the People. Photography by Wu Webby.