Out for a Duck in Martinborough

With typical enthusiasm for promoting our village and our region, nine local restaurants have lined up to put their culinary prowess to the bat…or test… or umpire….to celebrate cricket this summer . They include: Café Medici, The Village Café, Bloom Restaurant at Murdoch James Estate, The Martinborough Hotel Bar and Grill, The Pavilion Restaurant at Peppers Parehua, Vineyard Café at Margrain, Micro Wine Bar, Tirohana Estate and Pinocchio. Each restaurant is pairing a duck dish with a Martinborough Pinot (Noir or Gris) until 23 March.

Excerpts from the menu descriptions will have you lifting the phone for reservations – confit duck leg with caramelised apple and hazelnuts, southern French styled canard cassoulet, sticky marmalade duck on a garlic mash with a green vegetable medley, duck confit and duck liver parfait with treacle onions, mandarin and sweetcorn custard, ravioli of duck confit and Parkvale mushrooms, duck burger and vietnamese salad. Find the full menus at: outforaduck.nz.

While locals will have ample opportunity to sample the various taste temptations around town, the Martinborough Business Association, whose initiative it is, also wants to encourage visiting cricket supporters to come to Martinborough. Calum Thom of the Vineyard Café says “It’s great to bring some rivalry into these events and to see the cricketing visitors leave the city and experience the great rural atmosphere we have here in the Wairarapa”.

Out for a Duck in Martinborough is designed to coincide with a number of other events in and around Martinborough and is a reminder of just how much is happening in our region this summer. While the Winery Tour Concert and the Trust House Women’s (Cycling ) Tour of NZ, Brewday and the TK Farmer’s Market have all taken place, other un-missable events are still to come. The Pukemanu Bullride will be held on March 6, the second Martinborough Fair and Wairarapa Harvest Festival on the 7th, and Round the Vines on the 15th.

On current performances in the World Cup, we will be welcoming English and South African supporters looking for ways to lift their spirits and Black Caps followers eager to celebrate a wonderful summer and wonderful cricket. What better way to do so than by enjoying some Out for a Duck taste sensations created by Martinborough’s extraordinary restaurants and cafes.