23 May 2023
Two Tales of Taranaki – Rachel
Kei te Taiao. Back Roads.
WRITER: SIONAINN MENTOR-KING
PHOTOGRAPHER: MICHELLE HEPBURN
Whether you’re into dramatic landscapes and outdoor adventures, or gallery-hopping and a spot of boutique shopping, sunny Taranaki has something for locals and holidaymakers alike. Shepherdess sought out two entrepreneurial women from the region – baker Erin Benton of Knead Donuts and Feastival founder Rachel Church – to uncover their stories and their take on how to spend a perfect twenty-four hours in New Plymouth.
RACHEL CHURCH
Rachel with her Kiwi husband, Rodney. "It has been a huge move – made even more heart-wrenching with Covid, but this is a soft place to land and I’m so ever grateful to my supportive partner," Rachel says.
When Rachel Church, 49, first arrived in Taranaki in 2012, she couldn’t understand why the area didn’t have an annual event showcasing the incredible food she found grown and produced in the area. Originally from the United States, Rachel first moved to the region from London with her partner Rodney Hosking – of Taranaki extraction – and, despite plans to move to Auckland and continue their London careers in the city, the couple soon found New Plymouth ticking all their boxes.
“Rodney thought it would be too quiet for me,” the native of Long Island, New York says. “But we were both really impressed with Taranaki. We thought, ‘Why are we going to go to the city away from family? It’s amazing here!’” They gave themselves three months to find jobs and see if New Plymouth would work for them, and, more than ten years later, Rachel has made the region her home.
But one thing she could never wrap her head around was the lack of a local food festival. “When I moved here, I was just impressed by our food scene. We own an accommodation called Hosking House, and our guests were coming here because they wanted to see the natural beauty – the mountain, the walkway, the parks and the gardens – but they were blown away by the quality of the restaurants and the amazing food that they were experiencing in such a small region of New Zealand. I kept asking – ‘Why don’t we have a food festival? We have all these other great events and festivals, why aren’t we telling the story to the rest of New Zealand and to anyone visiting?’”
Eventually Rachel asked the right people. “In 2017 I had taken a small role at the council running an event, and I kept blabbing about how I thought we should do something and someone said, ‘Well, if we give you a little bit of funding, would you go do it?’ and I realised, ‘Oh my goodness, I have to actually get off the couch and go do this thing!’”
And thus, Feastival Taranaki was born. In 2018, and again in 2019, the festival showcasing the cuisine of Taranaki took its fledgling steps into the community. “It was very restaurant-focussed to start with,” Rachel says. “It was getting some traction, really good funding, but it wasn’t really the right mix.” When the great pause of 2020 came about, Rachel took the opportunity to ask for help in developing the concept. “I put up my little white flag, went to Venture Taranaki and said, ‘Hey guys, I think we need some help cracking this event, make sure it’s representative of the food scene in Taranaki.’ They were kind enough to fund Sarah Meikle from Wellington on a Plate to come to the region and really help us have industry meetings, go around the region and come up with ideas about what this event could look like.”
Today, with the help of a board, two co-chairs, the Taranaki community and Rachel’s very supportive partner, Feastival Taranaki has grown into an around-the-mountain celebration of food, incorporating producers, restaurateurs and event venues. “It really brings you the best of Taranaki on a plate,” Rachel says. Over the summer the festival held twenty-five events around the mountain with a mixture of price points and experiences. “People were really excited about it. We had the region work together and get behind it, so it was a really great affirmation that we had created the right mix.”
The dream-child of this team of one, Feastival Taranaki is truly Rachel’s passion project. “I knew it would get off the ground – it’s what the people here do, it’s really nothing to do with me. It’s just a platform to showcase what the area has to offer. It’s a really cool way that people can experience this region across the four seasons.”
24 Hours in Taranaki with Rachel
Morning. Go to Monica’s Eatery to get a beautiful coffee and breakfast or brunch. Then go to Govett-Brewster Art Gallery – it’s an incredibly dynamic contemporary art museum combined with the Len Lye Centre, which features the work of Len Lye. It’s one of the only museums in New Zealand that focuses on a solo artist. It’s also the most structurally beautiful building, both inside and out, so it really deserves a wander.
Lunch. Shining Peak Brewing has an amazingly creative menu, not your typical pub fare. Enjoy one of their local brews, five per cent of the proceeds of their beer goes to local charities.
Afternoon. Spend the afternoon shopping in our boutiques in town. There’s Arthaus for absolutely beautiful homewares and unique clothing and The Virtue – run by incredibly creative, dynamic women – for their amazing candles and scents.
Dinner. Pop into The Hour Glass; a real locals’ place with top-notch service. It has an extensive craft beer and wine list and a fresh tapas style menu with mains as well. And of course there’s Toret. It focuses on simple but beautiful ingredients and really makes them shine on a plate.
Nightcap. Head to Itch Wine Bar for an after-dinner drink. You feel like you’re in a European wine bar, it’s just stunning.
STAY
I run Hosking House – a modern bed and breakfast. You get all the wonderful hospitality of a traditional bed and breakfast, but in a modern style. There’s three rooms and a couple of lounges. It’s just one block from Pukekura Park, and just two blocks from town, so it’s a really lovely location. You can come, park your car, walk into town and just enjoy.
This feature was made possible thanks to support from Venture Taranaki. taranaki.co.nz
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This story appeared in the Ngahuru Autumn 2023 Edition of Shepherdess.
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