Founder, Chief Tour Leader & Certified Food Devotee, Your host, Nicola McConnell

Kia ora! If there’s one thing you need to know about Nicola McConnell, it’s that she is a foodie from way back. She’s spent a lifetime obsessing over exceptional producers, top-shelf drops, mouth-watering kai and - importantly - the brilliant stories behind them.

Her grand adventure in the food and beverage world started right in the deep end on the bustling floor of the iconic Sydney Fish Market. Leading the marketing team and getting her hands dirty guiding tour groups through the vibrant Dutch Auction Seafood Market, she quickly realised that showing people where their food comes from is just about the best job in the world.

Since those early seafood-soaked days, Nicola has clocked up many calories hosting media and tour groups behind the scenes across Aotearoa New Zealand and Australia. From world-class vineyards and craft breweries to artisan food producers, she has a knack for sniffing out the good stuff to taste and sip!

A champion of Kiwi food culture, Nicola doesn't just savour local produce - she promotes it. She co-founded the Outstanding Food Producer Awards (Aotearoa’s largest food awards) and the NZ Chocolate Awards, currently runs the NZ Ice Cream & Gelato Awards, and spent seven years helping run the NZ Champions of Cheese Awards. In 2024 she was named in the Cuisine Magazine Inspirational Women in Food + Drink.

Here in Ōtepoti Dunedin, Nicola’s commitment to local taste is legendary. She was one of the passionate local team who championed the public ownership and share-listing of Dunedin’s beloved OCHO Chocolate, keeping bean-to-bar magic in the city. She also founded Dine Dunedin, the city’s flagship food festival celebrating local eateries, bars, breweries and distilleries for four fantastic years through to 2023.

When she’s not curating bespoke culinary journeys for Eat Drink Dunedin, Nicola lives and breathes food at home - gardening, cooking and making local ingredients sing. Her kitchen is a constant testing lab where new recipe creations are trialled on her long-suffering partner and two daughters. On the rare occasion a dish falls flat? Well, let’s just say her two Shar Pei dogs are more than happy to step in as quality control.

Grab your coat, bring an appetite, and join Nicola to taste the best of Ōtepoti!