Bold, beautiful flavours created right here – that’s the promise from Canterbury’s legion of dedicated artisans and growers. Whether you are after the best of staples such as bread and meat or want to try something new, you’re in the right place.

Christchurch is heaven for food fans with a wealth of artisanal producers. With some of the best produce in the world on their doorstep, many of the region’s small food producers have carved themselves a big reputation, with Canterbury always well represented in national artisan cuisine awards. The variety and quality of what’s available locally is huge, so why opt for bland and mass produced when the region’s artisans and growers are powering out bold, beautiful flavours right here? “Artisan eating” is on the rise as people turn to local producers for freshness, low food miles, and natural ingredients. So if you haven’t already, it’s time to branch out; next time you’re shopping, skip the supermarket and flock to the farmers’ markets, the factory shops and the gourmet food stores. You’ll be supporting local businesses and doing right by the planet, and your taste-buds will thank you for it!

Bakers

The team at Vic’s Bakehouse are devoted to using traditional bread-making techniques in the production of their delicious range of European breads, and you’ll be well pleased they do when you tuck into your favourite filling between their ciabatta, or munch on one of their parmesan bagels. Vic’s steer away from excessive yeast and focus on maturing the dough to just the right point for optimal results, producing bread that is healthy to eat and tastes sensational.

In Sydenham and also at The Welder in Welles Street, Sam and Sara Ellis of Grizzly Baked Goods have brought light, flakey and dizzyingly buttery Morning Buns to Otautahi, most famously in the form of Lemon Poppy Morning Buns, Bear Claws and Everything Croissants.

Not so good on gluten? You’re not the only one. Totally Gluten Free Bakery, in Colombo Street, arose out of a growing need for a specifically gluten-free bakery. From the bacon, cheese and cracked pepper loaf to pain au chocolat and Kiwi favourite lamingtons, they make all their products with a focus on great flavour and an attention to detail that has ensured their success.

Also keep an eye out for spectacular cake creations from Cakes By Anna, and more delicious traditional breads from Breads of Europe. Delicious baked goods that fuse Japanese and European influences are the speciality at Japanz Bakery in South City Shopping Centre. Their popular pies and doughnuts are made from scratch each day.

At The Tannery, Bellbird Bakery offer a selection of high-quality breads and pastries made with ingredients that include Canterbury-grown wheat, New Zealand butter and free-range eggs. They supply their leavened breads and viennoiseries to various retailers, or you can buy over the counter.

Bohemian Bakery is now in the central city as well as in Sumner. You can watch the bakers at work as their creations come to life – enjoy some of their fresh-baked breads and sweet or savoury pastries. Their award-winning sourdough offers a deliciously crunchy crust and a tender, moist crumb. While the heart of Bohemian is the award-winning sourdough, the menu also boasts sweet and savoury pastries including cinnamon rolls, Kolache and pretzels.

Fancy something a bit more decadent for a special occasion? Glamour Cake produces gourmet cheesecakes, cakes, doughnuts and other baked treats and sells them fresh each day at Lyttelton Bakery. Closer to the city, Good Honest Products in Wigram produce Parisian macarons, delicious slices, muesli and biscuits without additives, artificial flavours or preservatives.

Harpers House not only create their own wonderful cakes and flavour combinations – if you have something else in mind, they will work with you to ensure you get it. The delicious goodies on offer are created using buttercream, and a pop of colour is added by way of fresh herbs, fruits and flowers – Harpers House avoid using fondant and artificial colours and flavourings.

Delicatessens

For authentic Spanish flavours, you can’t go past Curator’s Deli, a business that grew out of a frequent question at the Curator’s House Restaurant: where do you get your chorizos from? (They made them!) Fresh pimenton from Spain meets New Zealand’s finest pork and traditional methods to create moreish morsels in mild and hot that are ideal for frying, grilling or the BBQ.

A desire to produce the food he loved himself saw Tim Morrison kick off Morrison & Co. Charcuterie in 2013. Their three core products have all proved hits with local foodies; Smoked Eel Paté, Pork and Pistachio Terrine, and in particular the Duck Liver Parfait have all taken the local market by storm. You’ll spot them at farmers’ markets around town. Riverside Market is home to Cured by Cashmere Cuisine, stockists of Cashmere Cuisine’s famous range of salami that has been enjoyed by the local community at farmers’ markets and through select outlets nationwide.

Head to Ballantynes’ Lichfield Street wing for some of the city’s finest deli offerings at Kin. This elegant café, deli and wine bar serves up a selection of take-home meals to free up some valuable shopping time in your busy day. Terra Viva Café and Deli’s hot-smoked salmon gets the mouth watering; starting with salmon farmed in Nelson, they lightly cure the premium fish with a selection of spices, salts and sugar, then hot smoke with manuka woodchips and love. It’s available direct from their deli (alongside their other handcrafted delights, such as chicken liver paté and aioli).

Main Divide Meats provide prime cuts of wild venison to suppliers around Canterbury; they’ve now branched out into a range of exciting smallgoods including four flavours of wild venison salami, wild goat salami, wild tahr salami and a range of patties, sausages and biersticks – you’ll find them all down at the Christchurch Farmers’ Market alongside their delicious prime wild venison. Keep an eye out too for the award-winning Moko Smoked Eel, the authentic South African taste of Canterbury Biltong, meat raised right from Rockford Country Pork and Westwood Organics, and the coveted Wagyu beef from Holly Farm.

Traiteur European Butchery is a Merivale institution. So much more than a specialist butcher, as well as stocking the finest and freshest cuts of top-quality meats, Traiteur is home to a smorgasbord of delicatessen offerings, including cheeses, pestos, pates, chutneys and dressings, olives, wines, ready-made meals, sandwiches and pies, salads and handmade cakes and desserts. They can also provide catering.

If you are after vegan alternatives to meat, Grater Goods in Sydenham is a vegan delicatessen dedicated to creating meat-like products and cheeses without using animal-derived ingredients. Using ingredients such as jackfruit, vegetable proteins and seitan to mimic texture, they create delicious ‘chorizos’ and ‘roasts’, alongside BBQ packs.

For the real taste of Christchurch, check out Gold Fern Honey. The team buzz all over town collecting honey from their 400 hives and produce raw honey and beeswax products. The honey is reflective of what grows around the area of the hives, so each pot has a different taste of goodness. For fresh, premium quality cold pressed oils, check out The Good Oil range from Pure Oil New Zealand. Cold pressed means no chemicals and no heat, resulting in oil that retains its fresh flavour and high nutritional benefits.

Dreamy dairy

Artisan cheesemakers are hard at work around the region, from Barrys Bay Cheese on Banks Peninsula to Emilio’s Cheese near Kirwee. Barrys Bay Cheese is the granddaddy of them all, having been producing cheeses using traditional methods since 1895. They source their milk from a single farm on the peninsula. Minimising the travel time from the farm to the factory helps them to preserve the unique flavour profile of the local milk, which gives Barrys Bay cheese its distinctive taste.

Canterbury Cheesemongers, now in Ferrymead, matures and sells cheese from New Zealand and abroad. All cheeses spend time aging in their storerooms. Some are ready almost as soon as they get them, others might be stored by Canterbury Cheesemongers for up to two years.

Milk’s also being put to good use by the chocolatiers at de Spa Chocolatier (now doing dairy-free and sugar-free chocolates) and She Universe, both handcrafting new and wondrous chocolate creations all the time.

In historic New Regent Street, the crew at Rollickin Gelato make delicious gelato on-site, using organic milk that’s delivered daily from free-range, happy cows in Rangiora and real ingredients like Whittaker’s Chocolate and real fruit, to create unique flavours. They also offer a range of dairy-free fruit sorbets, as well as a dessert-like menu offering sweet treats to have with some gelato. They are also at the Arts Centre and in Cashel Street.

Beverages

Made from 100 percent New Zealand hand-picked elderflowers, the delicious Addmore range of beverages is crafted by experienced winemakers, hand-blended with traditional methods to produce their light, refreshing cordials and sparking drops (try the Sparkling Ginger, White Tea & Elderflower – you won’t regret it!). They make good use of the elderflower at Selwyn-based Aroha Drinks too, having started with the tasty blooms (still a mainstay of the range) before expanding into the likes of blackcurrant, feijoa and the intriguing Sparkling Rhubarb, which is proving so popular they’ve had to expand their rhubarb patch!

If you’re looking for something a bit harder, the team at Three Boys Brewery are still smashing it at their Ferry Road operation, turning out special-edition brews such as the Pineapple Lump Porter and growing a burgeoning international reputation – they’re part of a thriving Christchurch craft beer scene that includes Eagle Brewing, Wigram Brewing Co, Two Thumb Brewing Co, Pomeroy’s Old Brewery Inn, Lyttelton’s Eruption Brewing, and more besides (find an excellent local round-up at The Beer Library).

Showing the way on sustainability is The Fermentist. You can go through a lot of energy and resources making beer, and the Sydenham brewery and taproom has set out to be a test bed for innovation and new ideas that can make a real difference in the industry.

The Spirits Workshop operates a boutique, small-batch craft distillery in Sydenham. Its flagship product is Curiosity Gin and it also produces micro-barrel single malt whiskies. Holding strong to the traditions of artisan distilling, it uses locally sourced Canterbury malted grain and pure Canterbury artesian water to produce its spirits. You can check it all out on a distillery tour, ending in a guided tasting.

Small-batch premium gin is also made at Lyttelton Distillery Co. It all starts with the making of their own alcohol from local grains and honey. They then add carefully chosen botanicals including juniper, manuka, wild thyme and citrus. No artificial flavours are used. Keep an eye out for the soon to be released blackberry gin, vodka and limoncello range.