One of Whakatāne’s most anticipated summer events, the Wild Food Festival, returns to Mahy Reserve in Ōhope next weekend, promising an afternoon of bold flavours, culinary creativity and coastal vibes.

Running from 12pm to 6pm on Saturday, February 21, the festival celebrates the abundance found in Aotearoa’s natural environment – food foraged, hunted and harvested from land and sea.

From live cooking demonstrations to the ever-popular Mystery Box Challenge, it’s a feast for food lovers and the simply curious alike.

A major drawcard each year is the line-up of chefs, hunters and foodies who take to the demonstration stage.

Among them is Kaai Silbury, head chef at Kopi Kitchen on the Chatham Islands, who is flying in courtesy of sponsor Air Chathams.

Silbury has history with the festival.

“Nine years ago, I flew in from the Chathams and won the cooking competition,” she recalls.

This year, she returns not as a competitor, but as a featured demonstrator and judge.

Joining her from the Chathams is guest chef Ezrah Mané, and together they will showcase crayfish dumplings – a dish that heroically uses the whole crayfish – a true wild delicacy.

“Normally I do a crayfish ravioli, my signature dish, but for the festival I’ll make it as a crayfish dumpling.”

The dumplings will be served with crayfish butter sauce, fried caper crumble, microgreens and a crayfish finishing oil. Nothing goes to waste: the tail becomes the filling; the legs are infused for oil, and the body is transformed into a rich bisque reduced into sauce.

“I love this dish because it embodies the entire crayfish,” she said.

Though crayfish may be plentiful around the Chathams, Silbury is mindful that it’s a premium product on the mainland.

She points out that around 27 percent of New Zealand’s seafood comes from the Chatham Islands – including crayfish, blue cod, kina and pāua – with a significant amount exported overseas.

At Kopi Kitchen, set within the luxurious Kopi Bush Retreat, Silbury creates seasonal menus celebrating wild island ingredients. She also caters events, runs workshops, and works as a personal chef for guests.

Mané, who has been in the hospitality industry since she was 16, and is still training, brings a different flavour to the stage. Of Kiwi and Ethiopian heritage and originally from Christchurch, she is vegetarian.

Her signature dishes include a broccoli niçoise-style salad with beans, olives, feta and almonds, and a rich eggplant caponata.

Silbury was born and raised in Auckland and holds degrees in Food Science and Culinary Arts.

With 30 years in the industry, including time as sous chef at Soul Bar on the Auckland Viaduct, she has built a high-end culinary career.

“I’ve worked for Dame Julie Christie and Judith Tabron for many years. Through those two amazing women I’ve had a brilliant career in high-end kitchens,” she said.

Italian cuisine holds a special place in her heart, and she has spent the past decade travelling through Italy during the Chathams’ quiet winter months.

These days, she relishes the balance of island life.

“My father whakapapas back to the Chathams, so I’ve been home here 15 years.”

Beyond the kitchen, Silbury is founder of Tarahina Honey and Go Wild Apiary, a sustainable beekeeping operation producing premium honey from the endemic tarahinau tree. Her freeze-dried honey product is sold online and has recently secured export contracts to Japan and South Korea.

“My late great uncle was the kaumatua, or old beekeeper, on the island for sixty years. I bought my first hives off him, and he and my aunty taught me a lot.”

Festivalgoers can catch Silbury and Mané in action alongside wild food guru Shay Williamson, Plains Butchery’s Tony Barkla and team, and Fisherman’s Wharf Café owner and head chef Paul Patterson.