No Pavlova Please Introduction

But New Zealand cuisine and dining habits have been distinguished by more than pavlova or hearty servings of the Sunday roast. New Zealanders have always been very partial to eating meat, although its consumption has fallen from the 1980s in response to health concerns and the rise of vegetarianism. Sharing a drink, whether it be tea or coffee with biscuits, or beer and wine over a meal, has been an important ritual. Cakes, biscuits and home-made preserves filled the cupboards of many New Zealand households over the twentieth century. And in the last 30 years, fast food and dining out have featured more prominently in New Zealand's culinary scene.

This photographic exhibition provides some glimpses into New Zealand's changing food and drink culture in the twentieth century. The photographs have been collected as part of the research for a photographic history of everyday life in twentieth-century New Zealand which is to be published in October 2000. All photographs are from the National Archives Head Office, Wellington.

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