The Bay of Plenty’s own food guru, Cherie Metcalfe is a trained chef, founder of the hugely successful Pepper & Me, and author of two cookbooks. So who better to be our crusading culinary correspondent, sniffing out the hottest spots and tastiest morsels in town.

Mount-based photographer Jane Keam has spent time in the small coastal town of Mahia, capturing the connection between people and the land for her new book, The Land Remains; A Tribute to Mahia.

Bay of Plenty was originally named for the region’s bountiful abundance and, as each edition of Our Place has shown, there’s still plenty of important local stories to be told.

What are weeds exactly? It appears one man’s weed is another man’s feed... or shade, or even something that can help rebalance soil. Jim Annear takes another look at these much-maligned plants.

Escape readers and writers festival is finally back with a compelling line-up of storytellers, panels, live acts and more. Artistic director Gabrielle Vincent gives us an insight into “the little festival with big ideas”.