Aotearoa’s plant based pioneers Grater Goods have just added a new item to their winter menu - The Dolphin Burger. 

 

Founder and CEO Flip Grater’s nickname (and stage name during her international music career) “Flipper” came about due to efforts to save Hector’s Dolphins in the 1990s as a teen activist fighting against drift netting in Banks Peninsula. The team at Grater Goods decided to take this mahi one step further and raise awareness by creating a dolphin burger.

 

“We started saying to each other, if we’re making faux meat anyway, why limit our options to animals people 

generally eat?” - Flip Grater 

 

This fully plant based burger consists of a piece of beer-battered “dolphin,” preserved lemon and kawakawa tartare, manuka smoked pickled ginger and fresh watercress on a sesame seed bun, topped with fried onion rings.

 

“Essentially we’ve imagined the dolphin meat a little more fish-like than it would actually be. We use local seaweed and brined tofu to create our dolphin fritter and the result is super delicious, as well as being a good talking point!” Grater Goods head chef and long time vegan Peter Franks.

 

The Dolphin Burger joins other creative plant based menu items such as Escarfaux (vegetarian ‘snails’ in garlic butter), The Fricken Burger (a housemade fried chicken alternative) and plant based pork crackling.

 

Aside from being NZ Music Month, May is also celebrated as Meat Free May, and marks Flip’s 27 year anniversary of eating plant based, aka her Veganniversary. 

 

The team at Grater Goods wanted to mark this milestone with further efforts for New Zealand’s endangered dolphin species. $5 from every burger purchased at Grater Goods Bistro will be donated to NZ Whale Dolphin Trust. 

 

The burger will run from June 1 for thriee month