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Wellington Seafood Chowder — traditional dish from Wellington, New Zealand
Soup Fish & Seafood

Food Flavour DNA

Nutritional Values

🔥520kcal
💪35gProtein
🌾39gCarbs
🥑25gFat
🌿5gFibre
⚖️500 gServing

* Per serving · 500 g. May vary.

Allergens

🥛 Dairy 🌾 Gluten 🐟 Fish 🦐 Shellfish

Wellington Seafood Chowder

How to order / say it
Say it Wellington seafood chowder — [WEL-ing-tun SEE-food CHOW-der]
Order A bowl of Wellington seafood chowder, please.
Say locally

A creamy harbour-style soup combining local fish, shellfish, potatoes and aromatics.

Why try it?

Wellington’s steep hills, cold wind and working waterfront make chowder feel like a natural civic comfort food. It expresses the city’s habit of turning fresh Cook Strait seafood into generous, warming meals.

How it tastes

The broth is creamy, savoury and gently briny, with sweet shellfish and flaky fish throughout. Potatoes add softness while celery, leek and herbs provide a fresh, aromatic lift.

Origin & History — first documented: 1890

Seafood chowder entered Wellington cooking through British and Irish maritime traditions in the nineteenth century. Local cooks adapted it to the city’s abundant harbour catch, particularly from the late nineteenth century onward. Restaurants and waterfront eateries made Wellington-style seafood chowder a familiar twentieth-century staple.

Recipe

Ingredients

  • 🐟 250 g White fish
  • 🦐 200 g Mussels
  • 🥕 300 g Potatoes
  • 🧄 100 g Leek
  • 🥕 60 g Celery
  • 🐟 500 ml Fish stock
  • 🥛 150 ml Cream
  • 🌾 25 g Flour
  • 🥛 30 g Butter
  • 🌿 15 g Parsley

Method

  1. 1 Sweat leek and celery in butter until soft, then stir in flour.
  2. 2 Gradually add fish stock, whisking smooth, and add potatoes.
  3. 3 Simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes.
  4. 4 Add fish, mussels and cream, then simmer gently until the seafood is just cooked; finish with parsley.

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