The bounty of kaimoana around the shores of the South Island is being credited with helping to bring the biggest Maori performing arts show to Christchurch.
They city recently won a bid to host Te Matatini National Festival in 2015 - a major showcase of kapa haka.
Waitaha Cultural Council is organising the the event, which will be held in Hagley Park.
Deputy chairperson Rangimarie Parata-Takurua says they'll start at the heart, and then tempt visitors through their puku.
She says there are a lot of food supplies in the South Island - Maori kai that's not readily available in the North Island, such as mutton birds, Bluff oysters, crayfish, and tuna, or eel.
Ms Parata-Takurua says all of the seafood makes people salivate up north.