2026 Fresh caviar season opens
Mt Cook Alpine Salmon has started producing its 2026 First of Season fresh caviar, releasing the first tins of its premium Freshwater King Salmon caviar for a few short weeks only.
Mt Cook Alpine Salmon has started producing its 2026 First of Season fresh caviar, releasing the first tins of its premium Freshwater King Salmon caviar for a few short weeks only.
Produced in Christchurch from salmon grown exclusively for caviar, Mt Cook caviar is made to order with no pasteurisation, no chemicals and no preservatives other than salt.
This is the sixth year Mt Cook Alpine Salmon has produced its Freshwater King Salmon caviar, with this season’s range available in three flavours: Malossol, Ikura and the new Pink Gin Caviar.
“New Zealand chefs have really embraced our fresh caviar, they get their orders in early, so most of it’s headed to restaurants in Auckland and Queenstown. It’s a very short window, and we never know exactly when it’s going to start or end, so our teams are very relieved the season is off to a great start. This year’s caviar looks absolutely stunning,” says CEO Todd Grave.
This year, the season will be celebrated through a series of special events in Auckland and Wellington.
It kicks off with a fundraising event in Auckland on Saturday, 6 June. Mt Cook Alpine Salmon has partnered with the dedicated team at Everybody Eats and the Bocuse d’Or Team New Zealand (currently preparing for the world’s most prestigious chef championship) to create a whole-salmon dining experience ‘Roe to Tail’ that will feature the First of Season caviar. The evening will raise funds for Everybody Eats in Auckland – a charitable restaurant that transforms rescued ingredients into high-quality meals on a pay-what-you-can basis. Details here.
“We’re proud to contribute our fresh caviar and salmon to such an amazing event and worthwhile cause and just delighted to have brought these two organisations together. I can’t wait to see the final menu from Bocuse d’Or, it promises to be an extraordinary evening,” says Grave.
For the first time, Wellington diners will have the opportunity to experience a Salmon and Caviar special menu at the Jardin Grill at Sofitel Wellington while the caviar is in season.
The popular annual Rooftop Caviar Celebration at SO/ Auckland’s rooftop bar returns for its third year with caviar bumps, sashimi and Billecart-Salmon Champagne on Friday 12 June. (Details here.)
The fresh First of Season caviar is made to order and will also be available at select restaurants and luxury lodges for the next three weeks. The caviar will be available frozen for the rest of the year – until it runs out.
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Mt Cook Alpine Salmon caviar is hand-crafted into three infusions:
- Malossol, the traditional Russian method that gently brines the roe
- Ikura, a Japanese classic method of curing using soy and sake
- Pink Gin, delicately cured with Humdinger Gin’s Pink Gin from Geraldine in the South Island.
Photos (L-R):
- Mt Cook Alpine Salmon Advanced Products Manager Luke Jacobs with the first batch of the First of Season Caviar ready to be flown to Auckland (28 May 2026)
- National Foodservice Sales Manager Michael Sprague and Marketing Executive Kirstin Yee at last year’s Rooftop Caviar Celebration event.
- A ‘bump’ of caviar and tin of caviar.
