The market, Kai Puāwai, held by culinary arts students featured six food stalls centred around uplifting and transforming "rescued" food items, pairing them with spring produce from Otago.
Culinary student Storm Taana said after being assigned pastry and greens "the group has come together and done really well to get to this point".
They created the puff patch — pastries filled with a mushroom soil base and fresh spring greens paired with green juice.
"Manaakitanga caring for the environment, foraging our own greens and engaging with the community" had all been positive learning experiences, she said.
An Otago Polytechnic spokesman said 28 culinary management and leadership students took part in the Manaakitaka for Kai event to produce a range of high-quality menu items.
Rescued items given to the programme included food items which might normally have been discarded, such as unusual cuts of meat, fish by-catch and products deemed "not export quality".
The food market was the first end-of-year student showcase event across the practical programmes at Otago Polytechnic.
The student-led event, held in the Manaaki Restaurant Courtyard, boasted six menu items including fish tacos, savoury potato doughnuts and puff pastry "planter boxes", which students had been designing and developing since last month.
Food Design Institute lecturer Hayley Dodd said making students focus on rescued ingredients was invaluable as it pushed them to "think differently about food" and see value in what was already around them "rather than chasing perfect produce".
"This event gives the students a real-world opportunity to develop and showcase a wide range of industry-applicable events," she said.
