About

Thomas and Sheena Southam are the husband and wife team of Chasing a Plate. They are Kiwi presenters, videographers, writers and photographers who explore different cultures using food as their lens- sharing their experiences on their YouTube channel, blog and social media platforms with a combined following of over 195,000+ and over 26 million YouTube channel views. 

Thomas and Sheena travelled on a full time basis for 4 years in search of the best food around the world. They delve into a country’s food culture by seeking out the spots where locals eat- with a particular focus on markets, street stalls and mom and pop restaurants. They hunt down traditional foods and iconic dishes, travelling off the beaten path to get to the heart of a destination’s food identity. They capture their food experiences on video for their audience of food lovers- people who travel to eat!

Returning home to New Zealand in 2020, Chasing a Plate now has a heavy focus on showcasing the phenomenal food culture of Aotearoa New Zealand. A recent video series follows their travels from the tip of the North Island to the bottom of the South Island in a camper van showcasing wineries, restaurants, oyster, crayfish and pāua fishers, organic dairy farmers and more. Recent partnerships to showcase and promote Tāmaki Makaurau Auckland’s dining scene include Tātaki Auckland Unlimited, Panmure Business Association, Dominion Road Business Association and Northcote Business Association.  Chasing a Plate have just released a series in partnership with Northland Inc highlighting Northland’s food and beverage scene.

Chasing a Plate appeared on The AM Show in June 2021. Chasing a Plate were bi-monthly contributors of a food and travel column in New Zealand Herald’s Be Well magazine from January 2019- March 2020 when the magazine was put on hiatus as a result of the pandemic.  Chasing a Plate were 2019 finalists in the Best Culinary Travel category of the Saveur Blog Awards and have been featured in New Zealand Herald’s Viva magazine and Nadia magazine.

Why are we qualified to create content about food & travel?

We live to eat and travel. Chasing a Plate started as a Melbourne based food blog in 2013 borne from our love of finding the best food in a city renowned for its eateries. Over the past 10 years we have travelled to over 30+ countries. We’re all about veering from the well-trodden tourist path to hunt down local food with great stories and histories. We eat our way through cities to find the best renditions of a dish.

In October 2016 we packed up our apartment, hopped on a plane and started travelling full-time.  We created Chasing a Plate, the YouTube channel so we could bring our audience along on our eating adventures in a more engaging way. Through videography, writing and photography we want to showcase destinations through their food cultures and inspire our audience to experience it for themselves.