October 7, 2009
As a chef, I am often asked how I arrive at the dishes I create. It’s a question I take very seriously. The inspiration comes, maybe, from a certain colour in the morning sky, or a certain plant or vegetable that arriving in my kitchens in the morning. In any case, it is hopeful. My [...]
March 29, 2009
It was at a very young age that I discovered the joy of cooking for others, and the more elaborate the cooking, the more I thought of them. This still holds true for me today. So, let’s go back to the memories of my first kitchen, the Bridge Hotel, Matawhero, seven clicks south of Gisborne. [...]
February 2, 2009
The sun sparkles on the water and from my view in the kitchen I can see yachts slowly rising and falling. The restaurant’s outside deck is filling fast and I am getting ready to go and go hard. Yes, I am a little nervous that the fishing boats haven’t been out for two days but [...]
December 16, 2008
Against the tide of the glinting, stainless steel, wind-up wine-making machinery of modern wineries, there is a small band of boutique winemakers who want to feel their grapes like new born babes in their hands.
Tim Turvey of Clearview Estate is one such winemaker. Way back when, he was studying town planning at varsity and known [...]
November 14, 2008
Recently a friend of mine was telling me of the shortage of good cooks-indeed, all restaurant staff–in Melbourne. He added that restaurant wages and conditions there appear to be on par with those in this country, including the trend to very quiet business early in the week, followed by swelling numbers on the weekend.
I mention [...]
September 20, 2008
Against the avalanche of decor driven dining rooms and large budget wineries within the Hawke’s Bay landscape of destination tourism and media hype, there is a quiet revolution taking place. The revolutionaries are thoughtful, intelligent, passionate career chefs. Cooks that are not buying into the elitism of competition, ladder climbing and kissing butt.
One such [...]
August 9, 2008
Tales of the Humble Snail and a Recipe
Recently, from the English village of Bray in Berkshire (pop 6,000) we hear that Heston Blumenthal’s The Fat Duck restaurant has again been named one of the best in the world by the Guide Michelin. Interestingly enough, one of its signature dishes celebrates the humble snail. [...]
Guest Writers
- Alan Dick
- Allan Baldock
- Andrew Newman
- Andy Walker
- Angela Hair
- Anna Lorck
- Anne Tolley
- Anne Wilson-Hunt
- Arts in Profile
- Barbara Arnott
- Brendan Webb
- Brian Duggan
- Bridget Sutherland
- Brooks Belford
- Chris Tremain
- Claire Hague
- Claire Vogtherr
- Craig Foss
- Dale Moffett
- Damon Harvey
- David Cranwell
- Dean Hyde
- Des Ratima
- Diana Kirton
- Dinah Williams
- Douglas Lloyd Jenkins
- Elizabeth Sisson
- Ewan McGregor
- Georgina Miller
- Hastings, Napier & Regional Councillors
- HB Wine Country Tourism
- Helen Clark
- Henare O'Keefe
- Iain Maxwell
- Ian Purdon
- Jacob Scott
- Janet Takarangi
- Jeff Harman
- John Newland
- Judith Anderson
- Katherine Edmond
- Kathy Webb
- Keith Newman
- Kent Baddeley
- Kevin Snee
- Kevin Trerise
- Kim Thorp
- Kym Hamilton
- Lawrence Yule
- Liz Remmerswaal
- Local Students
- Louis Chambers
- Margaret Cranwell
- Marie Dunningham
- Mark Cleary
- Mark Story
- Mark Sweet
- Matthew Miller
- Metiria Turei
- Michael Wan
- Mick Lester
- Mike Mohi
- Morry Black
- Murray Douglas
- Neil Kirton
- Neville Smith
- Ngahiwi Tomoana
- Nick Stewart
- Pat Magill
- Paul Paynter
- Peter Holley
- Phyllis Tichinin
- Rachel Cornwall
- Raewyn Peart
- Rick Barker
- Robert Burnside
- Robin Gwynn
- Rod Drury
- Roger Coleman
- Roy Dunningham
- Russel Norman
- Sean Bevin
- Shaun Lines
- Simon Nixon
- Sophie Stewart
- Stuart Nash
- Tim Gilbertson
- Tom Belford
- Wayne Bradshaw
- Alan Dick on Sack the Hearings Committee
- Dean Hyde (Whanganui) on Sack the Hearings Committee
- Bruce Bisset on Sack the Hearings Committee
- Pat Magil on More on Magic 150 Words
- Honoria Ropiha on The Magic 150 Words
- Jacoby Poulain on More on Magic 150 Words
- Anne Wilson-Hunt on More on Magic 150 Words
- Dave Pipe on More on Magic 150 Words
- Pat Magil on More on Magic 150 Words
- John Roil on More on Magic 150 Words
- Alan Dick on Sack the Hearings Committee
- Dean Hyde (Whanganui) on Sack the Hearings Committee
- Bruce Bisset on Sack the Hearings Committee
- Pat Magil on More on Magic 150 Words
- Honoria Ropiha on The Magic 150 Words
- Jacoby Poulain on More on Magic 150 Words
- Anne Wilson-Hunt on More on Magic 150 Words
- Dave Pipe on More on Magic 150 Words
- Pat Magil on More on Magic 150 Words
- John Roil on More on Magic 150 Words
