Raeward Fresh Blog
Tumjal Relish with James Hutton
James Hutton is your average kiwi. Average as in he was raised in this extraordinary country, travelled the world tasting much of what it had to offer, and then returned home to reinvent the New Zealand way of life. Hailing from the Lower Hutt region in Eastbourne, James is well connected to his community
Read more >>Culcha Butter with Nadiah Zainal
If you’ve been to France, and bought a roll of butter, and slathered a bit on a baguette, then you’ll understand what I’m about to say. There are simple pleasures in life which are so wonderful precisely because of the complexity of care and skill that has gone into the making of those pleasures. That
Read more >>The Midnight Baker with Yeshe Dawa
Yeshe Dawa (AKA the Midnight Baker) thinks differently. She sees the world from perspectives grounded in traditional wisdom and illuminated by innovative solutions. She is considerate, but beyond being polite, considers everything she does from a very deep place. And it’s from that place that Yeshe
Read more >>Farm Fresh South with Melissa and Logan
After tasting milk from Farm Fresh South you may be forgiven for thinking all other products are milk-like substances. It may be the fact that the 45 Friesian, Jersey and cross-breed cows on this sustainably managed farm are only getting milked once a day. It could also be that the lack of stress these
Read more >>A Lady Butcher with Hannah Miller
Lamb prosciutto? NZ Wagyu bresaola? Free ranged dry cured Pork Scotch (Coppa)? What kind of mind creates these innovative, highly localised, modern takes on traditional charcuterie? Who can pull off such delicious variants using meats which most butchers wouldn’t dare to diverge with? Introducing A
Read more >>PURE New Zealand Ice Cream with Anna Howard
It’s pretty rare to come across a product that completely surprises you with delight. Most foodies like myself have been around the culinary block enough times to accurately predict what we’re about to taste and experience. However, every now and then, you come across a product that changes
Read more >>Havoc Pork with Ian and Linda Jackson
Ian and Linda Jackson at Havoc Pork own a farm outside of Dunedin where they aim to create an open air, natural environment for their pigs to live with “minimal intervention, no antibiotics, and no growth promotants – just a good old healthy diet of locally grown grain and a few added ingredients
Read more >>Zenkuro Sake with David Joll
One of the main themes that has run through this blog is how New Zealanders (and new New Zealanders) have been able to travel the world and bring something marvelous back home – contextualizing it for kiwi culture by adding their own particular twist. For the most part these innovators have reinvented
Read more >>Ārepa with Angus Brown
I love tracking the invention of an outstanding artisan innovation. It’s like you can see the products’ ingredients forming in the back story of its creator. The DNA or substance of the thing can be traced right back to the innovators motivations, life experiences and serendipitous connections
Read more >>Pacific Harvest with Doug and Louise Fawcett
In general, seaweed as a food has gotten a bad rap. To start with, the name sea ‘weed’ implies it’s not edible or is an overgrown menace to it’s environment. Not true, Secondly, it has been relegated to a certain cuisine or to one type of food (sushi) even though it has grown
Read more >>For The Better Good blog with Jayden Klinac
Plastic bottled water can be good for you and the environment.There, I said it.To explain my not-very-PC tendencies, we’ll have to delve into a bit of biomimicry – where we learn how to mimic natural processes to remain part of an ecosystem instead of destroying it and thus end up being
Read more >>Wild Fennel Co. with Dan Pearson
So here’s an interesting lad. Dan Pearson grew up in Northampton England, a town who’s culinary roots span back to the proper paleo’s, then the Romans, the Danish and of course those ever-present scrappy English, who refused to give over to a protein centric or pasta based cuisine
Read more >>First Light Wagyu Beef with Jason Ross & Crew
Why is it, one wonders, that on average, one in three steaks we buy will be chewy and the other two, well, not so much. From rump to sirloin, getting a tender cut of beef can be a bit of a lottery in New Zealand. Of course there are some cuts that are more tender than others, but even within these categories
Read more >>Tio Pablo with Faine Alexander
For heaps of New Zealanders who have traveled abroad over the years and tasted amazing Mexican food, coming home to a lack of great ingredients has been more than a bit disappointing. In fact, having grown up in California and lived in Mexico, I was a bit shocked with my first exposure to Mexican food
Read more >>Line’s Knækbrød with Line Hart
One of the things New Zealand does for people is to create a bit of room to grow. Some fresh air if you will. As relatively small as these two gorgeous islands are, they seem to create heaps of space for people to either build on their diverse past, or, to reinvent themselves. The results, especially
Read more >>Jen’s Cozinha with Jennifer Viegas
If you’ve ever been to India and had the chance to stay in a friends home, where their mother or grandmother was in the kitchen, then you’ll know something about how years – even centuries – of tradition, skill and love go into the array of dishes being served. Even the smallest
Read more >>East Imperial with Anthony Burt and Kevin Law-Smith
One of the coolest traits surrounding Kiwi ingenuity isn’t just the No.-8-wire-ability to fix or recreate something, but to do so in such a manner that it becomes a world-class solution. You can see this “couldn’t find it so I made it” mentality across the board from the brilliant
Read more >>The Chocolate Company (and Wanaka Chocolates) with Tanja Schwindt
In my experience, the perfect salted caramel chocolate must have three things going for it. The chocolate has to be dark, perfectly smooth and thick enough to balance the caramel. The caramel should also be a bit darker – in the direction of an Argentinian dulce de leche – and not too chewy
Read more >>Altitude Brewing with Eliott Menzies
At 32 years old, Eliott Menzies and his Altitude beers are a bit of surprise. The man has an inordinate amount of brewing knowledge for a guy his age and his beers have an extraordinary depth of flavour and a refreshing balance for a craft startup of only three years running. Altitude’s presentation
Read more >>Hogarth Craft Chocolate with Karl Hogarth
The human tongue can detect fine particles down to about 20 microns. That’s 20 millionths of a meter, or very very fine. Which is why certain chocolates for instance, taste grainy whilst others are super smooth. Typically, a manufacturer more interested in bulk sales will not conch & grind
Read more >>Fresh As Herbs, Spices and Fruits with Tommy Roff
Now that winter is here, or supposed to be in Otago, I’m on the lookout for ingredients that are going to spike my ice creams with fresh fruitiness or flavour my lattes with intrigue or top my chocolate cakes with panache or garnish my huevos rancheros with roasted and fresh herbs… Problem is
Read more >>Abel Methode Cider w/ Mark & Sophie McGill
I opened my first bottle of Abel Methode Cider today, over lunch, with quesadillas of all things. I wanted something salty and rich to pair alongside the Nelson made cider to see how it would hold up with my memories in London and the heady pot pie & cider pub meals I’ve had. The elegant bottle
Read more >>Genevieve’s Parfait, Mousse & Dressing with Genevieve Knights
The other night I held a dinner party where we took a diverse range of fresh lettuces and edible flowers from the garden, washed them, kept the roots on and set them on the table. My guests loved trying the various chicory, spinach, and beetroot leaves for instance, paired with purple viola’s
Read more >>Bennetto's Drinking / Eating Chocolate with Lucy Bennetto
Lucy Bennetto is a curious soul. “Why” she wonders for instance, “are people so discerning when if comes to crafted beer or coffee, but when it comes to drinking chocolate, they’ll accept a crappy overly sugared drink?”. A good question to which Lucy has worked hard to
Read more >>pure delish with Karen (Kaz) Staples
Karen Staples grew up in Auckland amongst a large family of foodies. As a child, she loved hanging around the kitchen reading cookbooks and experimenting with baking recipes which she trialled on her three bothers. Eventually she became the go-to person in the fam when it came to birthday cakes, or
Read more >>Wildness Chocolate with Marie-Loic Monmont
Exceptional foods usually have an exceptional personality behind them. What I usually find encapsulated in a unique bite of chocolate say, is a combination of ingredients, experiences and ethos that come together in that product. It’s like the flavours, mouth feel and endorphin reactors are all
Read more >>Proper Crisps with Ed & Mina Smith, Tina-Maree Thomas & crew
As a typical British boy, Stewart Franklin loved his ‘crisps’. He even sold them as a kid growing up in the UK. As a young man, however, his not-so-typical side emerged and he travelled to New Zealand, landing in sunny Nelson. Having worked in the crisps industry in the UK, Stewart wondered
Read more >>Bonnie Goods Oatcakes with Morgan & Nic Maw
On most mornings of the week Morgan Maw gets on her bicycle and rides a few minutes through Eden Terrace to Bonnie Goods’ kitchen. She’ll turn on the ovens, heave a large bag of Otago oats onto the counter, and mix up a batch of dough. Morgan will take her substantial rolling pin and level
Read more >>Be Nourished with Joanna Nolan
With the notable exceptions of the preservation of corn and fish by the Maori, the only other real Kiwi fermentation tradition has been the making of beer. The Germans have their sauerkraut, the Koreans have their Kimchi and the American Midwesterners have pickled just about everything else. Cold climate
Read more >>She Chocolates with Oonagh Browne
Oonagh Browne makes chocolate from the heart. She chooses ingredients based on her inner passions and combines them in ways that delight her soul. Her production process is a meditation of sorts, whereby she forms each chocolate rolled ginger, or sesame thin slab, with the intention to bless. She shares
Read more >>Tom & Luke Bars with Tom Dorman & Luke Cooper
Tom grew up in Wellington where he thinks his first word was “McDonalds”. You would have known him at the time as the fatter kid in class, hanging out with his mates at the tuck shop downing lollies to soothe those primary school blues. Even though Tom’s parents were health conscious
Read more >>Raglan Coconut Yoghurt
They say it takes a tribe to raise a child. In this case Mr & Mrs Coconut have been the proud parents and the community of Raglan have been the supportive village. Raglan Coconut Yoghurt is the prodigy of this creative community – born of love and collaboration – and what a beautiful
Read more >>Clevedon Buffalo Mozzarella with Helen & Richard
Just for fun, Richard and Helen Dorresteyn started the Clevedon Farmers Market around 10 years ago. Actually, they were also a little bit tired of buying all the manky fruit and veg being dumped in their local stores, especially given that they lived out of town by many of the produce farms supplying
Read more >>Serious Popcorn with Roger Holmes
Not to brag, but I happen to be an expert on popcorn. Growing up in the U.S., I’ve sampled hundreds of variations from Cracker Jacks to your standard movie going fare, to gourmet kettle corn popped in a large cast iron caldron on the spot. I’ve created dozens of variations at home from miners
Read more >>All Good Drinks with Chris Morrison
You can find All Good Fizzy drinks at Raeward Fresh stores all over the South Island. There are a gazillion drinks available on the market today – and most of them are average. So, when you take a swig of something that surprises your palette and gives you pause to take a second look at the bottle
Read more >>the Kefir company with Anita & Terry Kyle
Most of us have an intuitive sense about the sorts of foods our bodies need. What good things we may know about our personal nutrition are, however, all too often overridden by sugar cravings, stress, comfort foods, tempting Christmas treats… or all of the above. Our daily battles with food often
Read more >>Provisions founded by Jane Shaw
(2020 update: Provisions was sold the Benjer Gold in 2019 who is still making all the same goodies in the same Cromwell location) Originally harking from Hawkes Bay, Jane Shaw grew up accustomed to the bounty of New Zealand produce. Well-rounded farmers markets providing a direct farm-to-table link
Read more >>YUM Granola With Sarah Hedger
Sarah Hedger has had a quite a journey of the heart. She grew up in San Louis Obispo, California, reading cookbooks from cover to cover with parents who made all their food from scratch. She also loved (and still does) food writing and started an organic soup company. When it came to making a decision
Read more >>Bostock Chickens with Ben Bostock
¢ Bostock Chickens can be found at Raeward Fresh Queenstown Ben Bostock runs an organic chicken farm. At first glance, this may not seem that interesting given our our well-greased marketing world of slick, modern grocery stores where every other product flashes the ‘organics’ title. However
Read more >>Coppersfolly Pure Wasabi with Fenton Wood
It always amazes me how New Zealand can adopt a wide range of diverse crops and grow them, in many cases, as good as or better than where they originally came from. Our hazelnuts for instance, often do better here than their European cousins. Our pine nuts don’t suffer from the same pests as in
Read more >>Blueskin Bay Honey with David Milne
Imagine having your own beehives surrounded by wild Manuka and Kanuka trees bordering the sea. Imagine having a guy managing these hives for you, someone who’s worked with bees for years and who knows how to keep your hives as single origin or a mix of wildflowers, as you like. Imagine the unusual
Read more >>Goodies on the Gorge
(2020 update: Goodies on the Gorge has been sold and is now trading as Double Rock) At the age of 11, David White found himself wandering the summer fields of Yorkshire with not much to do. His father had recently been made redundant and so their low cost holiday consisted simply of a caravan parked
Read more >>Zoe's Gardens with Kelvin Speirs
Kelvin Speirs has a knack for managing abundance. Like most gardeners, he has to find creative ways to put a glut of beetroot, or zucchini, or red peppers to good use when they all come ready to harvest at once. Kelvin will trundle off to the Thorndon Markets with some of his fresh produce each week
Read more >>Paneton Bakery with Dominique Colombié
Dominique Colombi̩ grew up in the South-west of France where baking is a sacred art. His father ran a patisserie and taught Dominique how to bake using classic French techniques. This meant using a simple list of high quality ingredients Рincluding local butter which is a wondrous thing in France
Read more >>Dr Feelgood Frozen Pops with Craig Jackson
Craig Jackson is quite a character. A quintessentially Kiwi character in many regards but, this being 2015, he’s one of the well travelled, highly skilled, creative and entrepreneurial breed of quintessential Kiwi’s. At 52 years old Craig is making a career transition into the kind of job
Read more >>Akaroa Salmon with Tom & Duncan Bates
Duncan Bates and his father Tom are classic farmers. They care for their stock, they love the land (and sea) and they have an innate ability to solve problems with very practical solutions. Farming is in their blood and therefore their hearts. In listening to their story, you get the sense that they
Read more >>Fix & Fogg Peanut Butter with Roman & Andrea Jewell
I love how artisanal practices are being reapplied to today’s necessities. Artisan bread, jams, cheese, beer, chocolate (a necessity for me at least) are all enriching daily life. Somehow in the madness of mechanized food production – or maybe because of it – there emerged neo-pioneers
Read more >>Cannonhill Gourmet with Tony & Karen Elliott
Tony & Karen Elliott are farmers market experts. Seems they’ve learned exactly what people want in say an aioli or chutney, by offering samples and selling small batches of their creations to discerning foodies before putting a proper label on a pottle. Starting off at the Riccarton Rotary
Read more >>Leelands Lamb
It’s a real privilege to connect with the people who grow what we eat. Getting out to farmer’s markets or dealing directly with the suppliers of our meat, produce and dairy seems part of our cultural longing to move away from industrialized food. At Raeward Fresh Queenstown (formerly Mediterranean
Read more >>Pure Coco with the Mclachlan Family
For many of our boutique suppliers, serendipity seems to play a key role in the development of their companies and products. It’s fascinating to observe how seemingly random life events may eventually pull together to form, say, an amazing coconut sugar, oil or raw cacao bar. As a customer walking
Read more >>Pure Ice Cream with - Richard & Tracey Bullock
If you’ve ever made your own ice cream and done it well, you’ll know the results are hard to beat. My personal favourite: I absolutely love whipping a bit of cream, stirring in some Argentinean Dulce Leche (caramel), sprinkling on a bit of Marlborough sea salt, then throwing it in the freezer
Read more >>Sausage Rolls from our chef Anne Halson
Anne Halson re-creates the classic sausage roll using Greek lamb Here are a few tips for your next picnic outing. Ingredients Greek lamb Sausages Flakey pastry or savoury short crust Asparagus (raw) Roasted red peppers (either jarred or your own) Onion marmalade (again substitute for your favourite
Read more >>Make It Raw with Julia Brown
Problem: I know I should be eating more fresh fruit and veg in my diet, and as many raw things as possible (like nuts and kale and such) but, a lot of the time, and especially in winter, I want something crunchy and a little sweet or tad bit salty to snack on, and I’m not inclined to go for a
Read more >>Off Our Tree Cherries, with Gary & Ali Jackson
Gary and Ali Jackson grow cherries out near Cromwell. Big, giant, plum-sized cherries. Cherries that burst with dark red sweetness and send a hit of melatonin to your brain, making you want to keep eating them past sated into that happy and pleasure-filled, drowsily euphoric (that’s the melatonin)
Read more >>Inch Valley Preserves with Maria Barta & Jim Hinkley
Imagine living on a wee, well-established orchard budding with black currants, red currants, gooseberries, plums, quinces, crab apples and damson plums. Now, add a lovely historic home equipped with a commercial kitchen in which to create jams, jellies, mustards and even verjuice to your heart’s
Read more >>Alpine Gold fruit juices and cider
In a world of sickly sweet fruit drinks made with too many additives, or, from concentrated old fruit, it’s a real pleasure to twist open a bottle from Alpine Gold and taste the real thing – fresh fruit picked and pressed like you made it yourself. It’s so good, you’d think every
Read more >>Weka Olive Oil with Peter and Laraine Rothenberg
The word serendipity was first coined by Horace Walpole in 1754 describing people who were “always making discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which they were not in quest of”. This well describes the tale of Peter and Laraine Rothenberg’s journey and the creation of WEKA
Read more >>Pinoli Pine Nuts with Zoë Thompson & Lee Paterson
Growing pine nuts is an exercise in patience. The European stone pine (pinus pinea) takes around 10 to 12 years to produce it’s first edible nuts, but then doesn’t really come into maturity until it’s 40 years old. The cone itself (which houses the seeds – that we call the ‘nuts’)
Read more >>ROAR Foods with Gabriel Power
Gabriel Power. What a name. It conjures up images of MI 6 exploits in Istanbul or at least, a guy who really knows his super foods. Gabriel even looks like he could be up to some kind of international do-gooding – which would not have been the case if you knew him growing up. Instead, Gabriel
Read more >>Foundation Foods Stocks & Glazes
The difference between an average meal and one that’s really special is all about the layers of flavour and seasonings that have gone into its preparation. For instance, a great soup is built upon an outstanding stock. And great stocks require someone to put hours of work into developing them
Read more >>Anne Halson's  Fennel & Coconut Tart with Wanaka Organics Eggs
Fennel and Coconut Tart (GF) with Wanaka Organics pastured eggs Our lovely chef Anne Halson has come up with a tasty treat using John McRae’s eggs from the rolling hills around lake Wanaka. Perfect for a summers picnic or, if you live near Queenstown in January, a snack by the fire (it was 8Ëš
Read more >>Crystal Gardens Lettuce
For our maiden Raeward Fresh blog expedition, we visit two Queenstown trailblazers, Andrew and Erika Colby of Crystal Gardens, they’re like a force of nature. Andrew was drawn to the Queenstown region back in the mid ’80s during an initial visit. He decided to sell up everything, pack his
Read more >>Chef Anne Halson's Tuna Potato Cakes
Anne has a wonderful ability to transform fresh ingredients from Raeward Fresh into delicious creations. Here, she shares her recipe for fresh tuna and Desiree potato cakes. Check out her other recipes at Fresh Kitchen. Ingredients: 4 large Desiree potatoes Half this volume of fresh tuna Japanese mayonnaise
Read more >>Johnny Bath's hand made sausages
Johnny Bath is our beloved (former) butcher. He’s a strong man with a ready smile. His exceptional butchery skills and his eagerness to create something new are fixtures of Raeward Fresh’s deli. When he’s not spooling out some butchers twine to help a customer with their roast, or
Read more >>The People's Bread with Ruth & Jeremy Heath
Ruth & kids out on a bread delivery, as you do. Available at Raeward Fresh in Queenstown. • The People’s Bread can be found at Raeward Fresh Queenstown Living just outside of Westport at the time, Ruth and Jeremy Heath began their journey into Sourdough over 10 years ago when a chef friend
Read more >>European Bakery
(2020 update: Last year the Scheider’s sold the European Bakery to Peter Price & Amanda O’Donoghue who are carrying on the tradition) The cool thing about Andre and Daniela Schneider is that they’re in love. They love each other and the baking adventures they’ve been on together
Read more >>Renés Kombucha
Some years ago Kombucha was considered a hippie drink, found only at the most hardcore health stores (you know, the stores that smell like seaweed) or in your alternative neighbor’s pantry along with their stash of ‘herbed’ brownies. That strange brew would have been made from secret
Read more >>The Kitchen at Raeward Fresh
It’s no small feat that each and every day the kitchen at Raeward Fresh (formerly the Mediterranean Market) produces a brand new range of salads, savouries, sandwiches, meats and catering orders. The food is always fresh and flows with the seasons. When the figs are ripe, the kitchen is inspired
Read more >>Chef Jonathan Rogers & Matakauri Lodge
(2020 update: Chef Rogers has recently published an outstanding cookbook titled SOUTH – which you can purchase from Matakauri Lodge) Last week I sat down for a drink in Matakauri Lodge’s main dining room with head chef Jonathan Rogers, talking food and taking in the ambiance of this gorgeous
Read more >>Chia Drinks with Chloe Van Dyke (and her dad)
Chloe Van Dyke is an intelligent, active woman. After completing her Otago University BSC in neuroscience, a post grad focus on Alzheimers and a diploma in Herbal Medicine from the Waikato Centre of Herbal Medicine, she went off to India to trial the the benefits of a food relatively new to New Zealand
Read more >>Mauro Viale from the Empanada Kitchen
Mauro Viale grew up in Argentina with his Italian parents. He’s traveled and worked through the Basque Country of Northern Spain right through the hills of Northern Italy. He learned to cook Japanese food in Buenos Aires, Southern Italian food in Melbourne and is now making Spanish food in Central
Read more >>Greek yogurt labneh balls
Anne Halson’s greek yogurt labneh balls using Retro Organics whole milk and Basil & Parsley’s herbs. Check out more recipes from Anne at her food blog – Fresh Kitchen. Labneh balls have a clean, fresh flavour and go oh so well with breads, crostini or bruschetta. Ingredients: 2
Read more >>Jenny Lamond's Scroggin Biscuits
As promised, here’s Jenny Lamond’s yummy scroggin biscuit recipe:Makes around 20 biscuitsIngredients:DRY1/2 cup sugar1/4 tsp salt1 cup rolled oats1/4 cup sultanas1/4 cup toasted almonds (whole)1/4 cup chocolate chips1 cup flour1 tsp baking soda1/2 cup brown sugarWET1 egg75g unsalted butter
Read more >>Lamb Salad from Chef Anne Halson
Anne Halson’s Lamb Salad with Chermoula Dressing While visiting Leelands Lamb last week, Sue French kindly gave us a few cuts of their thick flank mini roast to create some deliciousness with back at Raeward Fresh. Our in-house chef Anne Halson (an expert in creating deliciousness), came up with
Read more >>Basil, Parsley & Partners
More than 20 years ago Bob Tovey left the U.K. for his big OE (overseas experience) looking for an adventure. Traveling on the bus from Christchurch to Queenstown, he was “gobsmacked” by the dramatic beauty of the Lindiss Pass and the Kawarau Gorge. Like a lot of newcomers, Bob worked in
Read more >>Jenny Lamond & Anouva Settin's Fabulous Creations
Jenny Lamond has been baking ever since she can remember. As a child, she remembers ‘repurposing’ an old wooden apricot box into a makeshift oven with which to ‘bake’ her mud pies. Not quite achieving the flavour she hoped for, she went on at the mature age of 10 to help at her
Read more >>The Mediterranean Market (now Raeward Fresh) turns 10 years old
There’s a nice writeup in the Otago Daily Times about the Market, it’s history and the coming 10 year anniversary celebrations happening from November 11 to 20. You can see the article by clicking here. And, don’t forget to come by the market for a special cutting of the 10-tier, metre-high
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