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 Williams Warne mini brewery to the stunning America’s Cup racing yachts. And now, thanks to the minds and hearts of the Kiwi-American collaboration between Parnell native Anthony Burt and Kenya, Singapore, South Korea and Boston native Kevin Law-Smith. You can add the world’s best tonic waters right up there alongside Richard Pearce’s (flying machines) and Bruce McLaren’s (racing machines) gear. Hyperbole you say? I say you’ll have to try these tonics to see for yourself.

Perhaps the struggle to equate a tonic water with something as flash as a Formula One machine is that most tonics are boring as. Or, that they’re so much pop, fizz and sugar that they’re easily dismissed as inconsequential. This however would not have been the case upon their invention, when the jungles of Southeast Asia could kill a man via mosquito and quinine became an essential “tonic” or treatment against the disease. The invention that came next, namely, gin & tonic, became an essential way to cope with the bitterness of the cinchona tree bark from which quinine is derived, as well as coping with other life issues ever since. In fact, if you look closely at the original tonic accompanying those early gin mixes, you would find something quite extraordinary in both it’s history and affect.

In terms of kiwi invention, I think what Anthony and Kevin have recaptured here is the affect of gin and tonic. A lot of people have tried to create mixers that would blend well with an average gin, and have succeeded in making something equally average if not overly carbonated and sugared. What the boys from Auckland have managed instead, is to tap back into the original idea, recipes, ingredients and uniqueness of the historical G&T. How they’ve done this is really the backbone of their story.

As artisan gin’s started making a comeback in the last 10 years, Kevin and Anthony noted that there wan’t a proper tonic available which didn’t wipe out the distinct flavours – sometimes herbaceous, sometimes spirited – of these outstanding varieties. On noting the lack, Kevin was reminded that his great grandfather had a recipe dating back to Kenya circa 1903 which described the making of the tonic of his day. This core recipe became the basis of trial and error until the fellas settled on two heirloom quinine sources in Asia, artesian water from Nelson and a few other authentic ingredients to make up the range of tonics they perfected. The other aspect of their invention is a nod to the original by calling the company East Imperial, an homage to both the origin of the drink’s ingredients and a reminder that the word imperial, back in the day, referred to something exceptional, or the best you could find. What they’ve managed, I think, is a striking combination of both an exceptional – even imperial – product and a brand / communication which could not have been displayed in a better fashion. A reminder of something beautiful, almost forgotten, restored for the rest of us.

These two facts have not been lost on the bartenders of the world who by nature are nomadic and tend to share their secrets with the top five or six establishments they may work at around the show over a two to three year period. As a result, this little Kiwi company touting a historic comeback is now in over 32 countries and being poured at some of the worlds finest establishments from the iconic 28 Hong Kong Street in Singapore to the ancient Savoy in London. Places where the subtle juniper of Tanqueray or the botanicals of even our local Broken Heart Gin want to shine through, being well supported by a lightly carbonated, beautifully crafted tonic. East Imperial have not stopped at the first gate however and have gone on to create a line of tonics that are fabulous in a range of drinks. Having some friends over this weekend (South by 42below and Bombay Saphire from across the world) along with a few people to share, we took the range for a spin and were so delightfully surprised at the restraint, subtle invention and sometimes gobsmackingly bright (that would be the grapefruit tonic) that we reigned down praise on each other for our good taste in both gin and mixer, and of course, ultimately each other. We tip our hats to these guys, their wives, their friends and who have all joined in the bringing back of something special in the world, something almost lost to the habits of large manufacturers and thus the habits formed in us. Here’s to the reforming of our taste buds and of our celebrations.

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. Finally, if it’s a salted caramel, the salt should be significant enough in quantity to stand on it’s own alongside the other two strong flavors. Typically, most companies get one or two of these things right. Tanja Schwindt of Wanaka’s The Chocolate Workshop nails all three of these things with a kind of beautiful gusto – like a person who isn’t afraid of taking some standard fare and pushing it right out to it’s own limits. I love that.

I also love how Tanja is reimagining other classics like her dark or milk chocolate peanut butter cups while taking entirely new directions with, for instance, pairing traditional Japanese ingredients like Sake or Wasabi in the creation of specialized chocolate bento boxes. Whoa! Who does that? This girl must have grown up with French patesserier parents living in a foodie ashram somewhere up near Shangri La right? Nope. Tanja grew up in Mannheim Germany, which, while not quite being the Detroit of Europe, is not really known for it’s culinary history. So how does this add up, I had to ask.

Tanja tells me that Mannheim did indeed have a variety of different foods and cultures but that wasn’t her inspiration. She did live close enough to France to be influenced by patisserie culture there as well but it was actually during her degree in Hotel Management in Germany where she took a pastry course that went deep into her psyche, something that would emerge years later. She continued working for a hotel chain until the feeling of being suffocated in a crowded city became too much and she took a job offer from a friend in Wanaka. Arriving in NZ, even while managing a back packers and later working in food services, Tanja loved the sense of open space, open minds and the general positivity of the region.

As Tanja returned to being her self again, the idea of making chocolate reemerged. She started at home, making treats for the local market which went so well that she decided to form The Chocolate Workshop in 2012. In 2014 Tanja bought the Wanaka Chocolates business as well. The purity of her ingredients, flavours and pairings had always been a strength of Tanja’s and she continued to push those envelopes until she grew from the markets right through to our shelves at Raeward Fresh. But this is only the beginning, or new beginnings for Tanja.

As we’ve seen with so many of our wonderfully creative producers, the melding of other cultures and histories with the spirit and environment of New Zealand amplifies their ideas and products, upping everyones food game. For instance, when Tanja made her bento box of chocolates, she collaborated with David Joll (of Zenkuro Sake, the only Kiwi brewing Sake in NZ) of Queenstown to create this unique pairing of cultures. It’s this place, and these people of different origins and experiences that makes the kinds of products at Raeward Fresh, the market stalls around the country and even the shelves of stores around the world shine with a kind of foodie wonder – where you pick up that box of salted caramel chocolates and just have to say “Wow”!

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 has all the markings of coming from a huge ad agency (nope, just a cool friend of his, Lisa Te-Awhitu) and you can find these hefty bottles in some of the best wine and beer bars in the country. On top of all this, Altitude Brewing has been wining awards over the last two years now, competing against more established breweries showing what it’s really made of. Which again, I find surprising coming from this bearded good natured young fellow who could just as easily be your local barista or graphic designer. After a pallet popping beer tasting Eliott deftly delivered at Kinloch Lodge a few weeks ago, I decided to follow him up and get the back story behind these amazing brews.

Eliott grew up around Nelson, mostly on land. His parents moved around a bit and decided at one point to live on a boat sailing around the Marlborough Sounds. So for two and a half years Eliott and his two younger brothers lived at sea. Being home schooled before and during this time (Eliott’s mum is a teacher), he learned to make stuff as part of his curriculum and life on the boat. One of the things he made for instance, was a ginger beer for a local home brew competition held at The Bay of Many Coves. There was of course, a few exploding bottles along the way but Eliott eventually mastered the brew, getting feedback from the local kids, all quaffing their ginger beer and sharing tasting notes in a hut on the beach. This explains much of Eliott’s early education.

From the sunny north (of the South Island) the Menzies moved to the snowy south (of Queenstown) where Eliott went to high school, continuing his appreciation for local brews with memories of great beers being served to his family at McNeill’s Brewery (now Sasso), a classic 1882 stone residence built by the Scottish James McNeill which was converted to a local brewery in the 1970s. After high school and before Uni Eliott went to Scotland where his craft beer experience went much deeper, working at the Clachaig Inn where they had 12 hand pumps of local beers on offer. One of the local breweries in the region, Atlas, gave Eliott a job a few days a month where he was able to get into the belly of the beast and see the entire old-world process, albeit mostly from the vantage point of digging out tanks and washing down floors. A home schooler at heart though, Eliott took this as a learning opportunity and soaked up as much as he could.

Returning to NZ for Uni in Wellington in 2002, Eliott started making his own beer recipes (and a few wines) which fermented away in the flat’s hot water cupboard. Spurred on by the odd craft beer experience – like his first Tuatara at Bar Bodega – Eliott saw the fledgling beginnings of the craft beer movement in this country, using kiwi grown hops and other local ingredients creating unique new flavours or re-inventing the classics. The craft beer scene in NZ really didn’t get going till around 2006 so Eliott and a few others around the country were just starting to brew these ideas within themselves, each following a different path with different backgrounds. For Eliott, this meant more time overseas in Colorado and the UK, then back to Queenstown running his own small business and working in various parts of the wine industry. In 2009 however, with recipes still fermenting in his brain, Eliott decided to make brewing his “full-time hobby”, taking a true amateurs approach to brewing where a love for the craft and a passion for quality drive the process.

The culmination of Eliott’s journey came in 2013 where he decided to lock himself away for six months in a small batch on the Kaikoura Coast perfecting an IPA recipe. Eliott wanted to strike the balance between a full flavoured brew and a medium alcohol content. Most IPA’s depend on higher malt contents for flavour balance but this pushes the alcohol level up too. For some this isn’t a problem, but for Eliott, the challenge was to create a beer you fully enjoyed alongside a great meal, or on it’s own after a big day on the hill – not getting sloshed, but instead soaking up flavour and experience. He wanted to mirror the best of beers he’s had around the world, but making it distinctly kiwi, hops and all. The result, The Mischievous Kea formed from locally grown Pacific Jade, Pacifica, Motueka and Nelson Sauvin hops and a range of malts that Eliott kept his eye on to reach that perfect balance he knew he wanted to share. And share he did, at an opening at Atlas bar in Queenstown, where they couldn’t get enough kegs to keep up and ordering more of whatever Eliott could come up with.

Applying the same passion for old-world craft and classic flavours, Eliott and Altitude came up with another five brews. Each one matching the makers heart for depth, quality, balance and flavour. I know this personally from my own experience but I decided to take them all to a local dinner party (German Food: Rosti, Sauerbraten and red cabbage) where some foodie friends and I could put these beers to work with an extensive meal. This is what we came up with:

Altitude Pale Ale: aka The Posturing Professional:

with Pepato, White castelli and vintage cheddar, Apples

Nose effect: citrus, pine, cheddar
Rich, malty down the throat with food. Super smooth with the pepato. 
A little smokey with a citrus finish

Oak flavours with the castelli

Lager: aka The Goldpanners Profit:

Smells of apple & honey, caramel. Crisp and dry in the mouth. Light enough to whisk down the throat when really thristy. With this food though oaty with the cheese and hummus and bright with the castelli.
With the Rosti it turns hearty and quenching

I.P.A.: aka The Mischievous Kea

A beautiful rounded flavour with the overall meal, works on all levels, even with the dark chocolate Anzac pie!

Stout: aka The Moonlight Track:

Forgot to pick one up, got two Kea’s instead. Doh!

Hefe: aka The Persistent High

With the sauerbraten: smells of ripe wheat as it should and tastes light on it’s feet (helles as apposed to dunkles) and bright. Almost floral, banana with an effervescent mouth feel. With red cabbage it gains some legs and warmth. Brilliant! Our favorite of the night.

In congratulating him on beers this well made, Eliott is quick to remind me how grateful he is to the many people that he’s learned from and who’ve supported him along the way including Davie McKenzie and the staff at Atlas, the local Queenstown community, and more recently, Eddie Gapper, Eliott’s new business partner. As I said earlier, these brews are now showing up at some of the best wine and beer establishments in the country, not because they’re craft and therefore hip, but because they’re outstanding in flavour and experience. Especially the stout and hefe in my experience. Not over the top new flavours for the sake of being beer candy, but because Eliott has mastered, in his young life, the art of building on top of a great beer platform and made them distinctly South Island alpine in magical ways. This is exactly why we stock these beers at Raeward Fresh – celebrating the true locality and provenance of makers like Eliott who know who they are and where they came from.

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 the cacao beans down to a fine size and not bother getting the sugar content or grain size down as well – resulting in a sandy tasting overly sweet chocolate where you can’t really taste the actual cacao itself. Think poorly made espresso – where you get the idea that coffee – or chocolate in this case – is involved, but you haven’t really experienced the bean itself. Those though who are very interested in sharing the complex and dynamic flavours of chocolate take extreme care to reduce their ground cacao beans to around 12 microns, and do the same with whatever sugars’ added. The results, along with a host of other crafty processes, will release a delightful combination of flavours and experiences, especially highlighting the cacao’s provenance and even it’s terroir.

Now, there aren’t heaps of people in NZ making chocolate like this. We’ve interviewed a couple in this blog, and more and more people are having a go around the world. But I recently came across an ex-fisherman from Nelson who for some compelling twists of fate and adventure, completely gets this whole fine-micron-craft-production-cacao-provenance deal. His name is Karl Hogarth and he makes an outstanding bean to bar range of chocolates. To introduce them to you, I’ll start off with what I tasted in each brilliantly produced and packaged bar:
• Akesson Estate, Trinitario – Madagascar: oak, prune, sour cherry, pinot noir, caramel
• Conacado, Trinitario – Dominican Republic: malt, raison, toffee, fresh apricot
• Gran Blanco, Criollo cacao beans – Peru: dried nectarine, raw almond, coffee, yogurt
• Carenero Superior, Trinitario cacao – Venezuela: rich cacao, tobacco, walnut, chestnut, lemon

It amazes me to not only find a world class chocolate like this in little ole NZ, but that it came from a man of the sea. If you take great wine for instance, it’s typically produced by the net knowledge of generations of vintners who refine their skills over the land and flora until they nail it, weather permitting. So how is it that a fisherman from the sunny northern south can turn his hand to the land, find outstanding cacao around the world and alchemy it into smooth as silk chocolate like this? I had to ask.

Karl grew up by the sea in Nelson where having left school at 15, took to fishing vessels where he spent the next 20 years catching Orange Roughy etc. As regards food, Karl tells me his mum was a stellar cook and he would often call on her for recipes to help him feed the lads when it was his turn in the galley. Like most kiwi’s Karl also grew up with an appreciation for honest, quality ingredients with which to work with both at sea and on the land. After this long stint fishing, Karl went back to uni to study (marketing and commercial law) and then went on his OE to South and Central America. It was there in Guatemala that Karl tasted chocolate like he’d never before. It was a fudge-like mixture of panela and cacao, dark and amazing, and it made Karl think about how different chocolate, made well, could actually be. The other outstanding experience in South America was meeting his wife in Argentina where the couple decided to live for a while before returning to NZ.

Once Karl returned to Nelson, his education in chocolate began in earnest. He studied techniques from around the world and learned that not only do you not need a huge factory (think; Willy Wonka) to produce a great bar, but that the more focused and refined you are in your process, the more the bean shines through. Of course, there were the typical No. 8 Wire approaches to production, like when Karl would for instance, start his day out back in a dressing gown and swimming goggles – hairdryer and large metal bowl in hand – winnowing the freshly roasted cacao nibs in the Nelson breeze while la esposa complained of the constant chocolate smells indoors. Undeterred (but a kind husband nevertheless) Karl continued on with the many iterations of machines for production, or designs to nail the moulds and packaging… all of which brought him closer and closer to re-producing that amazing experience in Guatemala, where you could actually taste how special the cacao bean really was.

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, it’s winter – or supposed to be – and I can’t get fresh blueberries, raspberries, black doris plums or kaffir leaves for these dishes. Not to worry says my Raeward Fresh pal Nathan at the store in Queenstown, Fresh As has got me sorted. These guys produce freeze dried produce that seals in not only the freshness and nutrition of the fruits and herbs they sell, but a fantastic twist to the original product that makes my ice cream for instance, a whimsical magical thing. I’ll explain.

Tommy Roff is a perfectionist who has been in the produce business for over 25 years. In his experience, when winter came around chefs and home cooks alike wanted access to fresh herbs and fruits but struggled to find them. Tommy decided then to freeze dry certain foods that would tap into the imagination of chefs developing new cuisines flourishing around the world (Fresh As now sells to chefs and retails stores in seven countries). Freeze drying food is a process that combines super cold temps and vacuum technology. It freezes the food, however instead of producing liquid the moisture turns to ice and is then vacuumed from the food leaving a distinct crispy texture. This means the Fresh As dried blueberries I use for my sweetened condensed milk ice cream reconstitute just a bit in the process of making the ice cream (see recipe below) but also maintain a chewy gooeyness that makes the ice cream amazing! Same is true for my Black Doris latte using Tommy’s plum powder in the steamed milk – AMAZING!

Tommy and the crew at Fresh As have created heaps of great recipes which you can see on their site but I wanted to highlight a few of my own creations, made with Fresh As goodness, to encourage you along the road of freeze dried discoveries in your own kitchen. I started out by getting a huge range of Fresh As gear, from herbs (kaffir and sage powder to tarragon and thyme) and spices, to some fruit powders (mango and black doris for instance) and then dried fruits (like lychee, blueberry, strawberries, whole cherries and plum slices) and started experimenting. Of course, the fruits are fantastic just popping them in your mouth (they melt revealing all their original freshness), but I’ve tried a few other recipes I’ll pass on here.

This recipe is a staple at my place which allows you to make any kind of ice cream you want without the fuss of an ice cream maker or the constance stir, freeze, stir… process. And now with Fresh As dried fruits, it’s all gone up a few notches!

Ingredients:

250 ml fresh cream (or Lewis Road thickened cream if you want to go hard)

200 ml sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon of vanilla paste or essence

half a pack of Fresh As freeze dried blueberries

Simple As method:

whip the cream until thick

whip in the condensed milk and vanilla

stir in the blueberries

That’s it folks. Put it in the freezer and 12 hours later you have the most amazing ice cream. The texture is smooth and perfect and the blueberries become a chewy candy like thing which makes the whole affair fantastic. I’ve added some pomegranate syrup over the top in the pic below just to add a little kick to the dessert.

Fresh As Black Doris Latte

In the U.S. you’ll often find flavored latte’s on offer at interesting cafes. I’ve had Hawaiian Black Sea Salt Latte’s, Lavender Latte’s and of course, dark chocolate and chili… so when I saw the Black Doris plum powder from Fresh As, I thought the rich flavour would go well with a long black straight up or steamed in the latte milk. Both worked a treat. Have a go for your self and see what you think.

Fresh As Mandarin Chocolate Cake

We’ve been working on an extension at home and decided to treat the builders to this amazing coffee cake treat. Smiles all around especially with the candy crunch of the punchy mandarin slices.
​

Ingredients:

Dry:

1 & 1/2 cups flour 

2/3 cup cocoa powder

3/4 cup coconut sugar

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

a pinch of salt

Wet

1 & 3/4 cups buttermilk

2 generous tablespoons rice bran oil

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp Blue Frog Zesty Orange syrup 

Icing:

100 ml fresh cream

100 grams chopped dark chocolate 

a pack of Fresh As Mandarin slices

Method:

Preheat your oven 160˚ C and line a lot tin with baking paper.

Mix all the dry ingredients well and then add the wet ingredients one by one stirring with a wooden spoon until well combined.

Pour into the lined loaf tin and back at 160˚ for 40 minutes or until your knife come out clean from poking into the middle of the cake. Allow 1 hour to cool

For the icing, finely chop the 100 grams of dark chocolate and set in a glass bowl. In a heavy bottomed sauce pan, bring the cream to a boil and pour over the chocolate. Allow it to sit for 4 minutes and then stir to create the ganache. Allow to cool for another 10 minutes stirring occasionally and then pour over the cake. 

Add scrunched up bits of the mandarin to the top of the iced cake and then artfully place the rest of the whole pieces. Serve warm with coffee. Yum!

I’ve been adding the coriander power to my quesadillas (see below), sage to my split pea and ham hock soups, kaffir to my salad dressings, and the list goes on. Fresh As herbs and spices really do take the flavour up a notch and the fruits have got me thinking anew about many of my old recipes. Have a go for your self at a Raeward Fresh near you and see what you can create.

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 delivered an effervescent stream of gold into my even golder hospice shop tumbler. You know the ones, made in the ’70s of all shapes and sizes… The champaign-like bubbles I was delighted to see are the result of the ‘methode traditionelle’ or ‘methode champenoise’ style where the maker prepares the cider (lovingly and painstakingly) in the bottle itself under high pressure mixing in the carbon dioxide most fermentation process allow to escape. When done right, this ‘methode’ allows the yeast and bubbles to remain just long enough to both properly flavour and sex up the cider giving it that very pleasing pour.

On first taste and without a bite to eat just yet, I found the cider dry, punchy and complex – none of which are some of my favourite things. I appreciate that a great cider is neither candy-sweet nor bursting with “raspberry overtones”, but on their own I find a proper cider to be too much work. After a couple of bites of the hard cheddar & mince chutney quesadilla however the Abel completely came into it’s own. The pear and apple mix of the cider’s flavours caught ahold of the tart saltiness of the cheese and the deeper sweet notes in the chutney and the dance began. Over the course of the meal, I found the cider both mellowed in contrast to the food but kept holding it’s own in terms of delivering the compliments. The bubbles rocked on throughout the lunch.

Making this kind of cider is no cake walk. Mark and Sophie McGill have mastered a very old and very complex technique here. The French sounding name ‘methode’ actually harks back to a traditional English method of tightly bottling ciders with their heavier coal-fired glass making techniques which the French adopted some time later and used for their champagnes. Having both grown up with and worked in the wine industry, the McGills learned about these techniques first hand. Sophie grew up in West Auckland and then moved to Marlborough with her dad working the vineyards there while Mark grew up in the Wairarapa with his dad working the grapes as well. Sophie studied psychology to get away from it all and spent time in Melbourne working in hospitality. Mark was in the first batch of students at Lincoln University’s wine making program and went on an OE working vintages in the U.S., Australia and NZ. He also ended up in Melbourne where the two got married and started a family.

Comparing both life notes and tasting notes – mostly bad ones – of the ciders available to them at the time, the two decided to put their business nous (both had great small business bosses they learned heaps from) to work making a truly great product. Mark had seen how the traditional wine making process could be applied to cider and decided to buck the rather average cider trends and put some history to work. The two moved to Nelson where they could source some outstanding heritage apple and pear varieties in the Upper Moutere and set up shop.

I’m not sure what it is that inspires two kiwi’s like these, who come from such a relatively young country with very little history in these methods, to so quickly produce a traditionelle cider that can hold up to any in the world. Maybe it’s that down to earth upbringing that makes sense of leaving apples to ripen on the tree giving them just the right brix reading, or crushing the whole fruit and then letting the heavy glass bottle do the magical part. Maybe it’s their passion for the product itself and their heritage coming through that draws out the very best of NZ fruits. Whatever it is, we’re stoked at Raeward Fresh that we get to have their elegant results on our shelves, celebrating their ingenuity and their love of good things. Cheers Mark & Sophie!

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, blue corn flowers, orange calendulas and pink chives buds. But the stars of the ‘build-your-own-salad-sampler’ were the dressings. Saffron and orange vinaigrette complimenting the beetroot leaves, smoked chili vinaigrette punching up the spinach and a beautifully smooth blue cheese dressing toning down the chicory all made the evening super special. To the surprise of my guests, the dressings were store bought – but I couldn’t have done better myself, garden and all. 

This is thanks to Genevieve Knights, who has somehow managed to create professional kitchen fresh dressings (and other products) and made them available at my local Raeward Fresh. I know that sounds a bit corny, or marketing speak, but trust me, this stuff is outstanding for a number of reasons. First reason; Genevieve is a qualified chef with an amazing resume, including working at The French Café where she learned how to create world class meat and fish pates, parfait’s and mousse. Secondly, knowing that she wanted to be a chef since the age of 13, she has obsessed on, studied and experimented with food for over two decades in both the fusion scene, and the in the classics. Finally, Genevieve has had an intense focus on using and preserving the freshest of ingredients in her kitchen, insuring it arrives in the exact same state in mine. This is no easy task, especially when it comes to dressings and meat parfaits, all preservative free. You really have to taste this to know what I’m talking about. The zing in these dressings for instance, due in part to the fabulous flavours she chooses, comes mostly though from her unmatched skill as a chef to keep the fresh taste of ingredients in tact on the fridge shelf. 

Having worked in professional kitchens for years, for next to no pay, getting yelled at, learning the hard way, Genevieve decided to shift gears and focus on recipe and food writing / photography. Many well received articles, a few cookbooks and some great catering gigs later, she decided to put some of those tried and true recipes to good use at her local La Cigale French Market in Parnell. The rich, smooth texture of her duck liver parfait gained such a following that she decided to go full time and extend her range:

• Free range Chicken Liver Parfait (either peppered, original or truffled)

• Open barn raised Duck Liver Parfait (in either orange, original or Peaking spiced)

• Seafood Mousse (original prawn, original scallop or Mahurangi oyster)

• Classic French Vinaigrette

• Saffron & Orange Vinaigrette

• Classic Caesar Dressing

• Blue Cheese Dressing

• Smoked Chili Vinaigrette

• Sesame & Soy Vinaigrette

Each one of these products has required all of Genevieve’s chef skills to bring to market. Working alongside Massey University to maintain flavour, quality and a no preservative approach, the seafood mousse alone took over a year to perfect.  I love the her commitment for this kind of kitchen to kitchen delivery. So has the NZ Food awards who have acknowledged Genevieve’s same skills.

My recommendation; bake some of your own bread or oatcakes, grab some veg from the garden and lay it all out for your friends and neighbors with a good sampling of Genevieve’s parfaits and dressings. Have people specifically pair different flavours and see how you can take your best and Genevieve’s best to create a good time for all.

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 answer because as is typical with these things, heaps of sugar usually takes the place of a well thought through crafted alternative. What Lucy wanted to do was make something outstanding, both in the process of being able to make your own hot chocolate, and experiencing it from the first sip to the last. To this end, she has developed the sublime Bennetto 70% cacao drinking / eating chocolate. And I’m here to say, it’s fabulous. 

Lucy’s curiosity has led her on a long journey of discovering the science behind various foods and drinks as well as the entire process of supply chains – from sourcing ingredients to final delivery – and all the sustainability and responsibility issues involved. Haven’t made her own cheese, wine and many other things, she discovered the rich qualities of chocolate and decided to figure out how to fill this gaping whole in the drinking chocolate arena. Eventually, she chose fair trade Peruvian cacao and started working with various companies both in Peru and in NZ to develop her flavours, processes and packaging so that the entire product was a beautiful thing relationally, environmentally and in every other way.

Once she had the chocolate discovery well under way, she wanted to figure out how to deliver the final experience to friends and future customers. The penny dropped while Lucy was in Dubai experiencing a lovely cup of tea, set out in ornate style with biscuits and loveliness all around. This she thought, is the kind of experience Bennetto’s drinking chocolate could deliver. She hired the talented Auckland watercolour artist Henrietta Harris to do her product art, using Peruvian birds representing the chocolates source, and Food South in Christchurch to create the compostible foil wrap and packaging. Then she perfected the flavour profiles that she thought would finish the experience. An experience to Lucy, which would entail the lucky person unwrapping a beautiful package, dropping one, or a few pieced of say orange, cardamom & chill chocolate into a cup of steamed milk, thoughtfully stirring it in and sipping these rich punchy flavours into their soul on a winters afternoon. 

Or a summers day after a picnic where you just go without the milk and nibble the chocolate like you would with any other dark chocolate organic goodness. Bennetto’s chocolate works so well both ways because Lucy and Co. have figured out how to adjust just the right levels of alkaline in the chocolate to have the perfect mouth feel as a drink, or straight up. What I really like about this personally, is that either as a drink or straight up, Lucy’s flavours are fantastic. The original dark chocolate has a lovely creamy taste and feel and her orange, cardamom and chilli has a real kick as well as great back flavours. I think if you’re going to use an ingredient like chill you need to go hard or go home. Lucy doesn’t overdo it with ingredeints but she’s not afraid of reflecting the changing kiwi palate, a nation of travelers experiencing strong tastes around the world.

Lucy’s commitment to fair trade, 100% organic and strong relationships both here and abroad is also matched by her focus on creating new flavours and products with that same curiosity and discipline. Keep your eye out for new things coming soon from Bennetto and next time you’re at Raeward Fresh, have a try of this extraordinary drinking / eating chocolate bar. And for tips on creating your own chocolate experience with Bennetto’s, click here to check out her tips

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 any event requiring something special from the kitchen. Some years later, she became the go-to person for people at her local farmers market for decadent Christmas cakes with a modern twist – which then developed into a seasonal business for corporate clients who also wanted festive home made goodies. Over time Karen developed a reputation for outstanding cakes and cookies even though it was a side project for her to raise some extra cash during the holidays. When a friend asked her to produce a breakfast cereal for their new retail store, Karen combined the same playful experimentation with recipes with top shelf ingredients to produce what would later become an award winning market leader in premium granolas. It seems to be her way with things.

By now, you’ve probably seen pure delish products at Raeward Fresh and other stores around the country. Over the last 10 years Karen and team have been cooking up all kinds of special hand made cereals, bars bites and slabs (my favourite being the ginger and walnut slab, extremely moorish), and of course, festive treats which have become known for being as dense in nutrition as they are in flavour and satisfaction. Originally though, I thought they were a bit out of my price bracket until I had a go and brought some home. Reading through the ingredients it’s not hard to see why the cost is there, or reading through pure delish’ web site to see how everything remains hand made and produced which such a high level of quality. But at the end of the day it comes down to flavour, satisfaction and sustenance.

In terms of flavour, pure delish products seem to me to have something of Karen’s original Christmas cake vibe to them. They’re dark and rich and packed with heaps of different textures and tastes that come together super well. As such they’re really satisfying and you don’t need heaps to feel like your breakfast is complete, or an elevenses snack is enough to get through to lunch. The dense nature pure delish’s cereals bar and bites (usually at least 60% nuts seeds and fruit) makes them rich and wonderful. In talking with Karen about her products, I noticed she’s keen on good health for her family and of course her products. It’s apparent in her choice of the best possible ingredients, paleo mixes and her own health choices, but to Karen pure delish seems to be all about creating foods that celebrate the best life has to offer while doing it for and alongside family/community. She’s still baking for the whānau.

The last thing I noticed about pure delish is that their foods are true sustenance. When you’ve had some serious breakfast cereal or snacks which actually cover most of the nutritional ground your body needs you can feel that both during and after the meal. This kind of food is very much worth the cost per gram especially if you eat reasonable amounts and spread out a bag of granola say, over a week or so.

Marie grew up in Lyon, France and knew very early on in life that she wanted to be a chef. So early in fact that she left school at the age of 14 and went through a rigorous French culinary education which lasted for six years. After focusing on chocolates and patisserie in Europe she went on to work with the Ritz Carlton hotel in their kitchens in Los Angeles, Fukuoka, Cape Town, Windhook, Lyon, Budapest, Prague, Kiev and New York. This international experience also led Marie to work in Australia and eventually in NZ at the Intercontinental in Wellington where she fell in love with the kiwi way of life in what was to her, an accessible and family oriented city. Her and her husband settled down, had children, founded and ran La Patisserie in the windy city and when baby No. 3 was conceived, they decided to get Marie out of the kitchen and allow her some space to focus on the children. 

Along side of the explorer / discoverer side of Marie is the quality focused chef that she is. Having gone around the region sourcing the best Forastero, Criollo, and Trinitario cacao beans she could find, she began the deft process of blending at the Barry Callebaut factory in Brazil and processing these beans in combinations that drew out a particular depth of dark chocolate flavour, rounded with just the right level of sweetness which meant sourcing a wider range of beans from Indonesia. This is one of the things your mouth will immediately tell you about Wildness Chocolate. She completely nails the smooth mouth feel, the rich dark chocolate experience without being too dark (there is such a thing) and a surprising fruity finish with the added cupuaçu.