The first dust of winter speckling the hills near Ōamaru is a cue to cosy-up the menu at Cucina, the Tees St restaurant of Pablo and Yanina Tacchini. “When the mountains are all snowy, we need to put soup back on the menu,” says Yanina. “It’s crazy; suddenly all the tourists are here and everyone wants soup.”
Name a dish that wouldn’t benefit from a squeeze of juice or a scattering of zest? I cling to citrus in winter to bring my food and my mood up and out of the layers of cold.
Several years ago, I was in Tokyo demonstrating to a number of chefs the glory and beauty of New Zealand grass-fed beef. The chefs were comparing it unfavourably to Wagyu, the grain-fed cattle they were used to. Behind me was a large, cinematic poster of Mount Taranaki, its towering volcanic slopes surrounded by lush green pastures with the byline “our backyard”.
Often, in search of a fresh adventure, you come full circle. When Dariush Lolaiy and Rebecca Smidt decided to open a deli to bring products they love and use at wild-game restaurant Cazador to their customers, they ended up back in the same place. “We looked for ages for a new location, but it was right there in front of us,” says Rebecca.
David Neville on resourcefulness, reducing food waste and layering ingredients to make something delicious.
With mixed dietary requirements in our home, I tend to make most of our meals vegetarian and then, if I’m feeling so inclined, cook some meat alongside (which is what I suspect most people in a similar situation do). This is fine in summer or on a weeknight when you slap something on the barbecue or in a pan, but in the midst of winter what I’m wanting is slow-cooked comfort, and that is where things can get a little tricky.
Think you know all about fine dining? Well, if Jiwon Do has his way you’ll need to think again. As Hippopotamus – the restaurant within Wellington’s QT Hotel, which was awarded two hats in the Cuisine Good Food Awards 2019....
There are a good few reasons that we all love a warming winter meal cooked using one pot or tray: fewer dishes to wash is probably the obvious one! I really like the way flavours meld in this style of cooking too; the meat and, where appropriate, the bones are a huge contributor to this.
You need to look where the next hungry crowd is, says chef Hayden McMillan, and he has no doubt that vegan food is the next step forward.
The joy of regional dining is that it celebrates the land in a way that is respectful, fun and delicious. There are few better examples of this than in the Bay of Plenty.