Imagine my deilght as my New York cab pulled up just after midnight at my hotel on Broadway (ON-BROADWAY!) and I looked across the road to see a market that was still open!
Discover
TAXI!
Please read carefullt, because the information you are about to consume should be tucked away in your memory, or somewhere on your cloud storage solution of choice, as your ultimate food experience bucket list.
48 HOURS IN TAURANGA
When it comes to visitors to the Bay of Plenty, it’s fair to say Tauranga often sits in the shadow of Mount Maunganui’s glorious beach and thriving main drag that hums day and night.
COLOMBO
One cannot talk about Sri Lanka without acknowledging the civil war which ripped apart this island nation for over 25 years.
Sid at the French Café
AUCKLAND. It can’t be easy taking over an institution that is synonymous with excellence in food, service and style. For three decades, The French Café has been in the careful hands of some of the country’s best chefs. Until September 2018, owners for 20 years, Simon Wright and Creghan Molloy-Wright, delivered food with simple elegance backed up with impeccable technique that made Simon’s cooking much loved. Assured service headed by Creghan made dining there a delight.
Saint Alice
AUCKLAND. Earlier this year I spent more than a few lazy summer afternoons hoofing freshly shucked oysters at new Viaduct darling Saint Alice, but this was my first visit after nightfall, for dinner.
Māha @ Wharepuke
NORTHLAND. Earthy and esoteric elements meld in a pan-Asian menu where authenticity frames every dish, as the food stories of chef-proprietor Ming Poon’s journey from China to Spain to New Zealand are portrayed in flavour and form; a plated travelogue presented with passion and precision.
PICO BAR + EATERY
WELLINGTON. Despite fresh jungle-themed wallpaper and new lampshades that look like swollen eel traps, Pico Bar + Eatery is still easily recognisable as the old Zibibbo. But the significant change is that this Wellington institution is no longer so much a restaurant as a bar with good food.
Spring Kitchen
WELLINGTON. Luxuriating in beautiful neo-classical detail yet recently threatened with demolition, Wellington’s 1928 T & G Building has now been fully restored as a bijou boutique hotel, the Doubletree by Hilton.
THE MAKER
IN GOOD FORM
When Kate O'Sullivan put out a call to the members of her club to ‘ bring a plate’ it wasn’t a batch of sausage rolls or a tray of chicken wings that she had in mind.
WEAVE LENGTHS
Long before words like sustainable, low-carbon footprint and environmentally friendly were de rigueur, there were people like Peter Greer, now 68 years old.
THOSE THINGS WE HOLD DEAR
Beloved hand-me-down kitchen objects speak of the past & carry their own stories.
Leaven Sent
If you sit next to Dan Cruden on a plane don’t be worried if his carry-on bag emits a faint bubbling noise or a yeasty smell. It’s only his sourdough starter that’s coming along for the ride.
HIDDEN GEM
DOUGH-GOODERS
On a foggy autumn morning in a church carpark in Auckland’s Pt Chev, a man rocks up holding a giant, empty plastic container. He’s obviously done this before and, wisely, has come prepared.
DOWN MEXICO WAY
Im scanning the shopfronts of Auckland’s Northcote Centre, worried that I won’t be able to find Nanita’s Tamales
Pleasure Island
“Couple wanted to run island retreat in New Zealand” – that was guaranteed to catch the eye of experienced Irish hospitality couple Karina Quinlan and Luke Treanor as they headed to NZ after a spell working in Australia (well, the wording might have been slightly different but no matter, they were hooked). Within three days of getting off the plane they had taken on the job of running the Kawau Beach House.
Their Best Shot
It all came about when Graeme Rogerson and brother-in-law Tyson Downing were having one of those “I wonder…” conversations. If food such as pizza tastes so much better in a wood-fired oven, would it work for roasting coffee, they wondered. So they decided to have a go.
ARTISAN WATCH
CUISINE CHEESE WATCH / Blue Monkey – Mt Eliza Cheese, Katikati
What’s in a name? Plenty, if you happen to be a blue cheese and you come from Katikati.
Cuisine Artisan Awards 2019
Here at Cuisine we just love to discover the people who pour their energy, ideas and sheer hard work into turning New Zealand’s fresh, top-quality produce into innovative, artisan products.
CUISINE CHEESE WATCH / Lynton Noir – Cranky Goat, Marlborough Sounds
Lynton Noir is a new bloomy rind (white mould) cheese from the always-innovative folk at Cranky Goat.
BEAN-TO-BAR MAESTRO
Nestled in the rejuvenated Auckland suburb of Morningside you’ll find an exciting new venture by Miann that is not only pushing the boundaries of New Zealand’s chocolate culture, but demonstrating the absolute cutting edge of what is happening internationally in the chocolate industry