Grill & Foodservice Autumn 2010 by mediaweb

Autumn 2010

Regional Fare Celebrating our best local products

Regional Fare: Celebrating our best local products

p10

Taste of new zealand awards

Pinot Gris

Volume 8 Number 1

NZ $6.95 incl GST Autumn 2010

grill tastes p44

t ree seats or a couc the choice is yours economy skycouchâ&#x201E;˘ futuretakingflight.com w f m

u t y

( x m

mN v m n

r m 6 p

editorial

Manaakitanga – welcome to our place C

ome to our place; let us make you welcome Kiwi-style, feed you well and tell you something about our food and the place it came from. It sounds simple doesn’t it? You’d wonder then why, so often, we get it wrong when these simple things are at the very heart of everything in the business of hospitality. With this issue, grill launches its Regional Fare Campaign (p10) and the associated Taste Of New Zealand Awards (TONZA). The campaign is not just another competition to rate a chef’s or establishment’s performance on a certain day. It’s about manaakitanga – the spirit of hospitality – and how we get local, national and international customers coming to our establishments by doing the simple things and doing them well. And how we get those customers coming back, and recommending us, again and again. Euro is one such restaurant in Auckland, where I live. It operates at the top end of the market and all staff are impeccably trained and mannered; and yet when I go in – whether to spend a few dollars on a coffee or a few hundred on a business lunch – it feels like I’m amongst old friends. (I hasten to add that I’m certainly not one of their big spenders.) That’s manaakitanga. But you don’t have to operate at the top end, or in a large centre, to get it right. In fact it can be a lot easier in smaller centres, close to regional food sources, to offer something special and specific to your locale. And in a small cafe or bar, out in the sticks, it can be easier to build a reputation as the “one place to go” and to offer a warm welcoming sanctuary to locals and visitors. The Regional Fare Campaign aims to get food service providers – cafes, bars, restaurants, hotels and lodges – throughout New Zealand, thinking about what makes them special; and what they can offer in food, drink and experience that makes them, in the words of the TONZAs, “an excellent expression of the local product and resources”. We want to make sure that these 80,000 tourists coming here for the World Cup, and those before and after them, don’t just stop in Auckland, Wellington and Christchurch or venture just on the tourist trail to Rotorua and Queenstown. We want them to go way up north, and down south for the abundant seafood; west to Taranaki and try specialty cheeses and east to sample from our growing cellar of world-class wines. We have so much potential; such variety and abundance of fantastic food sources and such a lot riding on our ability to translate that into success for our industry and New Zealand as a whole. You’ll be sick of hearing these figures by now, but we are the country’s biggest employer and tourism the largest export sector. Too few make the critical connection between tourism and hospitality. Visitors may come for the scenery, clean air, outdoor adventure (and rugby), but it’s the food and hospitality they experience when here that can make or break their trip, determine how much they spend and whether they become an ambassador when they leave. With concerns about food supplies, traceability and “what’s in our food” growing daily in the international arena, we have a real opportunity to carve out a hugely valuable niche as a travel destination with the bonus of unequalled regional food and wine experiences. So join us in our campaign to promote Regional Fare. It’s simple – just complete and send in the coupon on page 15 and you could be on your way to your first TONZA! TONI MYERS PUBLISHER

Resource Editor John Clarke john@grill.co.nz Consulting Editor Keith Stewart editor@grill.co.nz Copy Editor Gill Prentice gillp@mediaweb.co.nz Staff Writer Sarah Habershon sarahh@mediaweb.co.nz Contributors Daniel Aston, Marisa Bidois, Geoff Griggs, Sam Kim, Daniel Schuster Advertising Account Manager Peter Corcoran 09-817 4367 021-272 7227 peterc@mediaweb.co.nz Design & Production Jan-Michael David, Stephanie Smith Production Manager Fran Marshall 027-430 4559 franm@mediaweb.co.nz Subscriptions subs@mediaweb.co.nz 09-845 5114 $27.80 a year (incl GST) for 4 issues Printing & Pre-press Benefitz Publisher Toni Myers A Mediaweb publication

Auntie Hine. www.grill.co.nz

autumn 2010

contents

Regional Fare Campaign

10 Karikari Estate in Carrington resort, Northland

COVER STORY 10 Regional Fare Campaign Celebrating the best use of our local products

11 TONZA – The Taste Of New Zealand Awards 12 Local is Hot

TAPAS 4 Tourism marketing moves online; Pork screws beef; Feeding the ferals; HSI launches a new career website; Diary of upcoming events

FRESH IDEAS 7 New aquaculture venture looks like a winner; Artisan cheese range: Ewes – more than just wool and mutton

MAINS 9 Café Culture Cultural immersion: Hospitable environments Ambience and décor can set an establishment apart from the mob. By Sarah Habershon.

21 Coffee Culture Coffee gods be smiling A cat’s piss take – in verse The land of the long flat white grill looks at what we do with 140 tonnes of coffee beans each week. It’s not just the beans New Zealand Coffee Awards gold medal winners.

25 Fish Take The first in a series of articles on New Zealand’s seafood. • The species, their environment and sustainability, their history and the cuisine.

28 Market Intelligence The heart of the magazine and of our industry. Latest information on the state of supply of the material we sell – food.

19 NZ Cheese Awards

34 The Red Report

Champion cheeses, old and young – large and small

• In praise of the humble sheep • Pinotage: A short primer

TASTINGS

FOODSERVICE

40 EVOO

52 Wrap Up

The good oil in your region grill tastes New Zealand’s condiment style Extra Virgin Olive Oils.

Bent or broken The packaging dilemma – plastics or glass. By Keith Stewart

44 Wine

56 Taste

Pinot Gris – Flavour of the month Wine labelled Pinot Gris is one of the hottest items on New Zealand’s wine lists at the moment. By Keith Stewart

The taste professional development training calendar. By Marisa Bidois

MANAAKITANGA

57 Animal Lovers

48 The Spirit of Hospitality Hospitality in New Zealand – A photo essay Celebrating the foods of North India’s Gujarat at a pre-wedding feast.

50 The Spirit of Hospitality

ATTITUDE The power of public opinion = happy pigs + better pork.

58 Wine

59 Beer Brews blues Geoff Griggs’ view on the glass versus plastic debacle at the Marlborough Blues, Brews & BBQs festival.

60 Danny’s Schuster’s Wine Diary Napa Valley – Searching for balance

62 Dirty Deeds Dunny diving and other treats – When the party’s over Sarah Habershon reports on cleaning up the aftermath.

64 Bar Nun Vulcan Lane to the Coromandel The Bar Nun ventures to the central city but retreats to the hills.

Feel the texture in sauvignon Sam Kim takes a look at some classy sauvignon blanc.

Of land and philosophy A fine expression of a region – Karikari Estate and Carrington Resort.

www.grill.co.nz

Summer chillin’. Get grillin’...

Tourism marketing moves online Mobile offers exciting opportunities for hospitality

Chicken Patties

Flame Grilled Burger

Inghams tasty burgers make the perfect addition

to your summer menu. Customers will love our tender Chicken Patties coated in a light golden crumb, or the marinated Flame Grilled Burgers made from top quality New Zealand chicken. Versatile, delicious and quick to prepare, it’s time to get grilling this summer.

HTR_ING_130

cook ‘em, serve ‘em... your customers will Love ‘em. For more information contact your local distributor, or Inghams at www.inghams.co.nz/foodservicenz or call 0508 800 785.

big shift to online in tourism marketing is already apparent under Tourism New Zealand’s new chief executive Kevin Bowler. He came from the top job at Yahoo! Xtra and his digital credentials played a large part in his appointment. Bowler took up the role in January of this year and a just-launched tourism marketing campaign in China is making extensive use of social media and celebrity to boost New Zealand’s profile in the world’s most populous nation. He says the campaign will make use of online communities and interactive digital technology to take New Zealand to the right audiences in this fast-growing market. One of Bowler’s first projects has been working on a new three year marketing plan. Its two key features are: 1) greater use of digital media. Bowler: “We [Tourism NZ] already have more than 100,000 fans on Facebook.” 2) partnerships with private enterprise or Regional Tourism Organisations to expand the impact of Tourism NZ marketing expenditure. Bowler explained that Tourism NZ’s big goal to grow the value of international visitor arrivals can be achieved in three ways: 1) numbers, 2) length of stay, 3) expenditure per traveller. The implications of the digital revolution for the food service sector are clear. As consumers increasingly go online to organise their leisure time and social lives, restaurants, cafes and bars will have to join the tourism sector in targeting communities via social media. Bowler cited the development of GPS applications for mobile devices, such as foursquare.com, that help customers locate places of interest such as cafes and bars in their immediate vicinity. It’s likely that the use of such applications will grow exponentially like other internet phenomena such as Facebook, and hospitality venues will need to be active online or potentially lose business to operators that are.

Photo: Jan Michael DaVid

Next issue: Proof – pigs really can fly

Pork screws beef Argentinean research reveals eating pig meat enhances sex life.

rgentina, a country that prides itself on the fact that it has more cattle than people and that its citizens eat more beef per capita than anywhere else in the world, has hit the wall with its beef production. More than 13 million hectares of Argentine grassland have been taken out of beef production because of conversion to that industrial wonder crop, soy. One would think this should push up the price of beef to the Argentine consumer. But no; the government of President Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner came to the rescue of its people and paid huge subsidies for massive feedlot operations where previously grass-fed cattle are now fattened on corn and grain. The Fernandez government then embarked on a scheme regulating the weekly price of beef at below the cost of fast food. So naturally enough the Argentine consumer has been gorging (more than usual that is)

on cheap beef. And so, with little or no profit left in meat, ranchers are selling out and slaughtering capital stock needed to maintain their herds. This year there will be four million fewer head of cattle farmed, and 30 percent fewer cattle slaughtered, than in past years and if Argentineans continue to eat cattle at their usual rate then the country will become a net importer of beef. Again President Fernandez has come to the rescue with a package to promote pork as an alternative to beef by approving subsidies for the pork industry; this to keep the price of pork low despite high inflation. In a speech announcing these subsidies for the pork industry, which won prominent play on television and radio, Fernandez released a personally conducted study on the advantages of eating pork stating, “I didn’t know that eating pork improved sexual activity.” She went on to say that not only is pork better than Viagra, but suggested that she has personally proven it. Fernandez said she ate some roasted pork over the weekend with her husband, former president Nestor Kirchner, at the couple’s retreat in

“…105 years old, ate a lot of pork and had a lot of sexual activity.” Argentina’s southern Patagonia region, with “impressive” results, reported the Sydney Morning Herald. “We were in high spirits the whole weekend,” she said, smiling, and adding, “I’d say it’s a lot nicer to eat a bit of grilled pork than take Viagra.” In a second piece of personal research, the head of the association of pork producers, Juan Luis Uccelli, supported Fernandez’s speech by saying that Danes and Japanese have a much more “harmonious” sexual life than Argentineans because they eat a lot of pig meat. “In Osaka, Japan, there is a village in which the people who reached 105 years old and ate a lot of pork had a lot of sexual activity,” he told local station Radio Mitre. Just goes to show, eh?

Diary Dates March 24-November 4 Katrina Gordon Trade Show This show does the regional rounds once again.

April-July (every Tuesday)

taste professional development seminars Venue: taste, 45 Normanby Rd, Mt Eden, Auckland Enrol at www.tastenz.co.nz April 27 (9.30am – 11.30am) Basic Self Defence for the Hospitality Industry.

May 2-June 27

Gamebird Food Festival: Fish & Game New Zealand Many of the country’s best restaurants participate in this and so should you.

May 14-16

The Food Show Wellington 2010 Westpac Stadium, Waterloo Quay, 10am-6pm, Friday to Saturday 10am-5pm Sunday

May 18

Steak of Origin - Grand Final Beef Expo in Fielding from 6pm The quest to find the tastiest and most tender steak in the country.

May 22

Bluff Oyster Food Festival Bluff, Southland. The community once again throws open its doors.

June 8 onwards

Bidvest Foodservice Trade Show The annual round-the-regions show starts in Napier.

www.grill.co.nz

HSI launches a career website A new career website for hospitality has been launched, aimed at attracting and developing skilled people in the industry.

Feeding the Ferals New eating establishment – a resounding success among aficionados.

“ don’t even want to speculate on the sheer quantity of food that’s wasted by our food and service industry every day,” bellows Rhys Hikling of the Freegan Buffet. Brandishing a prep knife glistening with meaty residues, he continues – in the vein of a parish preacher attempting to convert the village heathens – to give me the rundown on freeganism and its socially conscious, if somewhat anarchistic, approach to nutritional sustainability. According to freegan.info, freegans are “people who employ alternative strategies for living based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources”, which is a fancy way of saying they harvest their food from rubbish bins in order to minimise their impact on the world. The Freegan Buffet attempts to civilise, somewhat, the practice by transforming these ill-gotten remnants into surprisingly elegant presentations of recycled recipes, sold at bargain prices to a broad spectrum of patrons. Nestled in a secret sector of inner-city Wellington, the Freegan Buffet is a well kept secret of the capital’s anarchistic underbelly. Striding to the chiller at the rear of the restaurant, Hikling reveals the day’s haul with thinly veiled relish. There’s easily enough stock to keep the kitchen supplied until evening, but there’s going to be yet another delivery before lunch. Hikling’s horde of dumpster-diving donors have done themselves proud, but one has to wonder what the chefs make of such diverse material. Due to the unpredictable nature of the dumpster-diving beast the Freegan Buffet has no menu and works entirely on a first-in, first-served basis. Head chef ‘Skip’ scans the available stock at the beginning of the day and develops dishes based on what’s available. Today it’s a bacon fiesta thanks to the delivery of a proliferation of pork products discarded by the supermarket because of unsightly staining on the packaging. An average meal at the Freegan Buffet weighs about $2 on the pocket of the consumer. Hikling fixes the all-you-caneat pricing structure according to the restaurant’s outgoings, which are restricted to rent and amenities (though the facility’s gas requirements are fulfilled by methane harvested from the composting toilets, which customers are requested to use before they leave). All staff are volunteers, and naturally there are no stock expenses. Obviously a ‘free’ enterprise business model such as this can have some interesting hooks in it, but word on the street is that the Freegan Buffet has acquired alterative backup premises which are being secretly fitted out and it is here for the long haul. Something of a moveable feast perhaps? For more information contact skip@freeganbuffet.co.nz

NZSkillsConnect – www.nzskillsconnect.co.nz – provides career seekers with the tools and industry information to manage their careers by outlining the main job roles, pathways and relevant training. The site has been designed around an innovative and dynamic search tool – named the ‘Visual Mapper’. It illustrates specific job roles and their progression, while displaying a full range of careers across 10 sectors within hospitality and in aviation and tourism. The Hospitality Standards Institute (HSI) and the Aviation, Tourism and Travel Training Organisation (ATTTO) have joined forces to develop and build the website. The website is a key part of their drive to attract, develop and retain skilled people in the workforce and increase productivity. Nearly one in 10 New Zealanders work across these industries, making it a significant employer and contributor to the economy. “NZSkillsConnect is the only industry-specific careers site designed for career seekers, employers and training providers,” says HSI chief executive Steve Hanrahan. “The Visual Mapper is definitely the star and a great way to show the exciting, rewarding careers for people looking to advance their career – be they school leavers or already working.” Hospitality employers can advertise jobs, and for no charge, at least in the short term through to April; an opportunity worth cashing in on while the offer is there. As well, an employer can search for potential staff, as job seekers are listing their CVs on the site. Plus they can profile their businesses as workplaces that offer on-the-job training aligned to ATTTO and HSI qualifications and unit standards. The launch of the website is timely as New Zealand’s service industries prepare for the Rugby World Cup 2011. More skilled people in hospitality, tourism and aviation will be needed to deliver an outstanding New Zealand experience. NZSkillsConnect is a joint project from the Aviation, Tourism and Travel Training Organisation (ATTTO) and the Hospitality Standards Institute (HSI) with funding from the Tertiary Education Commission.

For more information about listing jobs or CVs, contact HSI on 04 802 7887 and to explore the site visit www.nzskillsconnect.co.nz.

fresh ideas

Looks like a winner

n an effort to emulate the rebranding and marketing successes of farmed venison (cervena) and the Chinese gooseberry (kiwifruit), the humble little sandhopper has been rebranded as the New Zealand sand shrimp. Entrepreneur Talor Chestia and small Northern hapu Kai Hopahopa have joined forces in a governmentbacked (to the tune of $17 million) joint venture to increase production and develop overseas markets for this startling new seafood resource. New Zealand Sandshrimp, following three years of research and development, has embarked on an ambitious project to expand its pilot marine farming operation. The expansion is designed to cope with the expected 40-tonne annual production destined primarily for export to the high-end Asian market.

New Zealand sand shrimp is here and is about to be promoted as the next big food product from this country to make an international impact. By John Clarke, resource editor.

New aquaculture venture The project includes an upgrade of the company’s laboratory, and enlargement of the processing and canning plant plus a new fish-processing area. Chestia, who came to this country from central Europe four years ago, says: “I met my now wife (marine biologist Sandy Vaultner) on this very beach while travelling the country. We got talking and I remember Sandy was fascinated by the fauna on the tidal margin. Between us, Sandy and I had some capital and we were both looking for something to do with our lives. Things just grew from there. We met the local [sub] tribe who were very supportive and have looked after us ever since.” The farm and stock management systems have all been ironed out with the biggest challenge being the selecting and breeding for size. “The little buggers breed like fleas,” says Mr A M Whi Podata of Kai Hopahopa, “but it took us a couple of years to bring them up to a decent size.” The animals are bred in enclosed areas and the offspring released onto the foreshore with windbreak nets at about the half-tide mark. “We have got nutrition nailed,” says Vaultner. “They are essentially garbage eaters but their preferred food is the flesh of marine animals – fish mainly. So we got together with the local fishermen and they supply us with the carcasses [heads, bodies and guts] of their filleted catch. Feeding out

free

Exciting new seafood product free to grill subscribers.

is a dream; all one has to do is dispense the feed just before dark at the water’s edge and in the morning it is cleaned up. There is no smell and we just collect the bones.” The bones are then ground and broadcast onto the beach as a calcium supplement for carapace development in the young shrimp. Sand shrimp are harvested after baits are removed from traps made from a correctly sized mesh laid along the foreshore the previous night and left in the sea for a further 12 hours to allow undersized shrimps to escape and the larger to evacuate – this makes deveining unnecessary – after which the traps are collected for processing. “The whole exercise is sustainable and the beach is clean; it provides work for the locals and it helps the fishermen,” Chestia points out. Whi Podata agrees, “Before these guys came along our inshore fishing industry was dying. Now it is back on track and the boys are getting higher prices for added-value fish. Our people’s future is secure now that we have a stake in a viable enterprise, using our own land and resources.” This little delicacy is about to hit our local hospitality market. Initially available only in 500gm and 1kg frozen free-flow packs. Sand shrimp, unlike prawns, do not need to be peeled and cooking time is a mere 30 to 45 seconds, steamed or boiled. Standard trade price is $24.95 per kg. See box for special offer to grill subscribers.

New Zealand Sandshrimp wishes to trial its product to bona fide hospitality establishments and has offered to supply 10 grill subscribers with four 1kg packs of this exciting seafood product free of charge. For more information and orders contact sales@nzsandshrimp.com or phone: 0-9-372 6444

www.grill.co.nz

fresh ideas

True Manchego is a cheese from the milk of the Manchego ewe and made only in the La Mancha region of Spain. Manchego is aged for three months or longer, and is semi-firm with a rich golden colour and small holes. It ranges from mild to sharp, depending on how long it is aged. Manchego’s flavour is very distinctive, not overly strong and slightly salty. It is creamy in texture with a slight piquancy, and has a characteristic sheep’s milk aftertaste; some say it is very similar to feta – it’s not.

Artisan cheese range Ewes – more than just wool and mutton

he Waiheke Island Cheese Company is the latest progeny spawned from a graduate – James Clairmont – of the Over The Moon Dairy Company’s cheese school. Clairmont, a chef by trade, and wife Kate, with a farming background, have set up an artisan fromagerie on Waiheke Island making a range of cheese from ewe’s milk. The cheeses are produced from the milk of East Friesian ewes farmed at Matatoki on the Hauraki plains at the edge of the Coromandel range. However, Waiheke Island Cheese intends to establish a number of small flocks on Waiheke Island and milk these with a mobile milking plant, producing around 100kg of cheese per year.

At present the range extends to only three very good cheeses: a hard threemonth aged Pecorino style, a semi-firm Manchego copy and Church Bay Blue – a complex flavoured soft cream style cheese. Waiheke Island Cheese expects to extend this offering within the year with two other sheep cheeses; a feta and an haloumi. The Produce Company has added these cheeses to its extensive range of New Zealand artisan cheeses, so for the people who already use this company you know where to get them. You can also order direct from the Waiheke Island Cheese Company, email james@waihekecheese.co.nz, or phone 0-9-372 9695.

Use as directed A good aged Pecorino is often a good option on the dessert menu, traditionally served with pears and walnuts and drizzled with strong flavoured honey – our manuka or wild thyme honeys are good variations. Pecorino can also be used to finish pasta dishes.

Pictured above: James and Kate Clairmont of The Waiheke Island Cheese Company.

Sheep cheese is a possible alternative for allergy sufferers; it is easily digested, very high in protein and usually lower in cholesterol than cowS’ milk cheese.

CAFE CULTURE

Cultural immersion – Hospitable environments By Sarah Habershon Ambience and decor can set an establishment apart from the mob.

hile the provision of victuals and refreshment are obviously essential components when establishing a hospitable cafe environment, they are not the sum of a host’s duties. What often sets an establishment apart, and bestows upon it an individual identity, is its ambience and décor. The art of decorating an interior goes far and beyond simply entertaining the eye of the customer and setting up a practical workspace for staff. A well thought-out thematic scheme can define the very nature of the customer’s dining experience. Clare Hindmarsh is a graphic designer and chef who describes herself as a creative director for interiors. Her past projects include Café Midnight Express, Safran, Bar Comida, Cafe Limon, Mecca in the Viaduct Basin and Tasca’s Newmarket branch. Hindmarsh’s style of creative direction for cafe interior design involves relating the style and character of the ambience to the nature of hospitality

customers can expect to receive. A prime example of this approach is the interior scheme for Mezze Bar on Durham Street in Auckland’s CBD. Hindmarsh designed this cafe with her sister, Sally, after being inspired by what she calls the “relaxed, person-to-person style of hospitality” they encountered on their travels through the Mediterranean region. “The idea was to provide a kind of hospitality that was less like the bowingand-scraping of the more Northern European style. Mezze Bar was styled to reflect the laid-back values of the panMediterranean region and to provide a sense of the origins of the cuisine and the cultures that produced it. The degree of formality dictates the style of the furnishings and it is important to pitch to the right market.” While functionality comes first and freedom of movement for staff is crucial, says Hindmarsh, it is essential to give consideration to the balance of function and aesthetic. To this end, her designs frequently include a large, clear

“mingle zone” in which arrivals can gather their wits and regroup before being seated. Sectioning can be defined by varying levels: “we played with height”, says Hindmarsh of Mezze Bar’s clearly sectioned floor plan, “to separate the space into areas with slightly different feels; some with soft furnishings, others that are simpler”. Dividing the dining area appropriately allows customers to adapt their experience to the purpose of their visit, be they seeking privacy or spaciousness. Dividers are set on coasters so that staff can quickly and easily redefine the spaces in order to section large groups. The development of an interior scheme requires consideration of more than just an appealing appearance if the space is to convey any sense of hospitality. An infusion of function and flow with a practical sense of creativity produces an environment that truly immerses the customer in the experience of dining – a sensation that will see them return.

www.grill.co.nz

Regional fare

Photo courtesy of Carrington Resort, Karikari Peninsula

Regional Fare

Celebrating the best of our local products New Zealand has a stunning – and growing – range of locally grown and produced food and beverages. The aim of grill ’s Regional Fare campaign is to define and promote these resources to a local, regional, national and international audience.

he campaign programme will foster an awareness of and pride in our great local produce. It will encourage the use of local foods and beverages by branding and promoting hospitality establishments demonstrating, to a professional standard, the character of their unique locality and region. This nationwide branding programme – TONZA, the Taste of New Zealand Awards – will direct tourists and local diners to those premises supporting local producers by presenting their food and beverage products in the best possible light. This initiative will further the development of a national cuisine that reflects the character of the people and the place and stimulate and challenge our culinary professionals to express local pride in the dishes they produce. grill’s Regional Fare campaign will facilitate access to, and the use of, local resources to produce distinctive local dishes. The aim is to encourage, through TONZA, restaurants, cafes, bars, hotels and lodges to promote themselves and their regions by becoming “a fine expression of the local food and beverage products”. The campaign begins with an overview of New Zealand’s 15 climatically and geographically distinct regions (see page 14) and a call to the industry to engage in the campaign programme.

campaign

TONZA – The Taste of New Zealand Awards A ll food and beverage establishments throughout New Zealand are invited to join the awards programme.

Hospitality establishments can enter one or more of four categories: • cafe • bar • restaurant • hotel/lodge. There will be two award standards achievable in each category – a Good or an Excellent – expression of the local products and resources. The elements that will be considered in assessing the standard of each establishment include: • standard of the dishes designed using local ingredients; • aspects of the menu and dishes designed using local ingredients; • staff’s local knowledge and their understanding of the local products used; • a drinks list reflecting the beverages produced locally; • reflection of the local cultural environment.

A panel of independent industry representatives will visit all participating establishments and determine the awards. Hospitality establishments will not be compared with each other in the assessment process but judged on individual merit. Each establishment achieving a ‘Good’ or ‘Excellent Expression of Regional Fare’ award will be able to display the TONZA and programme logos in promotional material and on the premises for a period of two years. The awards will be reassessed biennially. The initial 18-month programme culminates in a celebration and final awards event in September 2011 to coincide with the Restaurant Association Hospitality Show in Auckland and the Rugby World Cup. All 15 regions will be encouraged to select a regional representative to send to the national event – New Zealand’s Regional Fare Awards. The campaign will be promoted via national food and beverage, business and consumer media; regional and national tourism groups. Regional organisations will be encouraged to involve local media. Establishments can make the most of the opportunity to put themselves and their region on the local and national, culinary map. See page 15 for details on how to participate. We will visit all participating venues, so be ready!

www.grill.co.nz

Regional fare

Local is Hot by Keith Stewart

rom China to Scotland, local is the hottest topic internationally in food right now. Hot enough for both European and US government agencies to fund local food marketing initiatives, and for farmers’ markets to move from being romantic tourist destinations in ancient European villages to features of New World nations like the United States and Australia. And it is not just foodies who are driving this phenomenon, but regular suburban shoppers who frequent supermarkets. The latest research from Canada shows that 78% of consumers want to know where their food is grown, and 96% believe that ‘healthy’ equates to local produce. “Americans are more interested in food and agriculture than at any other time since most families left the farm,” said US deputy agriculture secretary Kathleen Merrigan in a statement announcing the ‘Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food’ initiative on which the US Department of Agriculture is spending US$65 million in 2010 promoting regional food sources and farmers’ markets. Continued on next page

Regional fare

In Europe, the link between location and specific food is so well understood that a new atlas of food geography was published late last year – the Qualigeo Atlas. This details the food production zones that are identified and protected as unique under European law. New Zealand is more like Europe, at least like the great food nation of Europe – France – than many imagine. Our range of available foodstuffs is best illustrated by fish common to the regions, just as it is in France – north is snapper country, tarakihi through the middle, then cod all the way south. A comparison in taste between Far North caught snapper, and Southland blue cod should be enough to convince those who doubt the variety these long islands offer in terms of growing food on land or in the sea. But what does this differentiation mean for New Zealand food? A lot if we

are prepared to believe that our food can be the equal of the best in the world. Nothing at all if we insist on commodifying it the way our food industry has done for 140 years. Our much-vaunted New Zealand dairy produce was treated with disdain when it was represented by one cheese – cheddar. The French and Italians on the other hand, not only have prestigious dairy industries, but that quality is represented by an enormous range of cheese styles– most of which command high prices, locally and internationally. The creation of luxury cheese is the ultimate in added value to a dairy industry, and the value is more credible and more substantial if it is based on the one thing than can neither be imitated nor traded away – location. Brie de Meaux fetches 500% more per kilogram in New Zealand than local ‘brie’ does, essentially because it actually comes

from Meaux, the home of brie. Local brie is not fundamentally worse or better than Brie de Meaux, but it is not the genuine thing. Taking the wine industry’s example, there is potential for staggering quality advances if we regionalise food resources. Think of the advantages for international marketing of such products and the tourism resources such localised food production would unleash. Aotearoa New Zealand has an established reputation as a land of plenty, but the great culture clash of European colonisation isolated our culinary culture from the land that nurtures it. This country’s long, mountainous, maritime geography has seen the development of distinct food production regions that differ in the character and flavour of the raw materials they offer, rather than in the cuisine that has evolved within them.

Showcasing regional resources Each issue of grill will look at the traditional foods and products of the featured regions and introduce some of the area’s contemporary products and resources. We will also feature the best of each region’s products in our Fresh Ideas section and compile a directory of products and resources (similar to grill’s popular Market Intelligence). TONZA participants will have free access to this resource on www.grill.co.nz.

Showcasing regional Hospitality

Chefs and restaurateurs know people in their areas producing great products – tell us (email editor@grill.co.nz) and we will help you and those producers get the recognition they deserve.

There are some establishments already sourcing locally grown and produced ingredients to create dishes, and even complete menus, which express a locale’s individuality. In recognition of this grill will showcase an establishment in each issue. See page 50

www.grill.co.nz

Regional fare

Therefore to stimulate greater interest in resources that are local and unique and foster the development of a truly indigenous cuisine, we have grouped New Zealand’s regions into its logical production areas. The 15 regions are as follows, each with a description of its land and seascape, its climate and soils and its culinary traditions. TE TAI TOKERAU – Auckland & Coromandel north

New Zealand’s northern peninsula, with the southern boundary defined by a line running from Karangahake Gorge to the north Waikato head, and excluding Lake Waikari. It includes all of the Coromandel Peninsula, the Hauraki Gulf and its islands, and Northland.

NZ’s best olive oils & best cheeses

“New Zealand has a wonderful variety of foods, great natural produce, exceptional wines and wonderful cuisine from a growing number of talented chefs. The Regional Fare Campaign is a great opportunity to showcase New Zealand throughout the country and to international travellers.” – Kevin Bowler, Chief Executive, Tourism New Zealand

Have a look on pages 19 and 40 for the best of the 150 extra virgin olive oils and the best of 450 + cheeses produced from one end of the country to the other to get some idea of the array of first class resources we have on our back doorstep.

Yes?

Then join the Regional Fare Campaign and gain a

TONZA!

Taste of New Zealand Award

• Drive more business to your establishment. • Support your local region, its produce and its culture. • Promote yourselves and your locality. TONZA is a nationwide branding programme that will direct diners to those establishments supporting their local producers.

And it won’t cost you a cent to join! To participate and gain recognition as a fine expression of the products and character of your local area, go to www.grill.co.nz and click on the TONZA logo or complete and return the form below.

To participate in the Regional Fare campaign please fill in your details below: Mr/Mrs/Miss/Ms

First name

Surname

Establishment name Title/Position

Business category

Company name (if different) Postal address Café Phone

Fax

Mediaweb wishes to keep you informed about general business matters including relevant news and special offers. Your details are stored securely and not passed on to any third party. You may view and amend your details at any time by contacting subs@mediaweb.co.nz. Please tick the box to the right if you do not wish to receive correspondence from us in future.

Phone 0-9-845 5114

Bar

Restaurant

Lodge

Hotel

Email Fax Online www.grill.co.nz/ 0-9-845 5116 and click on TONZA logo

Email Post to editor@grill.co.nz Mediaweb Ltd PO Box 5544 Wellesley Street Auckland 1141

Regional fare

This is a land of deeply incised coastlines, steep in parts but invariably warm and moist. The soils vary as much as the landscape, but fundamentally this is a Pacific Island-like region, rich in seafood and exotic fruits. Te Tai Tokerau was dominated by kauri forest before European settlement, with significant (for food) areas of swamp. Traditional food sources, other than seafood, included kereru (pigeon), kiwi, weka, teal, godwit and native ducks. Top-of-the-list local delicacies like toheroa are no longer available because of over fishing or, like kereru, because of legislation, but there is still an abundance of seafood. Contemporary, distinctive regional foods include wild pig, bush beef, paua, cockles, pipi, scallops, Pacific oysters, kina, packhorse crayfish, paddle crabs, marlin, large shark, rig, snapper, kahawai, kingfish, mullet and yellow belly flounder. Horticulture in the north produces kumara, peruperu, market garden crops, citrus, bananas and wine (merlot, chardonnay, cabernet sauvignon, syrah). TAINUI – Waikato

Famous for its intensive dairy farming, this region has much more to offer than milk. The large areas of gently rolling hill country, interspersed with steeper areas, have delivered pastoral farming, with pockets of horticulture. Forests dominated the west prior to 1840, and the central region was rich in scrubland and swamp/ wetlands which is now lush dairy land. Traditional foods from this region were water fowl, eels, whitebait and kereru, as well as abundant seafood from the productive harbours of Kawhia and Raglan. Contemporary, distinctive regional foods include: wild deer from the Kaimais, wild duck, whitebait, shellfish, snapper, John Dory and flounder, eels, trout,

catfish and koi. Farms produce cervena, sweetcorn, berries, and of course dairy products. BAY OF PLENTY

This coastal strip incorporates the Bay of Plenty from Waihi in the north to the Motu River in the east. Its inland boundary is the north-eastern foot of the Mamaku Plateau, including the Rangitikei Valley to Murupara and the northern area of the Huiarau Range. With less than 100 days of rainfall each year this region has significant dry periods, although the rain is at times heavy. The mean average annual rainfall is between 1200mm and 1600mm. Augmenting the dry periods, at least in growing terms, is regular bright sunshine of over 2400 hours each year. This is rich growing country for market gardens and sub-tropical orchards. Contemporary, distinctive regional foods include: wild Samba and Rusa deer and boar. There are good pipi, tuatua and cockle grounds. Fish abound including piper, marlin, shark, blue moki, albacore and skipjack tuna. Horticulture produces citrus, kiwifruit, avocado and pitaya. Dairy products include milk, cream, cheeses and white spirits. TE TAI RAWHITI – East Coast

With its steep and rugged inland with spectacular beaches and fertile river flats around Gisborne, this far eastern corner of the North Island is one of our most isolated and beautiful regions. A few areas of mild, sub-humid bottom lands lie within a region dominated by bush-clad, steep hills with some land terraces. It’s cool and wet in the ranges, where there is a

CONTEMPORARY, DISTINCTIVE REGIONAL FOODS are listed in the following order; firstly wild harvested foods then farmed and cultivated produce and finally processed products.

variety of game, and warm and moist along the coast. Gisborne is one of the sunniest places in the country. Contemporary distinctive regional foods include: wild red deer and Rusa deer, pig, goat and piko piko, seafood such as crayfish, kina, paua, tarakihi and hapuku. The area is well known for its Angus beef, fruit and vegetables such as navelina oranges, and most of the beans and salad greens sold commercially. The outstanding wines are from the chardonnay, gewürztraminer and chenin blanc varieties. NGäTORO-i-RANGI – Central plateau

The central plateau, dominated by Mt Ruapehu, is a hard region with the culinary accent on game – fish, fur and fowl. The soils are generally pumice based, with a swathe of yellow-brown earths in the steep lands of the west. It is predominantly wild country of extensive sheep, beef and deer farming with an isolated region of market gardens around Ohakune. Natural vegetation remains in many places, including large areas of mountain beech and tussock grassland. The climate is mostly cool and moist, with a warmer, dry zone around the northern fringe of Lake Taupo. Contemporary, distinctive regional foods include: Sika and red deer, hare, quail, trout, ling honey, farmed fresh water prawns, Brussels sprouts, carrots and parsnips. KAHUNGUNU – Hawkes Bay / Wairarapa

Arguably this is New Zealand’s richest region, from Mahunga in the north to Turakirae Head, east of the

“The Rugby World Cup 2011 will be a great opportunity to make the world aware of New Zealand’s great food and wine and to go home as ambassadors for New Zealand.” – Kevin Bowler, Chief Executive, Tourism New Zealand

Regional fare

mountain chain. Apart from the cool wet steep lands of the mountain spine, this is dry country, dominated by great rivers and the terrace lands they have built. Along its length are pockets of wonderful fertility, perfect for orchards, fat lamb, cervena and beef finishing, plus some market gardening and vineyards. The coast lacks the protected waters of other regions but offers an abundance of varieties and there is game in the mountains and rivers. Contemporary, distinctive regional foods include: wild red deer, goats and trout, paua, crayfish, bluenose, hapuku, tarakihi, orange roughy, lamb, beef, asparagus, stone and pip fruit, walnuts and wine (syrah, cabernet sauvignon, merlot, gewürztraminer, chardonnay, riesling, pinot noir, sauvignon blanc).

Manawatu, north to the Mangaweka/ Matahiwi line, this area is generally cool and dry along its coastal lowlands and wetter through the steep inland areas. In the dry area around Marton heat runs at between 3000 and 3500 degree days per year on average, and the number of bright sunshine hours is relatively low across the region. The land forms run from dunes and swamps, to down and terrace land, to steep forests. The Marton/Palmerston North area features intensive pastoral farming, and both Wellington and Whanganui serve as important fishing ports for the coast. Contemporary, distinctive regional foods include: wild samba, fallow and red deer, wild pig, lamb, beef, potatoes, and raspberries, blue cheese, goat and sheep cheeses.

TARANAKI

From Mokau inland to Paewhenua at the foot of the Central Plateau, south to Matahiwi, to Patea, and all land to the west of this line. Mild and moist on the lowlands, with good, fertile pasture suited soils, this is originally forest country, with a coastal fringe of scrubland. The prevailing wind and weather is westerly and the temperature is warmer in the north than the south. The coastal fringe gets most of the sunshine. Contemporary, distinctive regional foods include: red deer, crab, albacore tuna, eel, beef, macadamia nuts, milk and cream, blue cheese and other speciality cheeses. RAUKAWAKAWA – Whanganui & Manawatu

From Wellington to Patea, west of the ranges, incorporating Whanganui and

AORERE – Nelson

The north-western corner of the South Island, Aorere differs from the eastern side of the island basically in terms of rainfall, being wetter apart from a small patch of drier land around Nelson. The coast it services is also markedly different from the Kaikoura coast and Cook Strait, which are more exposed and closer to deep water. The steep mountains to the north west of Aorere are the wettest and wildest part of the region, although the extensive alpine regions that cover much of inland Aorere are also as wild as they are spectacular. Hail and frost are both issues for Nelson. The natural vegetation is softwood-hardwood beech forest of both mountain and lowland type, with a large area of scrub and fern-land around the Nelson region. The southern margin of the region is identified by the lower reaches of the Grey River, where

We are looking forward to celebrating with the finalists of the Taste Of New Zealand Awards [TONZA] at next year’s Restaurant Association Show and experiencing some of the unique expressions of regional cuisine.” – Steve Mackenzie, Chief Executive, Restaurant Association of New Zealand

lowland beech forest gives way to mixed hardwood-softwood forest. This region is noted for its wild foods and game, its extensive orchards and wine, and a particularly rich seafood resource. Contemporary, distinctive regional foods include: honeydew, whitebait, wild pig, red and fallow deer, scallops, pipi, flat oysters, paddle crabs, blue cod, brill, turbot, hake, hoki, squid, sea farmed salmon and green lipped mussels, apples and pears, hops, blackcurrants, raspberries, cheese and wine (chardonnay, pinot noir, riesling, pinot gris). KAIKOURA – Marlborough & North Canterbury to the Hurunui

This is dry country that stretches from the deep gravel soils of the Wairau Plain in Marlborough to the Hurunui where the rainfall never gets above an average 1600mm a year, even in the steep country. The northeastern tip of the region, at Cape Campbell, registers slightly more than one day of rain a week. Heating degree days are between 2000 and 3000 annually, and the Blenheim region receives as much bright sunshine as any other region in the country – over 2400 hours. Frost risk is low in the coastal areas, but there is hail risk in the Blenheim area. Natural vegetation is predominantly grassland, both lowland and subalpine, with lowland mixed beech forest at the coastal margins of the Sounds in the north, and north and south of Kaikoura township. The Wairau Plain is the one dominant winegrowing region in New Zealand, while the rest of Kaikoura is noted for an impressive range of

HEATING DEGREE DAYS are a measure of how cold your climate is. For example, Auckland has around 1150 heating degree days compared to Christchurch at 2400, Dunedin at 2600 and Invercargill at 3000 degree days. www.grill.co.nz

Regional fare

seafood and game. Contemporary, distinctive regional foods include: possums, red deer, hare, boar, goat, chamois, salmon and trout, squid and hapuku. Farms produce dry country sheep meat (mutton especially), freshwater koura, fresh water salmon, green lipped mussels, cherries, saffron, wasabi, garlic, manuka and vipers bugloss honey and wine (sauvignon blanc, pinot noir, riesling, pinot gris, gewürztraminer, sparkling wine, chardonnay). AORAKI – Canterbury

Canterbury, New Zealand’s largest plain, is one of three dominant features of this landscape. The others are the Southern Alps and the great braided rivers that run from their slopes to the sea. The area is dry and mild, with the exception of the Alps and their foothills, where alpine climates kick in. Cold south-easterly and fierce foehn winds from the north-west both have an influence on agriculture throughout the region. The plain lands were originally covered with lowland mixed forest. They were burned after the arrival of Maori and by 1840 the region became essentially grassland, with large areas of wetland around what is now Christchurch, Ashburton and Timaru. The volcanic remnant of Banks Peninsula marks a striking exception to the otherwise singular landscape of the region and provides the only sheltered coast. Game is spectacular in the alpine regions and pastoral farming dominates the plains. Contemporary, distinctive regional foods include: game such as chamois, red deer, hare, rabbit, tahr in Mt Cook vicinity, wallaby in the Hunter Hills,

salmon and porcini. Farming includes game birds, pig, lamb, tussock-grown cattle and wethers, cervena (red deer) and fresh water salmon. Crops are truffles, raspberries, blackcurrants, redcurrants, asparagus, moimoi and grain. Products include wine (pinot noir, riesling, chardonnay) and artisan bread. WESTLAND

This is genuine, wild New Zealand, much promoted in the Wild Food Festival held annually in Hokitika. Naturally dominated by softwood-hardwood forest and subalpine grassland, this narrow strip west of the Southern Alps is one of New Zealand’s most scenic regions. It is cool and moist, with mean annual temperatures between 7.5 and 12.5 degrees Celsius, and annual rainfall above 3200mm. Contemporary, distinctive regional foods include: whitebait, red deer, chamois, possum, wild pig, southern bluefin tuna, ling, brill, turbot, hoki, squid, honeys from honeydew and rata, and dairy products. FIORDLAND

This is grand country, rugged and spectacular, its foods all wild. It is cold, wet and stormy with the natural vegetation of mountain forest and mixed lowland forest for the most part intact. Contemporary, distinctive regional foods include: Wapiti, red and white tailed deer, whitebait, trout, crayfish, blue cod, and tourists. CENTRAL

Romantic Central has recently become famous for its wine, especially its Pinot Noir, which seems to thrive in its cold,

semi-arid climate. At its heart, annual rainfall is below 400mm and while there are pockets of higher temperatures (between 10 and 12.5 degrees Celsius annually), most of the region is cold, at below 10 degrees. Frosts are a constant threat and annual degree days are below 3000. This is a subalpine region in which site and aspect are critical for growing any crops, particularly wine, and much of the food source is wild or high country farmed. Contemporary, distinctive regional foods include: red deer, hare, wild rabbit, wild thyme, rosehips, stone and pip fruits, hazel nuts and walnuts, merino sheep meat, thyme honey and wine (pinot noir, riesling, pinot gris). OTAGO – Otago & Southland including Stewart Island

This moist, cool southern region is noted for high quality pastoralism and a rich seafood resource. Stewart Island and the south-eastern coastal fringe were originally clothed in softwood-hardwood forest, while inland it was mostly tall lowland tussock. Large areas of down and terrace lands interspersed with high country dominate the pastoral farming mix on a range of soils. Contemporary, distinctive regional foods include: red deer in Southland and white tail on Stewart Island, mutton birds, Bluff oysters, paua, squid, blue cod, sole, deep water Dory, orange roughy, Stewart Island sea cage salmon, lamb, swedes, parsnips, Brussels sprouts, Jersey Benne potatoes, blackcurrants, gooseberries, oats, milk, cream and cheese.

“The Restaurant Association is proud to support any programme that fosters an awareness and pride in our great local produce and one that stimulates and challenges the culinary professionals who work in our restaurants and cafes; the Taste Of New Zealand Awards [TONZA] looks to be one of those initiatives that recognises the many outstanding achievements in the hospitality industry and one that we encourage restaurateurs to participate in.” – Steve Mackenzie, Chief Executive, Restaurant Association of New Zealand

NZ CHEESE AWARDS

Photos: Sarah Habershon

Champion cheeses, old and young – large and small

he 2010 Cuisine Champions of Cheese awards saw more than 430 cheeses from large and small cheesemakers all over New Zealand vie for the recognition of a panel of esteemed judges. Awards master judge Russell Smith commented that “the overall standard and experimentation of the cheeses produced [in New Zealand] is increasing at a rapid rate”. The quality, diversity and sheer quantity of cheeses entered in the awards is indicative of the maturing palates of New Zealanders. The first non-cheddar cheese produced in New Zealand was a blue vein manufactured at Eltham in 1951. In subsequent years, demand has drawn increasingly exotic

variants such as buffalo mozzarella into the market. The immense variety offered to New Zealanders today by the cheese industry can only serve to highlight the innovative spirit of our cheesemakers. The Yealands Estate Champion of Champions prize was awarded to Fonterra Brands Mainland Special Reserve Creamy Blue, manufactured at Eltham – the same site that produced our first blue 50 years ago. Master judge Smith commented that “the Mainland Special Reserve was excellent; it had a beautiful sweet, nutty flavour and was technically a superbly-made cheese with very even bluing throughout”. Gina Klarwill, senior brand manager

for specialty cheese for Fonterra Brands, says: “Mainland Special Reserve’s blues are going from strength-to-strength as befitting the more than 50 years of expertise that have gone into their making.” The judges also recognised one of several new products that Mainland has recently released into the market, Mainland Special Reserve Haloumi, awarding it a gold medal. The Kapiti Kahikatea Camembert topped the Champion Soft White Rind Cheese category, while its Mount Herbert fresh goats’ cheese took the Champion Original NZ Cheese award for its zesty, fresh lemony taste and smooth creamy texture.

www.grill.co.nz

NZ CHEESE AWARDS

Kapiti Mt Herbert is made using an original New Zealand recipe and takes its name and shape from Mt Herbert, located in the Tararua Ranges. Other Kapiti gold medal winners from the awards include the Kapiti Kahurangi Creamy Blue and Kapiti Mt Hector goats’ cheese. Fiona and Jeff Graham, of Waikato’s Pukeatua Peak family farm, took out the supreme award for smaller cheesemakers, not a bad achievement for a new cheesemaker. The winning cheese called Maungatautari is a hard cheese and one of five goats’ milk cheeses they sell under the Pukeatua

Other winners on the night of interest to the hospitality trade were: The Langham Champion Fresh Unripened Cheese Ricotta – Crescent Dairy Goats Countdown Foodtown Woolworths Champion Feta Cheese Kaimai Feta – Kaimai Cheese Company Sabato Champion Goat Cheese Selwyn Farmhouse Mature Goat Cheese – Gruff Junction NZSCA Champion Sheep Cheese Curio Bay Pecorino – Blue River Dairy NZSCA Champion Washed Rind Cheese Galactic Gold – Over the Moon Dairy Company Ecolab Champion Blue Cheese Mainland Special Reserve Creamy Blue – Fonterra Brands NZ GEON Champion Cheddar

Ev Moorhead from Gruff Junction. Supreme Award winners: The Mainland team from Eltham. Master judge Russell Smith. Awards judges (l-r): Dianne Kenderdine, Ross McCallum, and Johann Wohimuther with Fonterra’s Brenda Tweddell (second from right).

Peak brand at nearby markets and to selected restaurants. Henk Lettink was named New Zealand’s top cheesemaker at the awards this year. Lettink may have been an accountant in Holland before coming to New Zealand, but 20 years in North Canterbury at the Karikaas Dairy Company seems to have suited him. This is all good news for the hospitality industry as chances are that even if you look no further than your local area for food products you will find that ultimate expression of a value added commodity – a bloody good specialist cheese.

Mild Cheddar – Fonterra Lichfield QCONZ Champion European Style Cheese Hohepa Tasty – Hohepa Homes Bureau Veritas Champion Dutch Style Cheese Vintage Gouda – Meyer Gouda Cheese NZ Food Safety Authority Champion New Cheese Maungatautari Goat Cheese – Pukeatua Peak Cheese AsureQuality Champion Flavoured Cheese Hohepa Herb Quark – Hohepa Homes NZSCA Champion Export Cheese Maasdam – Karikaas Natural Dairy Products New World Champion Favourite Cheese Bouton D’or Cow Feta – Goodman Fielder

coffee culture

; c i t s la p n i s s i Catâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s p force it down

rior r a W d the roa

Quality Jackets that set you apart

Stand apart from the rest in the ultimate Chef â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Jacket. Arrow provide only the finest cuts for the top chefs, made from fabric that is hard wearing and easy to care for. For a FREE copy of our latest catalogue, to get a sample on appro or to have a sales rep call on you, PHONE US FREE ON 050 UNiFORm (050 864 3676).

FSG1004

www.arrowuniforms.co.nz

www.grill.co.nz

coffee culture

Photograph courtesy of Mojo Coffee.

The land of the

long f lat white

Photograph courtesy of Mojo Coffee.

grill looks at what we do with 140 tonnes of coffee beans each week.

There are about 140 tonnes of green coffee beans roasted in New Zealand weekly (a lot of it drunk by grill’s resource editor!).

n international trade terms the dollar value of coffee ranks second only to that of oil, a menace threatening oil’s ‘Black Gold’ title. Coffee is a grand-scale economic and cultural phenomenon and Kiwis have latched onto the bandwagon with a vengeance, even making our own ‘flat white’ mark on the international coffee culture map. In late 2009 Starbucks announced that it would be adding the flat white to its British menu, and has begun training staff “appropriately”. The Kiwi coffee evolution has been grinding away solidly over the past 20 years. Self-proclaimed coffee guru Ron Laughlin arrived in New Zealand for the first time from America in 1989, and was devastated to find that the last coffee he consumed in Hawaii, was indeed to be his last ‘decent’ one for quite some time. As far and wide as he searched, Hospitality establishments take the bulk (110 tonnes) of the weekly roast; the rest turns up in retail – supermarkets and the like.

he encountered not a single drinkable espresso, only unsatisfying percolator brews and instant horrors. Upon his return three years later, he was delighted to find that Kiwi culture had embraced the art of espresso in his absence. In Laughlin’s words, Kiwis had “found something they liked and really made the best of it”. Today, after a nationwide tour of New Zealand’s cafes and coffee stops, Laughlin is pleased to pronounce New Zealand coffee amongst the best in the world. New Zealand has, per head of population, the highest number of roasters of any country on earth, some to be found nationwide, whilst others are locally specific. One can attribute the step up in New Zealand’s coffee-making standards in great part to such pioneering roasters as Coffee Supreme, established in Wellington in 1993. Fighting the good fight alongside Supreme in the early ’90s were These days most of the beans roasted are from the very top quality Arabica variety. Very little of the horrid Robusta strain is roasted in this country.

coffee culture

the Auckland roasters Atomic, Allpress and Miller’s; collectively these can be considered the founders of New Zealand’s coffee culture. Great coffee can be found right through the country, even in Auckland, and aside from the dozen or so giants of the trade, there are a number of small to medium roasters making an impact. In Wellington there are the great roasters Mojo (one of the fastest growing companies in New Zealand), Havana Coffee Works and Peoples’ Coffee all supporting the city’s enthusiasm for the perfect cup. In other parts of the country, tiny boutique roasters are also rapidly gaining market share. Havoc in Whanganui

the industry as our roasters, as no roast can withstand the ruthless havoc wrecked upon a great blend by a bad pour. “The great taste developed by New Zealanders’ pioneering spirit and independent thinking,” says Laughlin, “can all be lost at the barista.” Collectively, cafe owners have a responsibility to the roasters who supply them to properly train their baristas in order to deliver a deserving exemplar of the roaster’s product. Whilst Wellington’s roasts may take pride of place in New Zealand’s bean bazaar, Christchurch can proudly boast the nation’s finest baristas, with six years of consecutive triumph at the NZ Barista Championships. Auckland fails to make the grade.

“Ordering a long black in the Auckland CBD is playing with fire.” and Volcano Coffee – the only roaster in the Ruapehu district, roast to order and pride themselves on the freshness of their product (sources intimate that Volcano’s Ethiopian roast is well worth a try). Christchurch’s Hummingbird, Scoota and Zeke’s Serious Coffee in Auckland and Puhoi Coffee, just north of that city, are well worth checking out too. Ozone, based in Fitzroy just out of New Plymouth, is also worth mentioning as a roaster of quality boutique blends. Even the wild and wooly West Coast boasts its own fair trade organic roaster, Kawatiri, located about 20 kilometres south of Westport down a remote dirt track. It doesn’t get more “number 8 wire” than this; all the Kawatiri equipment was designed and constructed on location. Other hot-spots for bean fiends are Dunedin, Golden Bay and Invercargill. With so many roasting houses peppering the country, there’s no excuse not to buy fresh and local. April saw the national final of the New Zealand Barista Championships. Kiwi baristas are just as much an asset to

According to accomplished Christchurch barista Giovanni Spiteri, who has manned the tamper from one end of New Zealand to the other, there is a tendency amongst Aucklanders to settle for appearance and style over good flavour and fresh grinds, and as with any product, the market dictates the quality. “Aucklanders’ past preoccupation with latte is possibly partly to blame; it’s easy to hide a multitude of extraction-related sins under that much milk, but ordering a long black in the Auckland CBD is ‘playing with fire’.” That’s not to say that Auckland is devoid of delicious coffee – there are plenty of stand-out roasters and accomplished baristas amongst the fug of mediocrity. “It’s just a pity that the market doesn’t discern the way it does elsewhere,” says Spiteri. It’s up to owners and operators to raise the bar and drive the standard higher, bringing Auckland into line with New Zealand’s admirable and diverse coffee culture.

New Zealand has more than 140 commercial roasters. The market is dominated by the largest dozen or so. These companies import green beans themselves.

Most of the smaller roasters buy from the main green coffee bean importer, John Burton Limited in Auckland. www.grill.co.nz

taste coffee

producer profile

It’s not just the beans A

Coffee with Mojo The Mojo Coffee Cartel began in 2003 as a small boutique roastery on Wellington’s Wakefield Street. Now operating 16 of its own cafes throughout New Zealand as well as supplying its premium blended coffee beans to popular cafes around Wellington, Mojo is still based in the capital and employs a staff of 150 nationwide from its new HQ and roastery at Shed 13 on Wellington’s waterfront. Mojo’s Princes Street café in Dunedin is home to its second roastery, supplying its renowned blends to the South Island, and the first Auckland Mojo recently opened on Queen Street, bringing the flavour to the north. There are also Mojo sites to be found in Christchurch. The Mojo HQ team are all hospitality professionals and understand the need for good support and training. All Mojo staff, as well as the staff of all cafes supplied with Mojo beans, are provided with full barista training and ongoing support. The option of machine hire is also provided to businesses which choose Mojo as their supplier. Mojo’s signature blend, Dr Mojo’s Medicine, combines six single-origin coffees from regions around the world. A complex coffee with good body and medium to high acidity, Dr Mojo’s Medicine boasts a great aroma, hints

of nut and chocolate and a spicy toffee finish. Besides the house blend, Mojo also offers The Injection, a simple blend with wine-like characteristics from Africa, Dr Mojo’s Feelgood, and an organic blend. Several single-origin coffees are also available. Mojo maintains a high standard of ethical practice in purchasing its beans. Most are sourced from communities with which the company has forged solid trading relationships. Representatives from the company regularly visit these communities to communicate with their growers in order to maintain a mutually beneficial relationship. Mojo believes that its ‘relationship coffee’ is “more than fair”, as strong, durable relationships are forged and maintained to benefit both the grower and the consumer. Ranked in both the 2007 and 2008 Deloitte/Unlimited Fast 50, Mojo continues to grow, enjoying a solid and loyal customer base with over 18,000 VIP customers around New Zealand. Consumers can expect to enjoy consistent quality, and commercial clients a high standard of efficiency and ongoing support.

www.mojocoffee.co.nz info@mojocoffee.co.nz • 0-4-385 3001

uckland-based roasters picked up half the gold and a sizable number of the other medals at the New Zealand Coffee Awards. North Shore based roaster Altura also gained the Supreme Award. A fitting tribute to Chris White and Altura’s 20 years in the roasting game. As with the cheese awards featured on pages 19 & 20 winners were a mix of tiny roasters such as Christchurch’s Switch Espresso and Wellsford’s Rush, with its Rush Espresso judged New Zealand’s best Roasted Espresso coffee, and the bigger roasters including Cerebos, Altura and Jungle. After two very long days of blind tasting the 12 judges chose the following gold medal winners. Supreme Award Altura Coffee (Auckland), Eclipse Flat White Blend Café magazine Trophy: New Zealand Espresso Rush (Wellsford) Anchor Trophy: Traditional Flat White Altura Detpak Trophy: Ethically Traded Coffee – Espresso Switch (Christchurch) Waiwera Mineral Water Trophy: Organic Coffee Robert Harris Heritage Hotels: Supermarket Plunger Blend Jungle (Auckland) MIT Trophy: Supermarket Filter Blend Havoc (Wanganui) Foodservice Filter/Plunger Wildcat (New Plymouth) Decaf Coffee Volt (Auckland) For a full list of medal winners and a coffee roaster near you go to www.grill.co.nz New Zealand has more roasters per head of population than any country on earth and 63 of these coffee roasters entered around 250 coffees in the 2009/2010 New Zealand Coffee Awards. www.grill.co.nz

fish TAKE

Fish Take - an overview

Resource editor John Clarke provides a regular review of seafood in NZ: the species, their environment and sustainability, their history and the cuisine.

rom Maori legend of the country’s birth on the end of Maui’s hook, to featuring prominently in national cuisine, seafood is a quintessential element of the New Zealand experience. Consequently, the seafood industry is one in which the restaurant and tourism sectors have a strong vested interest. Our Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), at 4.4 million square kilometres, is the fourth largest in the world. Our coastline of 15,134 kilometres is the ninth longest in the world and seafood ranks fourth in the sectors contributing to the New Zealand economy. Almost one third of our seafood harvest is from aquaculture and grill will take a look at this industry in the next issue.

Around 90% of our fish catch is exported although only 6% is high value fresh or live products. Since 2003, the sector has suffered declining profitability, leading to what is euphemistically termed ‘rationalisation’ in the industry. Now some in the industry are suggesting that it is on its knees and that our quota system has intrinsic problems. They suggest that after almost 25 years our export driven fishing sector is unsustainable. Recently the Kiwi movie The Great New Zealand Fishing Scandal screened largely unheralded, late at night on television. It purports to expose dark secrets that have been festering for years. As John Goodwin, an industry watcher and former northern manager for Moana Pacific, the largest fish supplier to the hospitality sector said in an

interview with grill: “Small fishers are doing it hard; boats are tied up; it is just not economic to fish.” In future issues, grill will look at both the Quota Management System (QMS) and the situation small, local fishers now find themselves in and how these issues impact the hospitality industry. In research published in 2009 and 2010 New Zealand’s seafood industry was twice ranked the most sustainably managed fishery in the world, which makes you wonder at the state of the rest of the world’s fisheries. Sustainability is an important factor in how the hospitality sector presents itself to the diner. grill will cover sustainability issues in future articles on tuna – the politics and the realities, and the 10 best and 10 worst (by sustainability measures) fish to consume.

No.1 seafood supplier to the Food Service sector … • 6 day delivery throughout Auckland • Overnight delivery service outside Auckland • Nobody can beat our freshness…direct from boats daily • W ide range of fresh wet fish, shellfish, lobsters, frozen prawns plus chilled export quality beef steak • Situated in the City Viaduct handy to Auckland CBD

MOANA BAZAAR 138 Halsey St, City Viaduct Tel: (09) 302 4027 Fax: (09) 303 1404 www.moanapacific.com www.grill.co.nz

SLD 0357_GF

Atlantic Salmon. Taste the difference.

Irresistible

The world’s favourite Salmon now available in New Zealand.* Atlantic Salmon is a standout amongst nature’s superfoods packed with Omega-3s, protein, nutrients, with less oily aftertaste and less fat. With a more delicate ﬂavour and ﬁrmer texture you’ll enjoy a different eating experience along with being versatile and simple to prepare – no wonder it’s the preferred choice of salmon lovers the world over. Don’t take our word for it, taste the difference for yourself. For recipes and great ideas using Sealord Atlantic Salmon visit sealord.com

For more information on this product and distributor details please contact Sealord on 09 580 3325. *Kontali Analysis 2008

fish TAKE FISH

40 years of fishing industry history U

ntil 1970 the annual catch was under 40,000 tonnes. In 1976 New Zealand claimed its Economic Exclusion Zone (EEZ). The catch jumped to 600,000 tonnes, due mainly to government incentives to increase exports in response to the economic damage delivered by the first oil shock. By 1980 the catch had declined rapidly by 50% to 300,000 tonnes following over exploitation but commercial fleets continued to over invest. This led to widespread overcapitalisation in the sector. Many (particularly inshore) fishers went out of business. In 1983 the Fisheries Act was passed in an effort to curtail overfishing, imposing permits on the industry. This also excluded fishers earning less than 80 percent of their income, or $10,000 per year, from fishing. This ill-conceived policy did little to reduce overcapitalisation and had a disproportionately damaging effect on Maori. In 1985 the Waitangi Tribunal was granted the power to look at retrospective iwi (tribes) claims dating back to 1840. In 1986 the Quota Management System (QMS) was introduced to govern the entire industry. Quota would determine how much fish, and what

species, each company or independent operator was entitled to catch. Individual Transferable Quota (ITQ) was allocated (in perpetuity) on the basis of catch history (those that had permits). Needless to say there was a mad scramble and once again catch figures doubled to 600,000 tonnes. The quota system favoured the biggest companies and left many small fishers with quotas too small to live on. Again thousands were driven out of the industry. Maori challenged the QMS through the Waitangi Tribunal and the courts, claiming that the QMS ignored Maori fishing rights guaranteed under the Treaty. The courts agreed, and it was decided not to add new species to quota until Maori rights were sorted. The 1989 Maori Fisheries Act was an interim solution and took the issue out of the courts and into negotiation. By 1992 there was a solution in the form of the Treaty of Waitangi (Fisheries) Settlement Act. This legislation followed what is known as the Sealords deal, in which Maori tribal authorities gave up all claims to ownership of commercial fisheries. In exchange, in a one-off settlement, they were given fishing quota, major shares in fishing companies, and cash. This deal

has been an ongoing source of debate, over how the settlement is allocated and the character of the settlement itself. In 1996 the Maori Fisheries Act was revised to define customary fishing rights and sustainability issues. Until 2005 the Treaty of Waitangi Fisheries Commission was the sole representative of Maori collective quota owners – the Commission managed the quota on behalf of all Maori. These quotas have now been allocated to individual iwi. Since the Sealords deal most of the significant species, representing 95% of the total commercial harvest, have been introduced to the QMS with almost 50% of all quota owned by iwi. By 2006 New Zealand had an export driven annual harvest of 750,000 tonnes. The 2008/2009 season saw the Total Allowable Commercial Catch (TACC) at 572,000 tonnes and the total landed catch drop to 422,000 tonnes. Today there are 130 species fished commercially, 97 of which come within the Quota Management System and the estimated commercial fish resource has a (2009) value of $4 billion. The total seafood harvest is worth about $1.4 billion annually and expected this year to be around 625,000 tonnes, a third of which comes from aquaculture.

Omega Seafood provides all the presentation and preparation options of live (farmed) mussels & (sustainably managed) clams, with no hidden costs. Taste profit with every pasta and chowder you serve this autumn and winter.

• Less Labour • Easier Quality Control • Easier Food Safety • Less Waste See www.omegaseafood.com for your nearest distributor

GRL10A

www.grill.co.nz

Market

Intelligence Better source information for professionals

grill’s specialist resource writer John Clarke updates developments in produce, fish and meat supply each issue. The products and or companies mentioned in this column are there because we at grill believe they are of quality and have value to the industry.

THEIR PR

IME

Pears, ap ples, feij oas and kiwifruit. Kiwi Wild fung i and the truffles first if we are lucky and Beef and rich. fat lamb. Blue cod and tuna , snappe ; squids r and crab also. Red s are goo cabbage, d Brussels and kum sprouts ara. And, best of a wonders ll, those from the deep sou mutton b th irds and Bluff oyst ers.

FALLING OVER

Our aprico ts, necta rines and New Zea peaches. land stra wberries fruit. Bea and pass ns. ion

SHOT TO

BITS

NZ cherri es and m andarins grapefruit and . Wild gam e birds; at they will least be from th e first wee May. Pepin kend in o and bab aco are n available. o longer

Dry goods Grain/flour A severe hailstorm which cut a swathe through Canterbury early in December affected around 90 growers to varying degrees, with some losing their crops completely. However the grain harvest in Canterbury went well with farmers reporting good yields and goodquality grain, though it appears less grain was grown this season. The best and strongest New Zealand stone-ground organic flour is from New Zealand Bio Grains and is always worth the extra if quality is important to you and if you value using our local product. Otherwise Chantal has a great selection of organic flours from offshore. Kinaki (Wild New Zealand herbs and seasonings) I know I bang on about it, but here it comes again. These days nearly every menu has to have at least one dish with dried horopito and or dried kawakawa sprinkled or rubbed somewhere on it. Try the fresh version but just make sure that whoever does the gathering knows what they are doing. Our indigenous wild sea vegetables, dried karengo (parengo), which is very similar to nori, and kelp, which is similar to Kombu, can be sourced through Pacific Harvest. You can gather and dry these seaweeds and others including agar (which is great for jellification) yourself if you know what you are looking for, or check with the local Tangata Whenua. Murray River salt is available from Sous Chef and is a bit different.

Sous Chef . 09 269 6373 . 1/84 Spar tan Road . Takanini, Auckland

www.souschef.co.nz

Wild Fungi The minced truffle blend – both the black and white from Sous Chef – is a damn fine product and priced at around $28 net is a steal. There is also a range of very good dried porcini products. Lots of suppliers bringing in dried cepe these days; just make sure you check the label and that the only variety mentioned is edulis.

dairy The array and quality of New Zealand cheeses is fantastic as I found out at this year’s Cuisine NZ Champions of Cheese Awards – see page 20 for the full story and go to our website www.grill.co.nz to see the full list of winners and to find a great little cheese company near you. You can also check out The Produce Company website (produceco.co.nz) with 150 mainly local artisan cheeses listed. Sous Chef has a good range of the best cheese from overseas. Two from Italy worth noting are the top quality Cantarelli parmigiano reggiano and the range of Tomini cows’ milk cheeses in oil from Italy. And from Spain comes Manchego, the ultimate ewes’ cheese; just check it out and see what I mean. Also while I’m on about imported cheese from Sous Chef, some of the best goat and sheep cheeses I’ve tasted (and I have tasted more than a few lately) come – believe it or not – from Australia. This is the handmade range of chèvre, feta and

Market intelligence

marinated cheeses from Meredith Dairy. For full tasting notes on these cheeses, see www.grill.co.nz.

EGGS Battery Whatever, this sad excuse for an industry still produces the cheapest egg, so if you are happy to use them, go for it. Duck eggs are about, but as they do not travel well you will have to find a local supplier. Some farmers markets have them also. Free range and organic egg production is now an industry in its own right; seasonal supply has levelled out and they are consistently available. They are more expensive, but if you want quality you have to pay for it. The Frenz organic free range egg is the best widely available egg for my money.

pleasantly surprised at the range and prices. Goose It is almost impossible to find good, fat, farmed goose in this country. Poussin is becoming more and more available, but the days of being able to pick up poussin for $2.50 each are well gone. Yeah, still living in the past, but still a reasonable cost per serve. Squab There was one producer and they had to close through lack of support. So that buggers that! Turkey You could do a lot worse than getting hold of Canter Valley as they still have a good range of whole bone-in turkey roasts and portions.

FRUIT It’s pip-fruit time again.

Quail eggs are available all year from Canter Valley Farm in North Canterbury and they can send them to you anywhere in the country and quickly too.

Poultry Chicken Factory chook seems to still appeal to many punters and it is the most economic option. Good organic free range chicken is something seriously special and some of the best are the organically farmed free range chickens and chicken portions from Rolling Hills. These people are dedicated to quality of both their products and the environment their products live in. This chook is as good as it gets and available only from Zealfresh. Cornish game hens Still bloody near impossible. Duck Although there is a lot more duck around these days, the line from Canter Valley Farm is still one of the best around and is available now countrywide. Check out www.cantervalley.co.nz for the full wholesale list – you will be

Apples All the New Zealand seasonal apples are arriving in numbers so there are no excuses for the imported rubbish. We now have the ‘Delicious’ varieties and the Braeburns, followed closely by Fuji and Pacific Rose, then Granny in April and bringing up the rear in May is the Pink Lady. Avocados The avocado gets its name from ahuacatl, a Nahuatl word for testicle. Lots of good quality well priced Haas fruit have been enjoyed by all. Watch the quality from now on. Bananas ‘Same as same as’ and the few from Northland are about finished. However, we have a new thing on the market ‘the straight banana’ – well that is what it is marketed as, not straight but Fair Trade, from Equador. There are also plenty of organic bananas around. Berries Fresh raspberries are still about but finish in April. Boysenberries are gone; the short season for gooseberries

is over also. Blueberries are finishing, but blackberries will hang on a little longer. Loganberries are always around and frozen berries are always available. Blackcurrants are about finished for another year. Citrus Local limes and lemons are starting to show up, but tangelos, oranges, mandarins and navelinas are now well over. Plenty of imported citrus though. Feijoas The season will be on again come April. This is a very handy fruit over late autumn and winter. Grapes New Zealand fruit, if you can find it, will be around for just a couple more weeks. Otherwise it is the tasteless, hopefully not black-widow-infested stuff, from offshore. Kiwis The early crop of New Zealand fresh fruit will be starting to show up towards the end of March; first the golden then the green. Mangoes A few Tommy Atkin (the red/gold variety) mangoes from Australia and Southeast Asia are in the marketplace. We are also seeing a lot of the Kent and Keitt varieties (the green ones) from Mexico and organic ones from Peru just now and very good quality they are too. This variety seems to keep better and bruises less easily. Mangosteen Here is a fruit we don’t see that often; winter is the time, if at all. Melons All varieties of New Zealand grown melon are around to some extent, but it’s the rock and honeydew that are best now although not for much longer. Then there will be imported varieties available. Miro Our best native fruit for my money and it’ll soon be time to collect this and freeze for that Matariki celebration. Stuff one or two up a poussin’s backside. Passion fruit The season for this fruit will finish in a month or so.

Canter Valley . 03 312 9805 . PO Box 293 . Rangiora

www.cantervalley.co.nz

Market intelligence

PREPARED PRODUCE Pears Autumn is definitely the period for pears. This means nashi too. Persimmons Not yet; this is a winter fruit. Pepino Is this a fruit I wonder? Well, it is classified as one and there used to be a few commercial growers in New Zealand, but it appears to have dropped off the radar. So, unless you know a local grower you are out of luck. Even if you do know a local grower you will be out of luck as the season is over. Pitaya This is another summer fruit to try out, but as we have only one grower it’s rare. Pomegranates are all imported but are finishing. Quince are back. Yes, these wonderful things start showing up again from the end of March. Redcurrants are well done and dusted. Rhubarb is around all year and we are heading into comfort food time, so dust off those winter pudding recipes. Stone fruit are finishing or finished. Cherries are done, apricots, nectarines and peaches (aside from the odd lovely golden queen) are about done. Plums will be around longest. Strawberries New Zealand fruit from December to March; imported from April to November – if you can afford them.

Hazels There are a few New Zealand hazels about. Once again Chantal has them and good imported ones. Macadamia The New Zealand season for fresh nuts is over, but there are plenty of dried and roasted nuts available. Wild walnuts are available from A Cracker of a Nut. Wild Hawke’s Bay nuts are often available from Chantal. Local new season plantation grown walnuts will be available now. They have a more creamy texture, tend to lack bitterness and are generally larger.

Cavolonero will be around from now on as the main season is April to September.

VEGETABLES

Celery is available all year, but it can tend to be of lesser quality in early autumn.

Artichokes (globe) The globes are done and dusted and the Jerusalem artichokes will not be available till winter time.

Chard (silver beet) You can get it all the time and from now on it should be the most economic and available vegetable; but it is not.

Asparagus All you will get now is frozen, tinned or $20+ per kilo imported stuff.

Choko This handy early winter vegetable is available from May.

Aubergine is available all year, but locally grown egg plant fruit is not; it is finishing.

Corn Another month and then it is frozen kernels.

Beans New Zealand green beans are ending their run and it is Aussies from April. Broad beans are shot to bits. Beetroot is most plentiful from November until April, but always available.

Broccoli – plentiful and cheap.

Chestnuts The season for this, the most perishable of nuts, is over I am afraid.

Cauliflower is available all year. Miniature cauliflowers, ideal for a single serve, are sometimes available – ask Prepared Produce.

Celeriac is better from autumn (that is now guys) through to early spring.

Broccoflower supply is always limited.

NUTS

Carrots are always available and ‘good as’ from now on.

All other nuts are imported.

Tamarillos The first in May. Tropical fruit All the imported tropical stuff is as usual – it’s up to you to demand quality.

Capsicum All the New Zealand grown varieties are out there in good numbers. Enjoy them now because they do not last much longer. It’s the same for fresh chillies.

Broccolini prices are creeping up again. Brussels sprouts are available from now on and at their best until the end of winter. Cabbage The green varieties are available all year as usual, but this is really the time for red cabbage.

Courgettes (zucchinis). All year availability, but Australian produce during winter and spring. Cucumber Lebanese and short cucumbers are finishing and it is Australian telegraphs over winter and spring. Fennel More Florence fennel is now available with the main season about to start. Garlic New Zealand garlic will be around for the period covered in this issue. And there is always plenty of cheap imported rubbish around. Ginger Supplies of ginger in this country are always sourced offshore and price has been reasonable but it is climbing again.

Prepared Produce . 09 276 6079 . 118 Savill Drive . Mangere East . Manukau City . Auckland 2024

www.preparedproduce.co.nz

Market intelligence

PREPARED PRODUCE Garnish Always available and Prepared Produce’s cost-effective julienne salad garnish has become very popular in the Auckland arena. Herbs All the fresh herbs except tarragon are available all year these days and French tarragon is here over summer and autumn. Kohlrabi is available all year now. Kumara All varieties of new season: Beauregard (orange, softer, sweet), Tokatoka, (yellow, firm, good flavoured), Owairaka and Northern Rose, (traditional red, very firm), are in. Leeks have been marginal at best of late but that’s expected. They have come right now and are good from now on. Mushrooms and fungi All the commercial mushrooms are available as usual including the exotic stuff at a price. But it is the coming cool misty mornings and the fruity time of year, (by fruity I mean the fruiting bodies) that is heaven for the true fungiphage. There are the various ink caps, the puffballs, and other wild field varieties are rearing their tasty heads. This is the start of the season for forest floor wild fungi also, especially the boletes. The best known is the cep (Boletus edulis), or as we tend to call them these days, porcini, but there are others in this family that are far more common. The brown birch bolete is, for me, the best of them and quite widespread and there are edible varieties of bolete specific to most of the deciduous trees in this country and I have come across most of them in our cooler areas. There is also the old slippery jack all over the place under pines; it is also a member of the family. They can be sourced from people who go around gathering these if you do not know what you are doing. The best option is to talk to a restaurant chef who uses wild fungi and beg them to put you on to their supplier. But there are some right little pricks out there that are so greedy that they are cleaning

out everything right down to the tiny immature fruit; this is stupid, destructive, and very short sighted. So if it is you, you are a wanker and if someone tries to sell you tiny porcini, don’t buy them, okay. Some of these so-called collectors may also try to palm off the lesser boletes as cepes, do not stand for it – buy them by all means, but pay less and tell me who they are. There are also lots of other good varieties in the bush, but for goodness sake make sure you know what you are collecting. So, like any good chef put your mouth where your life is; eat them first yourself and then wait, it’s more than half the fun. Our commercially grown truffles should become available towards the end of this period. Bloody expensive but fresh mature truffle is the reason for life. Too expensive? Then check out the dries section of this column. Onions Good supplies of Jumbos with plenty of New Zealand red onions still around so you do not need to buy the Californian ones. Baby onions are available all year round, but at their best about now. Rakkyo is a small onion with bulbs that are about 4-5cm in diameter; they look like small shallots and are still rare. Parsnips are often thought of as a winter vegetable, but are available all year round.

the marketplace in volume. Spaghetti squash will finish soon. Radishes Salad radishes are all in good supply and there is some daikon about. Salad leaves – as always. Rocket and the various lettuce strains are all out there. Shallot is in good supply. Snow peas – Mange tout The expensive few New Zealand grown ones are finishing and the expensive imports starting. Sorrel Not common, but there is more around from now on. Spinach This vegetable is always out there. Spring onions Always good supplies on the shelves. Swede and turnip are still available. Taro is not grown commercially in New Zealand and all supplies are imported from the Pacific Islands. Tomatoes New Zealand main crop is about over. Autumn crop and Aussie stuff from now on. Witloof Traditionally a winter vegetable it is best from May to October.

Peas Not bloody likely. Yams Gone but returning in winter. Pikopiko is available all year these days. Potatoes Lots of good quality main crop potatoes all over the place and plenty of variety too. The (so-called) Maori potato varieties have arrived in the market. These old trad spuds are worth the trouble to source; they knock the socks off the more common commercial varieties. Earth Gems are pretty and available now. Pumpkins are good buying this season. Buttercup, butternut and kumi kumi will be available for a while longer. Crown and Grey pumpkins are your main crop keeper pumpkin and are in

GAME MEATS The second of May sees the start of the shooting season and the fifth Gamebird Food Festival.

FEATHERS Birds Farmed quail and pheasant are in good supply and a very good supplier for the whole range is Canter Valley Farm. Guinea-fowl are available, but finish as autumn progresses.

Prepared Produce . 09 276 6079 . 118 Savill Drive . Mangere East . Manukau City . Auckland 2024

www.preparedproduce.co.nz

Wild birds The wild ducks, pukeko, black swan, pheasant, quail, and (Canada) geese season starts on the first weekend in May. This is the only chance we get in this country to cook and eat these wonderful wild birds. This is why restaurants and chefs should sign up to be part of the Gamebird Food Festival that runs from 2 May til 27 June this year. The festival is an initiative of Fish & Game New Zealand and aims to promote responsible, licensed hunting and the value of game birds as a natural and desirable food. Many of the country’s best restaurants participate and you should also. It is an opportunity to get new clientele – customers that you may not normally see in your dining room and at a time of year when everything is slowing down in our trade. They will invariably bring their friends and family along and tell others of their experience at your restaurant. In this day and age every bit helps, you get to show off your skills, get well paid for it, sell beverages and anyway how often do you get free marketing? Email gamebirdfood@fishandgame.org.nz to find out more. Muttonbird (Puffinus griseus), titi The harvesting season is on again and birds will available in 20-litre pails. These are best kept frozen and pulled out as you need them.

FURS Boar ‘Wild’ wild pork is available, check out Premium Game. Farmed wild boar Free range boar bred from wild stock and legally reared on a farm in the Taupo region. At present only available in limited quantity from selected outlets but more coming on stream all the time from Neat Meat, The Produce Company and Harmony Foods and sold under the Razorback brand. Great eh! Cervena That is farmed deer guys, it is always good quality and therefore still

Market intelligence

a very good bet at any time of year and more suitable for those delicate palates. Prices have levelled off, but don’t hold your breath. Chamois New Zealand is one of the very few places in the world where these animals are available – and they’re worth the attention of the chef. Crocodile (imported) and a damn fine white meat. Available from all the suppliers, both of them. Emu and ostrich meat is available for those who want it and can get the best out of it. Goat Tends to be skinnier from now on so choose only the fatter young animals especially as this is the start of the smelly old mating time. Hare Always remarkably well priced and they are in great condition in late summer and autumn – especially the jacks. Kangaroo Like croc, this is imported and a damn fine red meat. Possum is still hard to get, so road kill may be the simplest option. Try Premium Game in the south and North Poultry in Whangarei. Rabbit numbers are still on the increase at this time of year. Tahr is a wild mountain goat native to the Himalayas, now happily (barring DOC) at home in Godzone’s Alps. This species is still in good condition until winter really bites. With tahr it is particularly important to choose younger animals especially now with the mating season on its way as sexually active animals really stink and this can seriously taint the meat. Venison Wild animals will start to lose their best condition from now on as the roar kicks in. Wallaby The annual Timaru wallaby hunt should knock over 1000 animals and wild wallaby will be available through gamepacking houses.

RED MEAT All the hoofed animals are in fine condition and the schedules look to be rising.

BEEF New Zealand beef prices are tied to the export schedule and the trend is up sadly. Beef slaughter statistics report the kill is well back on last year, but the condition of stock coming through the works will be excellent for the period, so expect the best from your supplier. Savannah has its certified organic free range beef programme on track, so check it out. Chefs and restaurateurs owe it to their diners to be very aware of what they are buying – that it is the genuine product – so look just a little bit deeper than the surface and that really, really good price. Premium suppliers have branded labelling, chefs need to ask questions, such as where they were slaughtered, and where is the branded packaging.

VEAL Basically the veal season starts again in June this year. There is always some frozen stuff about and it is not bad especially those sweetbreads.

SHEEPMEAT Lamb supply will still be below the level it was before the last drought a couple of years ago. Kill for 2009 is down 15% and 2010 is expected to be down 7%-8% also. Farmers are still effectively replacing capital stock and are likely to hold back ewe lambs. Lamb schedules remain firm, with lack of supply forcing processors to chase all available stock. Canterbury processors

Fish & Game . 04 499-4767 . PO Box 13-141, Wellington 6440 . gamebirdfood@fishandgame.org.nz

www.f ishandgame.org.nz

Market intelligence

have been working short weeks and some agents are starting to wonder how many lambs are left. This shortage shows in a strong demand for store breeding stock, and many farmers are restocking ewe lambs for the future. The local trade schedule (that’s us guys) for lambs has increased ahead of export values. Prices will not drop and have been trending up, but that is usual from early February on. We say again, if you are going to pay good money for lamb get a decent reputable supplier; one of the best in the north is Zealfresh. It has sourced lamb from the same supplier in Hawkes Bay for years. Why? It is of reliably excellent quality. Hogget no longer considered an age grade these days; so now hogget is just another mutton, yeah right. This is why you need a reputable supplier who will steer you right so you end up with some very good, very young ‘mutton’ that will more than satisfy your diners. Mutton The best for me are two-tooth and four-tooth wethers and any time is a good time for flavoursome mutton from fat healthy animals, but don’t expect too much as the mutton kill is down, so of course supply is tight and prices high. However, Zealfresh has another good deal in the sheep line – check out their mutton neck fillets and see just what you can do with them.

PORK Some of the best pork in the South Island (if you can get it) comes from Havoc in south Canterbury. Their pigs are stress free and free range and damn near organic. Contact Ian and Linda Jackson at 0-3689 5767 and you could just be lucky. Harmony Foods at Paeroa processes free range pigs and the pork is available from Neat Meat. Freedom Farms offers what is described as ‘Free Farmed’ New Zealand

pork and a very good product it is too. They care about their animals and, controversy aside, they are well looked after and happy little piggies. Their pork products are available through Zealfresh in the northern region.

includes chorizo, salamis and their quite-famous-in-New-Zealand gourmet sausages. These products are all gluten free and available through Zealfresh and Neat Meat.

Whole piglet is still available if you want it; costly though.

FISH AND SEAFOOD

PRESERVED MEATS Much of the processed pork we see – salami, sausages, bacon, ham etc – is made from imported raw carcass meat. The label then says ‘product of New Zealand’ and fails to mention the fact that the pig was actually farmed overseas, and that the producers do not have to meet New Zealand regulations when it comes to matters like feed and hormones. That is another good reason why we need decent country of origin labelling in this damn country. So, if you want New Zealand processed pork products, look for the 100% NZ Pork label. The Little Boys range of small goods products is available to the trade and will continue to be so. Zealfresh has taken over the brand and factory and intends to extend the range of goods with a new release of a sausage that uses only free range organic meat products. Contact Zealfresh or Neat Meat if you want them. Smoked duck and turkey breasts are available from Canter Valley Farm and Aoraki has a great smoked salmon range. Prosciutto di Parma It is possible to get prosciutto from Italy and, again, Sous Chef leads the way. There is one New Zealand version of prosciutto which I believe is better than anything out of Aussie and bloody near as good as the original and also a fine New Zealand style pancetta both from the Little Boys range of small goods and made in Te Aroha. The range also

Inshore species will slow down as we move into winter.

SALTWATER FISH Frozen Convenient and economical and you get what you get. Fresh Albacore This lovely oily little tuna is more than just bait. The season for this underrated little white fleshed tuna started in mid summer but will end soon. Another fish that is too good for the cat. Alfonsino Fresh alfonsino is in the markets these days. Anchovy all go for bait and cat food as companies say no one is willing to pay for them. Antarctic Toothfish is definitely not PC. Blue cod is not actually a cod, some sort of wrasse I think. As the albacore fishing season runs down, fishermen start on the blue cod fishery, so the Auckland market may even see some if you guys down south relax your exclusive claim to it. Blue moki The season for this beautiful fish will start in June. Bluenose is a bloody good replacement for the bloody good Hapuku – and all year round as well. Dory (black and smooth, mirror, in other words all deep sea Oreo Dory family). All are available throughout the year from off the southern east coast.

Zealfresh . 09 419 9165 . Unit 2, 84-90 Hillside Road,Wairau Valley, Nor th Shore

www.zealfresh.co.nz

Flounder There has been a flood of very good flounder on the market and it is a wonder our trade doesn’t make better use of this fish. There will be lots around in the short term, but the fishing will be quietening down as we get closer to winter Groper (Hapuku) is bloody hard to get sometimes, bloody expensive most times and bloody good all times.

Market intelligence

about had the best of the season and it gets even harder from now on.

Snapper The season has past its peak, but there is always reasonable supply.

Ling The fresh season for ling starts in June.

Sole The major catch also almost done and then it will be by-catch stuff. Supply is still restricted in the North Island as this is mainly a southern fish, but it is a much underutilised, premium fish at a relatively low price.

Moki (Blue and Silver) The season for this beautiful fish is over.

Gurnard is always available; a lovely fish you can’t afford to ignore.

Monkfish (stargazer) I cannot give this fish enough raps. It has an interesting texture and flavour reminiscent of crayfish and more and more kitchens have caught on to its value.

Green bone. A terrible name for a wonderful fish. Still some around for a month or so.

Mullet Lots of this beautiful fatty fish still around. Volumes will decrease as it gets colder though.

Hake Not yet.

Orange roughy The roughy season will not start until August so trawlers will have to find something else to scrape off the sea floor.

Hoki If for some reason you happen to be hanging out for a fresh piece of Hoki you will have to wait until June. This is another fish on the dreaded red list. John Dory is best in March, but there are always a few of this best-of-all-fishes coming in, but at a price. Kahawai This is the time for kahawai and though some do not value this fish and say that the flesh is coarse and too dark (as if this should be a problem for goodness sake; it lightens on cooking anyway), I have to disagree. At an impromptu tasting I served this fish alongside snapper (both species were caught on the same boat at about the same time and treated similarly) to four guests. Each of the four plates contained a fairly large portion of each (purposely more than could reasonably be expected to be consumed). All were cooked together in the same pan to the same degree, and none of the diners knew which two species were served. Each diner had consumed all the kahawai and left some of the snapper. So there! Ngah, ngah, ngah. Kingfish It is damned hard to find as there is never enough quota. We have just

Piper This fish is a winter fish and in recent years it has been damn hard to find in the marketplace – even in season. Red cod must have mothers so someone can love them. A bloody awful fish! Do not be confused by anything masquerading as English or British cod; this is still just your good old crayfish bait. Salmon, quinnat (sea cage) Fish will tend to be smaller over this period. Sardines We have lots around our coast and now you can get them. You can order direct at Salty Dog Seafoods – 0-9-433 7002. It can be supplied fresh or snapfrozen free-flow and you can designate the size. Sharks Autumn is a good time and May the best time for doggies (rig, spotted dogfish etc) – and school sharks are also great eating. Big sharks are a no-no these days. Skate If you like them, great. Still waiting for those recipes. Skipjack tuna Still some of this little red fleshed tuna about, but it will be gone by winter. One of the few tuna not red listed.

Moana Pacific Fisheries . 09 302 4027 . 138 Halsey Street, Auckland

www.moanapacif ic.com

Spotted gurnard The best-priced fish in the market. Tarakihi The season is slowing and finishes in June, but there will always be some around. Trevally Again, the main season is finishing but then quality markedly improves as the fish will be caught using ring nets around inshore reefs. Tuna Quality is reaching its peak. At present the cost is as low as it’s ever been with some very good deals around. This is the season for the Northern Bluefin tuna, but we will not see much of it – exported. Turbot and brill come from the west coast of the South Island as by-catch mostly. Warehou This is another southern species. The main season starts soon and the price is always reasonable.

FRESH WATER FISH Catfish are now available – very earthy flavour and bony; try them. Eel, longfin and shortfin The fresh season is all year in the North Island. South Island eel ends in May. Smoked eel is always obtainable. Koi That pretty pest of our waterways, the koi carp, is also now available in the Auckland Fish Market; well priced and worth a shot. Salmon, organic sockeye If you have trouble sourcing this fish it is available direct from New Zealand Clearwater Crayfish near Blenheim.

Market intelligence

Salmon, quinnat Some good smaller fish available as all larger fish will now be harvested or matured. Aoraki has a very good product. Trout Sadly not ever in this country. Whitebait The Chathams’ season finished at the end of February so no more fresh stuff until mid-August; bugger!

mollusc from the sea. Largest taste best and always some available. Smart enough to wander out of the kitchen on its own. Pacific oysters were improving, but then there was a second spat, but that was just a spat and supplies of this shellfish should be good barring storms, pestilence and algae. Paua (farmed) This smaller version of the wild paua is now available at a much more realistic price these days. The best are sourced from the farm in Bluff and are great eating.

SHELLFISH Bluff oysters Yep, you can get them now kiddies. Clams The southern varieties of cockle (littleneck) are still okay and always in good supply. For my money northern cockles are still the premium shellfish, but generally only available locally. At time of writing there is a massive algae bloom on the northern east coast, not toxic yet, but don’t hold your breath.

Paua (wild) This is the seabed and foreshore packaged in a shell. Use it all year if you have a robust bank account. Do NOT be tempted by the crooks coming to the back door. Pipi are very good eating, though usually only in local markets. Supply may fall over if the algae blooms become toxic. Queen scallops These are a deep water type and frozen can be sourced all year.

Clevedon Coast oysters always good and getting fatter.

Squid The main season for our squid finishes in May, but you can always get frozen.

Kina Just the thing for that something extra in a sauce. Available live. Kiwi surf clams (hard shell) and Pacific surf clams (triangle shell) are bigger shellfish and always available.

Tuatua (deep water) Yes, you can get them now and forever.

Mussel (Horse) You may hear the name ‘Chinese scallops’, well this is what they are talking about.

Tuatua (inshore) I feel these have the best flavour and may have the same issues as pipi this autumn.

Mussel (New Zealand Greenshell) Our endemic mussel and a very fine thing it is too. We see so many now that we tend to take them for granted; well don’t. A very high meat-to-shell ratio and always available live in the shell and fresh or frozen on the half shell.

Yellow eyed mullet, sprats if you will, are now more available fresh and not just for bait. Try them; great eating and great buying.

CRUSTACEANS

Nelson Bay oysters Yep. New Zealand scallops Fresh are well over, but should be on again in July. Octopus When it’s fresh it’s the best

Bugs Your imported seafood supplier should have these. Crabs Quota for the tasty deep water spider and king crab has been allocated

for a couple of years now; but it appears no one is that keen to go out and get them. A very few are turning up here and there. The best part of the paddle crab season runs until June. Crayfish The main season is just about finished. You will always get some, but prices may climb even higher. Koura (farmed organic) You may get a few from New Zealand Clearwater Crayfish in the Wairau Valley, but the season is effectively over. New Zealand prawns are available from the hot water prawn farm at Wairakei near Taupo. They have a more delicate flavour than other prawns and are definitely worth a shot. Imported prawns The usual frozen stuff, but ideally the only good prawn is a fresh one. New Zealand scampi Expensive and exquisite and usually frozen. Scampi imported (frozen) Cheaper, larger and coarser and do not look half as good on the plate.

grill magazine would like to thank our sponsors for their financial support and unbiased help in the intelligence gathering without which this column would not be possible. Zealfresh; Moana Pacific Fisheries; Prepared Produce; Canter Valley Farm; Sous Chef and Fish & Game NZ. We also wish acknowledge the following for their support in the collecting of impartial information used in the collation of this column. The Produce Company Wilson Hellaby Harmony Foods Neat Meat

Moana Pacific Fisheries . 09 302 4027 . 138 Halsey Street, Auckland

www.moanapacif ic.com

In praise of the

humble sheep I RATE SHEEP

by John Clarke, resource editor

Fewer sheep more meat

Farmers, with the help of our world-leading agricultural research and advisory services, work on improving the performance of their capital flocks. There has been a shift in emphasis from sheer numbers to selecting a sheep on its performance and this has helped lift the productivity of the national flock. Between 1992 and 2002 the number of breeding ewes and hoggets in New Zealand fell by 24%, yet between 1993 and 2003 the tonnage of lamb meat processed increased by 22.4%.

aptain Cook dumped the first few sheep on this land in 1773. They survived and their descendants, in the form of the Arapawa ram, can still be seen today. The national flock grew steadily to 70.3 million in 1982, but has since declined to 32.5 million due in no small part to conversion to other apparently more lucrative forms of land use, mainly dairy and to some extent vineyards. Even now our national sheep flock at less than half its one-time peak represents 10 sheep for every person in New Zealand, and in one way or another they live and die for our pleasure. Not only do our grass-fed sheep provide us with the best lamb and mutton, they earn this country about $2.5 billion a year (the single largest export earner after dairy products). It is sheep that provide us with a good proportion of the things we feel we need (flat screen televisions and other such necessities) to survive in this modern world of ours. We in the hospitality industry should value our sheep and the best way to do so is to recognise the high quality of our

lamb and mutton and treat it with the respect it undoubtedly deserves. We should not begrudge the farmer the $80 he gets for a lamb in a bloody good year, but celebrate and promote sheep meat as an exclusive, high-quality product. And New Zealand sheep meat is just that – an exclusive, high-quality product. Our sheep are not housed or intensively farmed but are generally run on hill country with the sun on their backs. The whole marketing world is seeking ways to differentiate the character of their product so they can improve their margins and secure their market. As butcher Gary Cullen from Northland stresses, New Zealand has an advantage: “New Zealand is one of the few countries that finish animals in a natural environment, on pasture. This is a great thing, not a fault. It is our greatest virtue.” Ironically the decline in profitability of sheep and therefore numbers over the past 25 years has led to even greater improvements in the quality of the meat we are getting. As sheep farming profitability declined a lot of the easier country was converted to dairy and horticultural

The Red Report

production, much of it vineyards. Farmers have fewer places to put sheep these days and that simple fact has had an impact on sheep numbers. This has helped farmers and processors to concentrate on quality rather than quantity providing better meat, traceability and a greater choice to the consumer. This meat quality is determined by five factors: breed, environment, condition, age and processing, and the ranking of importance will depend on where in the supply chain the opinion is formed. Processors almost always mention breed and condition, while butchers may go on and on about hanging meat, and farmers will rave about age and breed. All are important to a greater or lesser extent, and all these factors need to be considered. Breed has some influence, and any farmer or stud breeder will tell you his breed tastes best. But farmers are usually

primarily concerned with feed conversion rates, cut out rates and other factors directly connected with turning grass into meat. However, farmers are very aware that where breed really matters is in the environment it has to live in. Different breeds cope better in different environments. Perendale sheep in the less developed country of Northland, Halfbred wethers (sheep) in the high country and Romneys on the easy hills and low country are all examples of breeds suited to particular conditions. Though, if the truth be known, most of the sheep meat we see is some permutation of a Romney. Environment really does count; we are what we eat and sheep are no less. An animal’s tastiness and texture will reflect the environment it lives in – the terroir in wine terms. “I killed lambs we fattened on land that went down to the river. It was

full of wild mint; everyone commented that they had never tasted lamb like it, it was just great,” says Steve Marquet, a Canterbury butcher and supplier to the hospitality trade. He goes on to suggest that being able to trace meat to a specific locale could have advantages. “Decent, well-fed animals from varied pasture have the advantage of tasting like they are supposed to, tasting like the country they are from. A two-tooth high-country wether brought down and finished for six weeks on the flats still has all the flavours of the herbs and grasses of the tussock country in its meat. This would surely be good for business; it is all about selling an idea to the customer.” Chef Peter Thornley agrees: “It is up to the restaurateur and the chef to educate our customers, to indicate the differences in taste and texture from specific localities. There could be a margin in it.” Continued on page 39

www.grill.co.nz

the red report

Where does our sheep meat come from? High country The high country has bloody long cold winters and regular snow. Pastures are mostly unimproved tussock and adventive grasses (grasses that are not deliberately planted) such as browntop and sweet vernal. Areas of better soils are often cultivated to grow feed crops and improved pastures, which are usually harvested as hay and silage. Irrigation of these soils is becoming widespread. Fine wool from Merino or Halfbred sheep is still the main source of income for high-country farmers, though many will cross a terminal sire with some of their ewes to produce lambs for the meat trade. Surplus sheep are also sold to farmers on rolling hill country and lowlands to breed crossbred lambs, or for fattening.

Hill country

COMPANY PROFILE

Hill country makes up the bulk of pastoral land in both the North and South Islands. This land is the engine room of New Zealand sheep farming. North Island hill country has traditionally been dominated by Romneys. In the South Island, the Halfbred and Corriedale are found in the drier areas, and the Romney in wetter parts.

The hill country can be subdivided into three classes – easy, medium and hard – according to the steepness of the hills and the length of the growing season. On hard hill country, farmers run breeding stock. Their income is from wool and the sale of store sheep (sheep to be fattened for slaughter). The Perendale was bred to replace Romneys in this type of country. It is a cross of the hardy Cheviot over the Romney, is naturally more fertile, hardier, a better forager, and needs less shepherding than the Romney. Medium hill country is used to finish lambs and older sheep for the meat trade, but wool still remains an important product. Easy hill country has more flexibility, with breeding and finishing sheep the norm and in good seasons farmers also buy in stock for finishing.

Lowlands The plains, river valleys and easy rolling hills of both islands are the home of intensive sheep farming. This land has been given over increasingly to dairy farming and horticulture, including vineyards. The few farmers that haven’t been squeezed out generally finish stock brought off the hill and high country.

ZEALFRESH – BRINGING QUALITY TO THE KITCHEN After 10 years working and playing overseas Craig and Kate Luxton decided it was time to come back home to New Zealand, first to get married and then to look for a job. As a result, Zealfresh was formed at the beginning of 1997 with a focus on supplying top quality lamb and beef into the hospitality trade. First they had to access a consistent supply of the best quality cuts and then convince chefs in Auckland to buy their products. With no capital to put into the business it was a case of selling into an outlet and getting paid as quickly as they could so they could pay their supplier. Right from the start they had the good fortune of being able to buy worldclass lamb cuts from Davmet NZ Ltd,

which exports lamb to the European, North American and Asian markets. The lamb is then sold into high-end hospitality outlets and retail supermarkets. The ongoing 13year relationship between Zealfresh and Davmet ensures that Zealfresh is supplied with chilled lamb right throughout the year – the very same lamb that is exported to the above markets. In 2005, Davmet introduced the Hawkes Bay Natural Lamb brand to the market. This emphasises the region the lamb comes from and how the lamb is selected, as well as now being recognised as a mark of excellence. The list of Zealfresh clients who use Hawkes Bay Natural Lamb is too long to name. Simply put, the product is outstanding and ‘fronts up’ every time chefs cook it.

Zealfresh has built its reputation by fostering long-term relationships with both its suppliers and its clients. Along with Davmet it has built similar relationships with other top suppliers such as Freedom Farms, Duncan Cervena Venison, Harmony and Affco Meats. Also a casual discussion with renowned chef Jeremy Schmid saw the creation of a joint venture and the classic “Little Boys” brand and range of charcuterie and smallgoods. The hospitality trade understands the importance of having a reputable supplier – so give Zealfresh a call. For more information go to www.zealfresh.co.nz or phone 0800 493 253.

The Red Report

Continued from page 37

Condition is the critical factor when it comes to tenderness and flavour. A skinny sick animal will taste like a skinny sick animal, but these days farmers finishing stock make every effort to get their animals to the works in the best condition possible. As Stu Milligan, a farmer from Tautoro in Northland, says: “Animals in poor condition taste poor; if it is not happy or healthy, this also is a stress factor. Bugger all sheep meat you get today has this problem as any sheep growers still left are good farmers and of course there is no money in sending stock to the works in poor condition.” The age of an animal can have a greater influence on the flavour and particularly texture (tenderness) of meat than almost anything else. An older animal in its prime has time to grow and gain flavour and muscle texture from its environment. “There is little better than a two-tooth wether that has been feeding on high country tussock before going down to the flats to have a nice rest and fatten up before it gets its head cut off,” says Milligan. But most of the dead animals people eat are adolescent if not younger. This may not necessarily be a bad thing as the young tend to be sweet, tender and boring – a great vehicle for the latest sauce creation. This is not an issue with lamb, and New Zealand lamb in particular, as it is tender but still has a definite definable flavour. This is the great advantage that our lamb has over other under-aged meats and we as chefs should capitalise on it. Processing is the easiest factor to control. Simply find and get to know a decent supplier, stick with him or her and always insist on a branded product. Do this and all the other quality variables mentioned above will fall into place. Choosing lamb displaying the New Zealand Beef and Lamb Quality Mark is a bloody good start. Do business with cowboys offering cheap deals and you will just get what you pay for.

Pinotage A short primer By Keith Stewart, consulting editor.

inotage was the first popular red of the modern New Zealand wine revolution, in part because early efforts with this black variety delivered red wine better than most New Zealand winemakers of the time were ready for. It was at least drinkable, slightly berryish, and inevitably soft, and it served as a fair competitor to the cheaper Aussie reds that were then being shipped across the Tasman in moderate quantities. The variety itself is a misnomer, named pinotage according to its parentage, which was, so the stories went at the time, of Rhône Valley (Hermitage, the popular name for syrah in Australia at the time) and Burgundy (pinot noir) origin, from an unlikely pairing in a South African vineyard. In reality it is the result of university research by one Professor Theron at Elsenburg Agricultural College at Stellenbosch in South Africa, who matched a mean-spirited version of pinot noir with cinsault, a Southern French variety that goes by the name of Hermitage in the Cape.

For early New Zealand wine drinkers, such colourful stories of the wine’s lineage were irrelevant, as most bottles carrying the Pinotage name on the label were made primarily from blends of common hybrids of the Siebel family. These wines tasted like the tawdry remains of dead, wet foxes and were liberally salted with sugar to hide their nastier characteristics, so consequently Pinotage lost credibility as a source of premium red wine. This is most unfortunate, as when well grown and made it yields rich, flavoursome wine, soft and flecked with fruit flavours, with a distinct personality that owes much to its rather feral theme. Call it gamey, call it French drains – as some English refer to the character of the best washed rind cheese, whatever, it is the perfect companion to red meat of almost any variety. Pinotage is a particularly lovely wine to drink alongside any sheep meat, be it a full flavoured neck chop or tender spring lamb rack. It should be considered the New Zealand classic it deserves to be. Karikari 2007 Pinotage is a fine expression of the terroir of the Karikari Peninsula in the far north and a perfect accompaniment for any lamb dish.

www.grill.co.nz

The

good in your region grill tastes New Zealand’s condiment style Extra Virgin Olive Oils

THE TASTING PANEL

Again grill’s tasting panel featured Danny Schuster, a master taster with international experience, just returned from Tuscany having tasted the new season oils. Other members were grill’s consulting editor Keith Stewart an experienced and respected taster and John Clarke, resource editor. Joining these three was Eugene Hamilton, a senior chef and olive oil aficionado who is currently head of kitchen operations for the Nourish Group.

he most important qualifier for extra virgin classification is the absence of defects and the presence of some olive fruitiness. So look for the red ONZ certification sticker. The New Zealand olive industry now has over 100 producers but is comparatively young with fewer styles of extra virgin olive oils compared with the vast range available in the northern hemisphere. Although some delicate oils are produced, the majority of our oils are either intense or medium in style. However, there are regional styles emerging, with oils from the warmer North Island areas showing different characteristics from those produced in cooler regions.

THE OILS

grill invited producers to submit oils currently available to the trade and secured 27 New Zealand samples, 26 were from the 2009 harvest and one from 2008. One sample was from Australia of unknown vintage. THE TASTING

The top-rated oils had pleasing proportions of bitterness and pungency to fruitiness (the fruitiness being the strongest of the three) and a good range of ripe and green flavours. Unless stated otherwise all oils were gold medal winners at the 2009 Extra Virgin Olive Oil Awards, packaged in dark glass and ONZ certified.

olive blue

Premium quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil without the premium price Presented in a special easy to handle cask designed to maintain best quality by locking out air and blocking light. Cold pressed and 1st cut with very low acidity. Non drip tap attached ready to use inside. Pull out and pour. Good shelf life and so convenient, stores away easily. No messy tins or bottles to dispose of, or breakage. Recyclable. Fantastic value considering its quality.

OLIVE GOLD Ltd Exclusive Importer & Distributor of the Finest Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tel: 03 3545404 Fax: 03 3545406 Email: olivegold@xtra.co.nz www.olivegold.co.nz

NOW AVAILABLE: GILMOURS NORTH ISLAND AND BIDVEST NATIONALLY. CHARGE THROUGH ALSO.

TASTE EVOO

Photo: Jan Michael DaVid

La Casa Toscana, Frantoio, Canterbury (Silver) 9 This oil may only have made silver in the awards but all grill tasters gave this oil the highest score. Beautiful green hue, aromatic, nice spice, full flavoured and a good pepper kick. All noted a lovely mineral character and a fine finish. Two tasters with direct experience noted that this oil compares favourably with Tuscany’s best. Quail Ridge Estate Gold Blend, Northland 8 Greenish straw, good aromatics, lifted flavours, complexity with nice spice and bitterness and good length. A fine oil in anyone’s books. Te Arai, Motutira Single Estate, blend, Mangawhai, Northland 8 (No certification and no medal) Bright with greenish edge and fresh herb aromas. Mellow, nutty character with a touch of spice and a pungent lifted finish. Elegant, well balanced and suave. Lot Eight, Appassionata, Wairarapa (Silver) 8 Yellow/green, a fresh spicy nose with a nice touch of asparagus. Buttery and well flavoured with a tight good finish.

A very pleasant well balanced oil of moderate concentration. Bellbird, Fruttato Verde, blend, Waipara 7 Greenish hints, aromatic, mild and nutty with herbal notes. Lovely flavours, elegant with a good long finish. Frog’s End Estate, Frantoio, Nelson (500ml metal flask) 7 Green lights and a good aroma. Pungent and fruity clean with good texture but lacks spice and an aromatic finish. Bellbird, Dolce, blend, Waipara 7 Two levels of hue, rich yellow and green. Subtle nutty aromas, rich textured with hints of herb and spice and a nice pungent finish. Another well made suave oil from Bellbird. Rangihoua, Stonyridge Blend, Waiheke Island 7 Deep straw hue, aromatic with mildly nutty nose. Fresh, bright, clean and elegant with a touch of capsicum. Good structure and moderate complexity with a creamy aspect. Good oil. Cairnmuir Olives, Leccino, Central Otago 7 Green edge, aromatic and fresh. Hints

of spice, medium intensity with some pungency and a good finish. Two tasters felt this oil was a little over ripe in character. Azzuro Groves, Tuscan Blend, Waiheke ISLAND 7 Pale yellow, aromatic and nutty with hints of spice. Words used by the panel for this lighter well balanced oil were, delicate, elegant, gentle and complex. Two suggested ideal with salads and fish.

The tasting notes listed reflect the comments of the judges and no other parties. Oils are ranked highest to lowest and scored on a 10-point scale. Scores are collated and averaged.

OUR SCORES ARE AS FOLLOWS: Score 1 – 3 Simple oils that range from pleasant to satisfying. Score 4 – 6 Quality oils ranging from promising to very good. Score 7 – 9 Premium oils at the top of their style, ranging from excellent to outstanding. Score 10 We are not there yet.

Simunovich Olive Estate award winning extra virgin olive oils

now available for hospitality for the kitchen: natural 10 litre container $16.00 per litre for the table: 250 ml: natural $8.60, infused by lemon $11.00, garlic $11.00 Extracted from

carefully chosen olive fruit

varieties,

our oils are blended to achieve a pleasant tasting, high quality product

acclaimed by chefs

throughout the country.

They are cholesterol free, and classed as ‘medium’ tasting, well balanced with crisp, fresh, fruity, grassy and green apple notes on the tongue, almond note on the throat and a slight peppery after taste.

Order by free phone 0800

746 865

www.simuolive.co.nz www.grill.co.nz

TASTE EVOO

Frog’s End, Frog’s End Blend, Nelson 6 Greenish straw, firm with a spicy, nutty character. Slightly hot and pungent with a hint of bitterness.

hints of herbaceousness. Light structure with hints of almond and some pungency and perhaps a little naïve. One taster commented that this oil may be typical of young trees.

Matakana Olive Co-op, Matakana Coast Blend, Matakana 6 Pale yellow with green lights, fresh nose and concentrated. A firm texture but simple structure and a mild finish with just a touch of edginess.

Waiheke Olive Oil Co, blend, Waiheke/Hawkes bay 5 Pale straw with greenish hints. A delicate, mellow, slightly warm nose. A subtle oil but lacking definition.

Lot Eight, Oil Makers Blend, Wairarapa (Silver) 6 Yellowish with almond and citrus like aromas. A fat mid-palate with some character and a peppery cut off at the finish.

La Casa Toscana, Manzanillo, Canterbury 7 Straw, greenish tinge, light nose. Moderate concentration, nutty mid palate, some spice and piquant. A pleasant charming oil. Rangihoua Estate Waiheke Blend, Waiheke Island 7 Pale bright straw, fresh fruit nose. Mellow with hints of spice and a pleasant structure. A gentle, elegant oil. Simunovich Olive Estate, Auckland 6 (No certification and no medal) Green hints and a fresh floral/spicy nose. Good texture, mild spice but without a lot of flavour definition. A well integrated oil. Rangihoua Estate, Picual, Waiheke Island (Silver) 6 Pale translucent straw, not especially aromatic, fruity with hints of flowers and green tomato. Relatively complex with a lifted finish.

Molive Gold, blend, Wairarapa 6 A green edge with a ripe, bready, slightly sweet nose. Herblike spice, mashmallowy, fluffy, and pretty but lacked personality and definition in the finish. Karaka Grove, Koroneiki, Auckland 6 Straw to yellow, aromatic. Clean fruit flavours with some complexity and pungency and a calm finish. A salad oil. Divinity Olives, Northland 6 Pale straw with fruit/spice lifted nose. Smooth, soft and low acid with a simple finish. Pataua Olive Grove, Ascolano, Northland 5 (No certification, in clear glass) Hints of green, gentle, some nuttiness, oily. One taster noted bitterness in the finish from what he considered hard pressed fruit. A simple but good oil. Matakana Olive Co-op, Frantoio, Matakana (Silver) 5 Pale yellow with a generic bouquet and

This tasting was held at TASTE and conducted with the assistance and support of the Restaurant Association of New Zealand.

Karikari olives, Karikari blend, Northland 5 (No certification, in clear glass) Bright straw with an herbaceous/floral nose; two tasters noted hints of pennyroyal. Soft, simple and a little short and greasy. Karaka Grove, Leccino, Auckland 5 Yellow, fresh aromas, lifted. Light to medium weight, mild with hint of astringency. Generally a simple oil. Karaka Grove, Picual, Auckland 5 Bright straw, herbaceous, leafy (tomato) hints but lacking character. Sadly somewhat oxidized. All tasters noted rancio and this prevented a higher score. Olive blue, (500ml glass), Australia 4 No certification, no harvest date. Use by 07/2011 Pale straw. Simple, soft and over ripe. Terrace Edge, Tuscan Blend 2008, Waipara Not scored Sadly this (the only 2008) oil was very oxidised and considered too rancid to judge. Two tasters who know this oil said that this was unlucky as this is generally very good oil.

TASTE EVOO

Intense Blend: Frogs End Blend, Frantoio, Leccino, Manzanillo, Picual (Peter & Rae Coubrough)

2009 Extra Virgin Olive Oil Awards

he 2009 Extra Virgin Olive Oil Awards were judged on 6 & 7 October and the results were announced at the Awards Dinner at the Hotel Intercontinental, Wellington on Saturday 10 October. Reproduced here, courtesy of Olives New Zealand, are the New Zealand extra virgin olive oils that gained the very top awards.

Because of space considerations, the full list of awards could not be posted. For the full list of award winning extra virgin olive oils and the good oil in your region go to our website www.grill.co.nz or visit Olives New Zealand at www.olivesnz.org.nz.

Intense Single Varietal: Frantoio (Peter & Rae Coubrough)

Category 2 – Production Greater Than 100 litres Best in Class

Best in Show

Light Blends: Simunovich Olive Estate First Press, Carolea, Verdale, Pendolino

La Casa Toscana, Manzanillo (Gayle & Lionel Sheridan)

Light Single Varietal: River Estate, Frantoio (Barry Wade)

Category 1 – Production Less Than 100 litres Best in Class Light Blends: No award Light Single Varietal: No award Medium Blend: Poverty Gully, Frantoio/Leccino (Sue & Trevor McNamare) Medium Single Varietal: Quail Ridge, Koroneiki (Carol Dunlop)

Medium Blend: Matapiro Olives (2008), Matapiro Gold Blend Medium Single Varietal: La Casa Toscana, Manzanillo (Gayle & Lionel Sheridan) Intense Blend: Waiheke Olive Oil Co, Matiatia Grove, Koroneiki/ Frantoio Grove Blend (John & Margaret Edwards) Intense Single Varietal: Matapiro Olives (2008), Matapiro, Koroneiki

A testament to dedication and skill Rangihoua Estate had its first harvest in 1997; this was the first time that olive oil had been made on Waiheke Island and chef Jamie Oliver was not wrong when, on sampling their Stonyridge Blend Extra Virgin Olive Oil, he declared it to be: “The best I’ve tasted in the Southern Hemisphere.” But Oliver is not the only one to recognise the outstanding quality of these Waiheke Island oils. Rangihoua has consistently won gold medals at the New Zealand Extra Virgin Olive Oil competitions. And not only has praise been heaped upon the Rangihoua Estate’s olive oils in New Zealand. At the prestigious Los Angeles 2008 Extra Virgin Oil competition, known throughout the world as the top competition of its kind, (and following gold medals in previous years),

Rangihoua Estate extra virgin olive oils won Best In Class, two Gold and two Silver medals with the comment: “Superb delicacy and nuances of flavours made Rangihoua stand out from amongst hundreds of other international competitors.” Rangihoua Estate is owned and managed by the Sayles family. They were inspired to grow olive trees and produce olive oil by Stephen White of Stonyridge Vineyard, (producer of perhaps the best Bordeaux-style wines in the country), and the beautiful olive grove on his Waiheke Island vineyard. Anne Sayles worked at Stonyridge for five years and this began the relationship between Rangihoua and Stonyridge that still exists to this day. After a trip to Tuscany, Italy, in 1996 Colin, Anne and Gavin Sayles decided that they would plant their own Waiheke Island property in olives. Colin had picked olives on a farm in Tuscany and his aim was to produce an olive oil similar to the ones he’d been involved with there. Back home in New Zealand, Colin poured green olive oil out of the jar he’d carried home from Tuscany, announcing to friends and family: “If we can produce olive oil like this, then we’ll be in with a chance.” The dream has proved more successful than they ever hoped and the oils Rangihoua produces are a testament to dedication and skill. For more information go to www.rangihoua.co.nz

www.grill.co.nz

Company profile

Island oil – Rangihoua Estate

Pinot Gris Flavour of the month

By Keith Stewart

ine labelled Pinot Gris is one of the hottest items on New Zealand’s wine lists at the moment, although wines with this name lack the emphatic stylistic character that marks Sauvignon Blanc or the sophistication and quality that is a clear feature of Chardonnay. For all that this wine style is less than overtly aromatic it has been grouped within the aromatic category. Some do carry a mellow fruit nose that is pear-like in character, but of all the aromatics Pinot Gris has the least aroma. Known as Rulander in Germany, Tokay d’Alsace in France (where it is grown almost exclusively in the Alsace region) and as Pinot Grigio in Italy, European versions are as diverse in style as New Zealand winemakers’ efforts. A feature of the best is a rich viscosity in the wine which can impart a silky quality that supports high alcohol and naturally low acids. As a relatively early ripening variety, it is common in some parts of Germany as a quick route to late harvest, semi-sweet styles in the Spätlese and Auslese categories. The cheapest Alsatian versions are mild and earthy by comparison, deep

and rich with a touch of sweetness and greater alcohol content in the top flight wines. Remarkably bland in Italy, where it is commonly sold as colourless, odourless, thin, soft quaffers, it has become popular in the United States where it does not frighten typically simple consumers who want an unsurprising glass of imported wine. THE WINES

grill invited distributors and wine companies to submit wines currently available to the trade and secured over 54 samples. Most were from the 2009 vintage, though there were a few exceptions from 2008 and 2007. THE TASTING

The wines were clearly divided between those that had solid structure and those without. It was notable that the leading wines were made mostly by winemakers who are noted for the high quality reds they produce. Wine tasters’ comments are included for all wines scoring 6 and above, accompanied by an assortment of comments for lower-scoring wines, which are provided as samples of style and character.

grill WINE SCORING SYSTEM The wine notes listed reflect the comments of the judges and no other parties. The labels and/ or bottle shots accompanying the notes are paid for by the wine companies as a means of advertising their performance. Wines that are not supported by these images have been neither demoted in ranking nor had their scores reduced. All wines considered by the judges to be worthy of drinking have been scored on a 10-point scale.

OUR SCORES ARE AS FOLLOWS: Score 1 – 3 Simple beverage wines that range from pleasant to satisfying. Score 4 – 6 Quality wines ranging from promising to very good. Score 7 – 9 Premium wines at the top of their style, ranging from excellent to outstanding. Score 10 Once in a blue moon – a wine even the judges just have to swallow.

pinot gris taste

THE TASTING 9

QUARTZ REEF 2008 BENDIGO PINOT GRIS

Photo: Jan Michael DaVid

Central Otago • Screw cap

Savoury, nutty, pear/peach wine that has excellent weight and a complex palate enhanced by rich texture. Has structure and length and layers of flavour. Dry, exceptionally well balanced, with minerality and a long, fine finish. Full bouquet, complex and strong with stone-fruits, floral and lees/oak characters. Well balanced with a mineral edge and a long fine finish. Superb. 8 ESCARPMENT 2008 PINOT GRIS Martinborough Diam

Full, robust bouquet with vinosity, lees and oak to complement the deep fruit characters. Excellent astringent balance, with late harvest fruit flavours and excellent length. Slightly funky character is intriguing, layered with delicious fruit flavours. Great balance and a real sense of individuality. 8 ATA RANGI 2009 LISMORE PINOT GRIS Martinborough • Screw cap

Fresh stone fruit and ripe floral notes, lees complexity and focused flavour in a late harvest style. Has length and structure. Silky textured with lovely integration of components.

NEUDORF 2009 MAGGIE’S BLOCK PINOT GRIS

Complex from first, with medium concentration, aromatic fruit characters and fine astringent balance. Beguiling nose has nashi and elderflower characters, and the full, weighty palate will cope well with rich foods. Lingering finish. 8 JOHANNESHOF 2008 MEDIUM PINOT GRIS

CHURCH ROAD 2007 CUVE SERIES PINOT GRIS

Moutere • Screw cap

Hawkes Bay • Screw cap

Full, concentrated, focused wine with lees complexity, vinosity and depth amongst stone-fruit flavours. Slightly oily texture. Complex and mealy wine with chalky/pear characters, impressive concentration and an earthy note. Nice weight, definitely a food wine. 6 MAIN DIVIDE 2009 PINOT GRIS

Marlborough Diam

Waipara • Screw cap

Fresh, focused wine with tropical fruit aromas. Lees complexity is a good foil for the late harvest fruit flavours and spice. Well balanced acidity, long finish. Classy. A touch of honey, lush and expansive.

Lovely wine with a citrus edge to the nose. Well balanced and focused. Ripe with lees complexity and excellent phenolic balance. Long flavours – old world style.

MARTINBOROUGH VINEYARD 2008 PINOT GRIS

Martinborough • Screw cap

Developed, full, complex bouquet with measures of lees and oak, balanced acidity and an off-dry finish. Great food wine. Rich and opulent, peachy, mealy palate with nuts and a nice glossy texture. Impressive.

Central Otago • Screw cap

Complex, layered and textural with vinosity as well as astringent balance. Mineral edge at the finish. Classic style. Flinty with citrus/apple notes, well structured and long finishing.

CARRICK 2009 CENTRAL OTAGO PINOT GRIS

Central Otago • Screw cap

Fresh, youthful wine with lifted floral aromas and nice lees texture. Ample acidity and some good astringency for balance. Yeast character is intriguing and the wine is vinous, well balanced and promising for bottle development.

MOUNT DIFFICULTY 2008 PINOT GRIS

WITHER HILLS 2008 PINOT GRIS

Wairau Valley • Screw cap

Appealing peach-blossom nose. Succulent, nice weight with acid balance and a long, fresh finish.

pinot gris taste

CLAYRIDGE 2008 PINOT GRIS

LOCHARBURN 2008 PINOT GRIS

VILLA MARIA 2009 SEDDON VINEYARD PINOT GRIS

Marlborough • Screw cap

Central Otago • Screw cap

Very ripe, mouth-filling, strong wine. Concentrated aromas with complexity and well-defined structure. Long, balanced finish.

Fresh simple style with a mineral edge. Natural acid balance is nice. Zesty and tasty. A juicy, elegant mouthful.

Attractive white peach, guava nose. Fruit flavoured and finished with good concentration and a strong finish. 6 TATTY BOGLER 2009 PINOT GRIS

Full, aromatic bouquet, lifted aromatics and stonefruit characters in the palate with the advantage of lees complexity. Good acidity and a mineral edge at the finish. Rich, with a full spectrum of fruit flavours and excellent length. 6 WAIPARA HILLS 2008 SOUTHERN CROSS SELECTION PINOT GRIS

Marlborough • Screw cap

Otago • Screw cap

THE EDGE 2008 PINOT GRIS

CAMSHORN 2008 PINOT GRIS

Martinborough • Screw cap

Waipara • Screw cap

Aromatic, fresh wine with some lees character. Floral with fine acidity. Candied apple and citrus characters with a good acid balance. Chalky.

Simpler style with hints of astringency and an off-dry finish. Crisp and firm. An appealing, summery wine.

BILANCIA 2008 PINOT GRIS

Hawkes Bay • Screw cap

Very floral, balanced, fruit filled wine. Rather delicate. Chalky and finely textured with vibrancy and charm. Zesty and fresh.

THE TASTING PANEL • Danny Schuster, a master of wine evaluation with international experience, particularly in Pinot Noir, Pinot Gris, Riesling, Chardonnay and the Bordeaux varieties. He brought to this tasting a deep understanding of the fundamental structure demanded of top Pinot Gris, especially those which are expected to develop in bottle. • Auckland-based wine consultant and grill wine columnist Sam Kim, who is a regular member of these panels as well as a respected wine judge in competition formats. • David Stewart, a sommelier of long standing who is currently working at Tabou in Kingsland.

BILANCIA 2007 PINOT GRIGIO RESERVE Hawkes Bay • Screw cap

Nutty, mealy, pineapple and pear characters deliver complexity succulence and weight. Intensely flavoured, yet poised. 6 TINPOT HUT 2009 PINOT GRIS Marlborough • Screw cap

Full ripe bouquet with citrus and tropical characters, with fruit characters dominating throughout. Pleasant and mouth filling. A little short. 6 TRIPLE BANK 2009 PINOT GRIS Awatere • Screw cap

Youthful and clean, with good flow from beginning to end and subtle sweetness. Simple, a touch reductive, short.

Waipara • Screw cap

Layered, lemony wine with good feel. Good intensity, balanced acid, smooth and appealing. 6 VILLA MARIA 2009 CELLAR SELECTION PINOT GRIS No defined region • Screw cap

More complex wine with a lees aged bouquet. Mid-weight, balanced, off-dry finish. Nice harmony and length with acid structure. 5 MATAWHERO 2009 PINOT GRIS Gisborne • Screw cap

Lightly peachy wine, fresh and supple in style with typical flavours. A little simple, but pleasant.

Left to right: Danny Schuster, Sam Kim & David Stewart.

HUNTERS 2009 MARLBOROUGH PINOT GRIS

VILLA MARIA 2009 PRIVATE BIN EAST COAST PINOT GRIS

Wairau Valley • Screw cap

Floral and juicy with a crisp finish. Fresh, with full ripe fruit. Opulent with good astringent balance. Would be more impressive with some air. 5 MARSDEN 2008 PINOT GRIS Bay of Islands • Screw cap

Ripe, currently fruit forward, with an earthy, apple character. Reductive notes tend to detract from its strong points. Broad.

No defined region • Screw cap

STONELEIGH 2009 RAUPARA SERIES PINOT GRIS

Marlborough • Screw cap

RANSOM 2008 CLOS DE VALERIE PINOT GRIS

Matakana • Screw cap

Gisborne • Screw cap

KAIMIRA ESTATE 2007 BRIGHTWATER PINOT GRIS

5 SACRED HILL 2009 MARLBOROUGH PINOT GRIS

Nelson • Screw cap

VIDAL 2009 EAST COAST PINOT GRIS

JULES TAYLOR 2009 PINOT GRIS

Hawkes Bay • Screw cap

TRINITY HILL 2008 PINOT GRIS

Waipara • Screw cap

Gimblett Gravels • Screw cap

BABICH 2008 PINOT GRIS Marlborough • Screw cap

BRICK BAY 2009 PINOT GRIS

Matakana • Screw cap

COUPER’S SHED 2009 PINOT GRIS

Hawkes Bay • Screw cap

ALLAN SCOTT 2008 PINOT GRIS

Marlborough • Screw cap

Northland • Screw cap

Central Otago • Screw cap

Marlborough • Screw cap

SQUAWKING MAGPIE 2009 THE CHATTERER PINOT GRIS

Hawkes Bay • Screw cap

DASHWOOD 2008 PINOT GRIS

ALEXANDRA WINE COMPANY 2009 ALEX GOLD PINOT GRIS

BUTTERFISH BAY 2009 PINOT GRIS

MONTANA 2008 RESERVE PINOT GRIS

OMAKA SPRINGS 2009 PINOT GRIS

No defined region • Screw cap

C.J.PASK 2009 GIMBLETT ROAD PINOT GRIS

CURIO 2008 MORRELL VINEYARD PINOT GRIS

THORNBURY 2009 PINOT GRIS

Awatere Valley • Screw cap

Hawkes Bay • Screw cap

ESK VALLEY 2009 PINOT GRIS

VAVASOUR 2008 PINOT GRIS

Marlborough • Screw cap

WAIRAU RIVER 2009 PINOT GRIS Marlborough • Screw cap

Matakana • Screw cap

No defined region • Screw cap

5 5

MICHAEL RAMON 2008 PINOT GRIS

Marlborough • Screw cap

Richly textured, less vibrant style of moderate weight, offdry with a touch of phenolic balance.

Marlborough Diam

BRUNTON ROAD 2008 PINOT GRIS

JOHANNISHOF 2008 TROCKEN PINOT GRIS

MICHAEL RAMON 2009 PINOT GRIS Matakana • Screw cap

This tasting was held at TASTE and conducted with the assistance and support of the Restaurant Association of New Zealand.

www.grill.co.nz

The Spirit of Hospitality

Hospitality in New Zealand

Photos: Sarah Habershon and John Clarke

The Spirit of Hospitality

Celebrating the diversity of manaakitanga in Aotearoa New Zealand By John Clarke

he hospitality landscape in New Zealand is a different fish than in the past, and as more cultures bring their traditions to this country we find that the essence of hospitality does not change. Regardless of the original cultural tradition, hospitality is all about the mana of the gift in the form of

Each future issue of grill will feature one of the many hospitality cultures, its traditions and cuisine, to be found in this our country, Aotearoa New Zealand.

welcome, and of course the sharing of food. Be it a traditional hui, a white middle-class birthday celebration or, as featured in this photo essay, a North Indian pre-wedding reception, the giving and sharing of food is a universal factor. Details of protocol may differ but the one constant, food, particularly

the foods of the host culture, is intrinsic to any hospitality tradition. If the hallmark of hospitality is food, it is the culinary diversity within our hospitality traditions that is so attractive and it is this wonderful diversity that is now creating such a rich and vibrant professional hospitality canvas in this country.

The above images are from the pre-marriage feast of the beautiful Ruksha and Vijay. The foods are from the North Indian state of Gujarat. Gujarati cuisine is noted for the use of spices such as fenugreek peppers, turmeric and asafoetida, wonderful chutneys and pickles, and sweetmeats to die for.

www.grill.co.nz

THE SPIRIT OF HOSPITALITY

Of land and philosophy karikari estate ANd carrington resort

In support of the Regional Fare Campaign, grill showcases establishments that source locally grown and produced items to create dishes, and are a fine expression of a region. Karikari Estate and Carrington Resort exemplify the best of their locality; Karikari in Northland. In October 2004 Keith Stewart wrote of Carrington in the Listener “… it is the essence of a great place, of a great tradition, and a history that is woven around the love of the land by many different people who have all travelled far to find it”. He was right on the button!

n Karikari Peninsula, a beautiful isolated coastal stretch in the far north, Carrington is possibly New Zealand’s most comprehensive resort. It sits harmoniously within a 3000 acre beef farm property, Carrington Farms, between four kilometres of private white sand beach, 900 acres of restored natural wetlands and the Karikari Estate vineyard on the northern slopes of Toupiroroa range. Carrington is not just another flash resort for the rich and famous, although it does have all the trappings, including a championship standard 18-hole golf course and a 40-hectare vineyard and winery. It is one man’s vision, and a foreign vision at that. American Paul Kelly saw this place and knew it was extraordinary in ways he still finds a little hard to nail. His vision

could have been a monument to ego and money – some sort of opulent pile designed to appeal to capitalist machismo (and granted it is spectacular) – but Carrington is more subtle and inclusive than that. Sure, it has that damn fine golf course, but it has the wairua of land in its heart and at each hole there is a carved pou that embodies a tipuna of the local tohunga who carved them. It is a wairua that goes back at least 1000 years. It is the home of Ngati Kahu. It is exactly the place where Kahukura captured the technology of the fishing net that revolutionised Maori fishing. It is an area with some of the oldest evidence of gardening in New Zealand. It is the place of the remarkable shark-fishing expeditions that attracted hundreds of Maori from Tainui north to harvest shark from Rangaunu Harbour. It has the Aotearoa

THE SPIRIT OF HOSPITALITY

soil first to feel the tread of French feet. It is the birthplace of the kauri gum boom that drew the Dalmatian immigrants who would plant their grapevines alongside the Awanui River and lay the foundations of New Zealand’s wine evolution. Perhaps it was this wairua that spawned the feeling in Paul Kelly’s bones when he first saw Karikari. That feeling for the land is expressed in Kelly’s commitment to restoring and maintaining the natural environment; seeing himself as custodian of both a precious ecosystem and a sublime landscape rather than the owner of a stunningly beautiful chunk of land. The now largely restored wetlands area is one of the largest privately owned areas of its type and is home to thousands of birds of numerous species. The extensive restoration involved the planting of 10,000 native trees and bushes and a massive pest eradication programme. Perhaps it sometimes takes a foreign vision to appreciate what is right here in front of us. New Zealand’s northernmost vineyard and winery, Karikari Estate, has led the way in an unfashionable winegrowing region. It won’t be unfashionable for long if recent accolades are anything to go by. Pinotage, an unfashionable variety, has become Karikari’s signature wine gaining a number of awards and glowing reviews. The other wines from Karikari are not to be sneezed at either; Toa, a unique claret-style blend with the exciting aromas and flavours of Karikari-grown cabernet franc, is a wine worthy of a place on any wine list, as is their syrah which has been consistently good and appears suited to the lean soils and steady warmth of Karikari. The distinctive Karikari Chardonnay is excellent; particularly the 2008 and 2009 vintages fermented on the winery’s indigenous yeasts.

Photo credit jason burgess@burgseye (words & pictures)

The first vines were planted in 1998 with the first vintage in 2003. The person behind these wines since 2004 is winemaker Ben Dugdale. “It’s a work in progress; we have had to learn some of the character of the place but also learn to recognise what we don’t know. Now that an understanding of the basic characters has been established, we have refined our techniques to achieve the highest possible quality and best expression of Karikari’s character.” The kitchens at Carrington are under the control of executive chef Demian Che Dunlop. With a pedigree as long as your arm and a background in top hotels and lodges, he is uniquely qualified for the role he took up in 2009. His goal is to make the winery cafe more user friendly to casual visitors whilst still keeping the main resort restaurant as a top-notch culinary retreat. The whole essence of his philosophy is to use the very best locally grown produce, to let it speak for itself and express the spirit that is Karikari.

Winemaker Ben Dugdale Born in Nelson, Dugdale began work in the wine industry for Collard Brothers in October 1987 as a cellar hand before joining Coopers Creek Vineyards in 1988. He worked there under Kim Crawford until 1990, and then attended Massey University studying Microbiology and Biochemistry. While studying, Dugdale returned to Coopers Creek to work the 1992 harvest then flew to France to work a vintage in Bergerac, directed by an English winemaker, Charles Martin, at the Chateau de la Jaubertie. Returning to Massey University in 1993, he ran out of money and returned to Coopers Creek to work the 1993 harvest and was still there three years later. At this point Dugdale realised that in order to excel at wine making he must first understand vines and grapes. In 1996, he was asked to join one of New Zealand’s premier winemakers, Dr Neil McCallum, at Dry River in Martinborough. The next three years were spent at Dry River working with McCallum. During his time there Dugdale was amazed at the purity of flavour that McCallum could coax out of his vines, year after year. In 2000, Matakana Estate offered him the position of winemaker and has spent the subsequent challenging and innovative harvests at Matakana Estate overseeing the wine making as the tonnage increased five fold as demand grew with every vintage. Dugdale took up the chief winemaker’s role at Karikari Estate in 2004.

www.grill.co.nz

wrap up

n e k o r t b n Be

glass r o tics s a l a–p mm Dile g n i kag c a P The t

ith By Ke

Stew

product profile

An Eco-friendly Option EDEN ENTERPRISES The way the world is going;

go there.

With his background in biodynamics and market gardening, Rombout van Riemxsdijk is passionate about sustainability and environmental issues. His company, Eden Enterprises, is one of surprisingly few New Zealand companies specialising in biodegradable disposables. All of Eden’s wide range of products are GE free and break down to compostable biomass which leaves no harmful residues to damage the planet. As well as environmentally friendly takeaway coffee cups, Eden Enterprises is the first in New Zealand to offer biodegradable cornstarch coffee cup lids. Eden also supplies such items as bread bags, straws, cutlery, food wrap, shopping bags and bin liners, made from a diverse range of materials including grass, sugarcane and palm fibre. New technological developments have increased the heat resistance of biodegradable plastics, making ecologically friendly alternatives to traditional disposables a viable way of reducing your business’ impact on the earth. Customers are now far more aware of sustainability issues so using these products also makes sound business sense.

w w w . e d e n g r e e n n z . c o m

n 1970 one of the pioneers of the modern New Zealand hospitality industry, Rolf Feijen, decided to use plastic beer jugs and glasses in the public bar on Kawau Island. Anything but glass was illegal at the time, but the “Elephant House”, as locals called the public bar, was the scene of such riotous behaviour by visiting yachties that the piles of broken glass on the bar floor became a hazard. Feijen challenged health authorities to prosecute him for use of plastic, but instead he stimulated a change in the health regulations making plastics permissible in certain circumstances. Now food and beverage producers are facing a big decision with regard to packaging – glass or plastic, and the health implications have become far greater than the risk of a few cut feet for weekend sailors. While glass remains the preferred option for almost every product claiming any degree of quality, plastic is making some deep inroads into wine and beer packaging in particular, especially since environmentally conservative issues have gained public attention. Recently a Marlborough winery, Yealands, has made much of its decision to produce a range of its wines in plastic bottles. It argues that such containers are safer for the recreational environment (the old cut feet argument), with their lightness and potential for recycling also being claimed as green positives for the heavily promoted sustainability of Yealands’ operation. Countering concerns about the weight of glass and the greater carbon footprint created during shipping, glass manufacturers have concentrated on producing lighter glass containers, such as the new 450 gram premium wine bottles from O-I New Zealand, which are 10% lighter than the current wine bottles produced here. “O-I New Zealand’s new Punted Bordeaux range delivers five more lighter-weight wine bottle offerings for brands looking to enhance their environmental credentials,” claims the company’s national marketing manager Andrew Sharp.

wrap up

Diners out front may well think a kitchen revolves around the guy in the jacket with his name on the breast in fancy blue stitching; but anyone who has done their time in our sweatshops knows that without a decent dishie and a decent, fast and efficient go for ever dishwasher the whole shebang falls to bits.

If you have been in our industry for any length of time you will know the STARLINE brand.

You might be getting slammed on the line but you know when you hear that steady clunk every 2 or 3 minutes that everything is cooking; just so long as those pans and flats keep coming it is all cool(ish). This is where your Starline excels. grill had a word with Mark Tilson Chief of kitchen operations for the Pack Investment Group which owns and operates some of the hardest and fastest working kitchens in the country. This was his comment.” We put Starlines in all our premises because they are robust, efficient and are simple to operate. A Starline will go for ever given reasonable maintenance and you follow the procedure, rinsing out and draining the machine, although you would have to be an idiot if you didn’t, as it’s simple enough. Take our Queenstown Lonestar, the Starline in there has been there for at least 15 years that I know of and it still bangs away as good as ever”. John Clarke grill’s resource editor agrees. “In my last couple of premises in Christchurch we had Starline machines. In one shop we would do about 300 couverts by the end of lunch and all we had was an older under bench GL type machine. That thing just kept going and going though granted we did have a Preventative Maintenance Contract. The

service guys are all local and can turn up really quickly if you need them. Our other kitchen had a pass-through and it was one of the first; a bit battered to look at but again it just kept on going without a glitch. That is the best thing about Starline machines they use simple straight forward technology and few moving parts so you are not constantly having to treat them like babies.” Washtech was founded in 1981 by father and son team Des and Gary Brent to market an under-counter glass and dishwashing machine Des had developed. Des a dishwasher technician by trade and Gary a part time dishie with a master’s degree in chemistry both saw the need for a machine that fitted the needs of New Zealand’s typically smaller operations. The result was a compact machine which was effective, efficient, robust, reliable and easy to service – a tradition still maintained by the company. Des originally set up shop in his garage in the Waitakere Ranges west of Auckland, but uptake from the hospitality trade was so good that they soon moved to larger premises, and developed an entire range of professional wash equipment under the STARLINE brand. 30 years on Gary Brent is still managing the firm they founded; only now it is the largest supplier of professional wash gear in Australasia. So go into any hospo premises in this country the chance is you will find a Starline dishwasher or glass-washer, often both. Why? They are the best.

For more information and how to get the best from your STARLINE go to: www.washtech.co.nz

www.grill.co.nz

product Profile

STARLINE as we know it

wrap up

Of the plastic packaging for his Full Circle wine range, proprietor Peter Yealands says: “From the start we wanted Full Circle to be the most sustainable wine in the New Zealand market. Our winery and wines are already carboNZero certified, but this takes sustainable wine production to new levels.” Yealands’ plastics are polyethylene terephthalate (PET), incorporating A-I (active and intelligent) components that scavenge oxygen, providing longer shelf life for the wines enclosed. PET is primarily used as the fibre material in many synthetic fabrics, such as Dacron, and has become increasingly popular for soft drink, beer and sauce packaging because of its high-impact strength, clarity and resistance to solvents (especially alcohol). Recycled PET is widely used for other purposes, including the manufacture of polar fleece and synthetic carpets. The PET used for alcohol beverages is subject to three extra treatments, which make it less suitable for recycling. Complicating Yealands’ claims of improved transport carbon footprints for its PET bottles is the fact that there is little PET recycling in New Zealand, most being baled and shipped to China, and some to Australia. With all plastics, however, the environmental impact is inevitably heightened by the fact that PET is the product of the petrochemical industry, as is most other food and beverage packaging that competes with glass – high density polyethylene (HDPE), which is used in milk bottles and ice cream containers, and polycarbonate (PC), which is widely used in water bottles and soft drink containers. The other important factor in the glass versus plastics debate that food business operators must consider is the health risk. This is a confused area, in part because there are so many different heat-process plastics such as those mentioned above, and they have a confusing line-up of petrochemical names that are difficult to learn, let alone understand. The greatest health risk posed by plastic food containers is the leaching of chemicals that are either directly poisonous and may kill you with sufficient exposure (as in the case of dioxin, which is often a by-product of petrochemical material production), or they influence the way your body functions with long-term, often catastrophic effects without actually killing you. The most concerning of these are endocrine disruptors – chemicals that act within human and animal metabolisms as hormonal triggers that operate at molecular levels.

We are neutering the population; we are making females more masculine and males more feminine.

The problem these pose is compounded by the fact that traditional toxicology is unable to measure the risk, based as it is in dose levels – ie, the amount of a chemical a human must consume to put their health at risk. In the case of endocrine disruptors (ED), the level is one molecule, which is below any level capable of being measured accurately. The fact is, any evidence of ED at all is a risk. According to Safe Food New Zealand, endocrine disruptors can… “… mimic or disrupt the normal functions of hormones and tamper with this delicately balanced signalling system in the body, which governs a range of functions and developmental processes. “Though their effects in human beings are still being debated, the evidence is mounting. From wildlife and animal studies in laboratories, there is growing concern that these endocrine disruptors can cause developmental, reproductive, behavioural, immunological and physiological changes. “Particularly worrisome is the threat that endocrine disruptors pose on the unborn. When acting on a developing foetus at critical periods, they can cause lasting damage at minute doses, which were previously not thought to be harmful. Theo Colborn, researcher and author of the book Our Stolen Future, expressed: ‘We are neutering the population; we are making females more masculine and males more feminine.’”1 Of the plastics listed above, HDPE poses the lowest risks to public health with minimal leaching of materials into the food it contains, and with no evidence of associated ED contamination. The other two plastic options, however, have a less encouraging record. Polycarbonate and many of the films used to coat food cans and screwcap closures on bottles are directly associated with leaching of ED into beverages and foods, putting everything from baby food to wine high on the list of possible direct introduction of endocrine disruptors into the human food chain. The can connection is a less obvious factor in the glass versus plastics debate, as cans are not seen as part of the plastics industry. However, plasticised liners are essential in the modern canning process, for soft drinks and beers as well as for canned foods, with glass often cited as the healthiest alternative with the added sustainability advantage of being totally recyclable. This brings into question the potential health risk of Yealands’ plastic bottles. Both screwcap closures and PET have been implicated in ED contamination. ... “beverages and condiments in PET containers may be contaminated by endocrine-disrupting chemicals”.2 Because the science behind ED is contested by the toxicology establishment around the world, and evidence

wrap up

from new research on the process has been resisted by food safety authorities in most countries, it suits many food and beverage producers to resist criticism of these plastics as a public health risk. Glass manufacturers, on the whole, have not engaged in the ED debate, preferring to promote their product for its clear advantages in recyclability and quality image over engaging in negative campaigning. The recycling issue is a major factor for food and beverage processors, at least until such time as the cost of processing waste from their products is considered a cost of production. In this situation glass has distinct advantages over most plastics, in spite of its relative disadvantages in weight and freight costs. In Germany, the 1991 Packaging Ordinance requires all manufacturers to take back 80% of the packaging used for their products. This has not only reduced total waste being processed in Germany; it has increased glass packaging, as the option of recycling becomes more economically sustainable. The advantage of glass in relation to food packaging is nowhere better illustrated than in high-end restaurants where more capital than ever is being invested in top-ofthe-line glassware – often hand-blown crystal in forms specifically designed to suit premium wine styles. Glass is, above all else, the wrapper for the best. So it is that glass

bottles are standard for any wine claiming even a modicum of quality. However, that could turn around as quickly as wine producers abandoned cork in favour of the decidedly more profitable screwcap, no matter what the public perception was. Today 90% of New Zealand wine is sold with screwcap closures, while 99% of the world’s prestige wines continue to be closed with cork. For food manufacturers, quality and image are not the sole drivers of their packaging decisions, although a green image has become considerably more valuable in recent years. So, is green wine in a plastic bottle with a plastic-lined screwcap closure a contradiction of images? Only consumers will be able to say for sure. But, can anyone in this industry today imagine a chiller stuffed with glass containers?

References 1 White, Alison. Pesticides in food: why go organic? Paper, Organics 2020 Conference, Unitec, Auckland, 20 May 2000. 2 Sax L 2009. Polyethylene Terephthalate May Yield Endocrine Disruptors. Environ Health Perspect :-. doi:10.1289/ehp.0901253.

YOUR TRUSTED PARTNER FOR... Industry Training including: › Food Safety › HACCP and Risk Management › Quality Management › Auditing Skills and Competency

Third Party Auditing and Certification Laboratory Testing – Food and Environmental, Chemistry (including NIPs and Allergens) and Microbiology

To find out what we can do for your business and how we can assist you with the implementation of Food Control Plans, visit www.asurequality.com or call 0508 00 11 22 now. INDEPENDENT QUALITY ASSURANCE

restaurant association

things you need to know

he taste professional developmenttraining calendar started in early April and will continue for the next six months. The seminars are held on Tuesdays, so mark that on your calendar as training day. We started the seminar series this year with Craig Macfarlane presenting ‘Systems = Profits – it’s really that easy!’ Craig co-owns eight successful hospitality establishments plus the well known and respected Ozone Coffee Company. He was certainly entertaining and his insight informative; this session was a great one to start the new training year.

April finishes off with something a little bit different for you and your staff: A basic self-defence seminar for the hospitality industry presented by John Munro. John owns and operates the North Shore Kung Fu and Qigong Health Centre and is the author of The Tiger Within – Practical Self Defence in a Modern World. Our industry is unfortunately one that can leave staff out late at night and potentially vulnerable to violence. Join us at taste for a self defence seminar designed to teach staff some of the basic principles of personal safety such as avoiding danger, how to deal with threatening situations, using self defence to get away from an assault and much more. We are also lucky enough to have Krishna Botica, partner and manager at Prego Restaurant, present a session on ‘Emerging and First Time Managers’. Stepping into a management role for the first time can be a daunting experience and the advanced skills you need do not always come naturally. “Show me a successful restaurant, and I’ll show you a strong culture of training,” says Krishna. She will discuss conflict management, unexpected pressures and understanding your new role. This is an interactive seminar that deals with real life restaurant issues and offers lots of solutions that attendees can take back into their roles; solutions that can be implemented immediately. On May 11 Jeremy Dixon

the owner of Revive! cafes will be presenting a seminar on effective hospitality marketing and how to boost your café or restaurant sales. Dixon spent 10 years marketing cereals like Weet-Bix at Sanitarium before starting the very successful Revive! vegetarian cafes in the Auckland CBD in 2005. He has a passion for effective marketing and has seen it transform many businesses including his own. Learn basic marketing principles, instant sales generating campaigns and how to measure which ones work, the 10 essential items that every marketing plan should have and how all of this relates to the hospitality industry. The tutorial the following week, May 18, is by Matt Bradley of Hancocks on ‘The art of mixology – designing innovative cocktails’. Flagged as for beginners, this is also a must for professionals new to this skill. This session will focus on giving you the basics to understanding the art of cocktail making. Matt will take you through the key aspects of cocktail making and spirit categories/production and the history of spirits and drinks. Don’t miss out on this opportunity to review the basics or send new bartenders and floor staff along. Marisa Bidois is the general manager of taste – the kitchen and function facility at the Restaurant Association www.tastenz.co.nz.

For more information about enrolling in these seminars or a copy of the latest calendar, please contact the Restaurant Association on (09) 638 8403.

Animal lovers

The power of public opinion = happy pigs + better pork

grill looks at the pork industry's response to the public outcry over animal welfare concerns about pig farming.

as the court of public opinion led to better traceability for pork products and a potential boon for the ‘homegrown’ industry? A quick google producing two Pork Industry Board sites – www. pigfarminginnz.co.nz and www.pork.co.nz – suggests that may be so. More than six months after Mike King’s shock/ horror exposé of pig-

farming practices spoiled the appetites of baconlovers nationwide, the industry’s lobby group – the Pork Industry Board (or NZPork) – is running campaigns on its websites lauding the quality of both the farming practices and the finished product from New Zealand. With the current retail food trends toward COOL branding (country of origin labelling), greater animal welfare and high quality cuts with independent verification, NZPork, which had hitherto avoided all of these trends, seems at last to be responding to consumer concerns. In an attempt to avoid increasingly prescriptive legislation, producers introduced a compulsory audit scheme from January 2010 for all commercial pig production systems. The pigfarminginnz. co.nz website states: “Every pig farm in New Zealand will be audited, and only those farms that pass the pig welfare audit will be eligible to use the ‘100% Welfare Certified/100% New Zealand’ pork label – fostering people’s connection to what they eat, how it is farmed and that it is distinctly 100% New Zealand – an informed and supportive choice….’ “This year as part of the industry’s commitment to continuously improving the welfare of pigs, and in response to consumer

concern around farming styles used in New Zealand, our farmers have committed to an independent annual welfare audit programme called – ‘Pig Care’.” Farms will be audited annually by certified auditors who will use the on-farm welfare validation tool developed by Massey University. This tool has been developed with the support of MAF and in conjunction with veterinarians and the RNZSPCA. Meanwhile, the National Animal Welfare Advisory Committee (NAWAC) has completed a review of the 2005 Code of Welfare for pigs and is consulting on a new draft code. Submissions on the new draft close in April. While wild pork continues to be a soughtafter product, it does meet resistance from the diner due to perceived (and real) cruel hunting methods – but no longer, Razorback free range farmed wild pork is now a readily accessible option, at least for top-ofthe-line restaurants. Early New Zealand cuisine was dominated by the ubiquitous presence of pork, even to the point where many early settlers complained bitterly of the monotony of pork with every meal. Perhaps we should again make pork and puha the national dish and perhaps draught beer the national drink.

A column for meat eaters who understand happy animals taste better.

www.grill.co.nz

wine

Feel the Texture in Sauvignon Sam Kim takes a look at some classy sauvignon blanc.

ine in the new world is about intense fruit flavours; the more pungent the better. But we in the trade know better than that, don’t we? We appreciate subtlety. We like to taste elegant flavours and nuances. We want wine to be sensual and caressing rather than aggressive and in-your-face. Without the textured mouthfeel, wine is no better than fruit juice with alcohol. The most intensely fruity wine, the Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc, is a cash cow and it’s a critical component in any wine list. But we do need to go beyond these obvious choices if we are to offer to our guests a wider range of Sauvignons to accompany the diverse range of exceptional dishes we now provide. It is great to see the increasing number of Sauvignon Blancs displaying finely textured mouthfeel while retaining the vibrant Sauvignon flavours. Modest cropping, use of a wider range of yeasts, lees maturation and old barrel fermentation have added extra dimension as well as more harmonious mouthfeel Above: Sauvignon blanc before the harvest. Top right: The stony Clos Henri vineyard in Marlborough.

Photos: SAM KIM

and weighted mid palate. These wines are much more food friendly. It’s one thing for us to get excited about them, but it’s quite another to convince the diner to ‘experiment’ and try something other than one of their favourite brands. There are the extreme, or ‘funky’, style wines such as Cloudy Bay Te Koko, Seresin Reserve, Sacred Hill Sauvage and a few others which are exceptional wines with character and individuality. Then there are wines closer to the clean and sharply flavoured Sauvignons, but with flowing texture and a rounded mouthfeel, and many of them are reasonably priced to suit most diners’ budgets. Both Clos Henri and Bel Echo, made by the Bourgeois family of the Loire

Valley, display old world charm together with new world vibrancy. Foxes Island’s new addition, Foxes Junior Sauvignon Blanc, is delicate and chalky with a lovely fruit definition. And recently released ‘The Pioneer’ Sauvignon Blanc by Lawson’s Dry Hills is a beautiful fusion of stonefruit and citrus with subtle complexity from a small portion going through barrel fermentation and lees stirring. As we know most people order what they want to drink and eat what they feel like, without too much consideration given to the joy of matching wine with food. It is up to us then to keep encouraging diners to go beyond their comfort zone and live a little dangerously.

SAM KIM IS AN INDEPENDENT WINE REVIEWER, SENIOR WINE JUDGE, AUTHOR OF THE WINE ORBIT BLOG AND GRILL MAGAZINE’S LEAD WINE COMMENTATOR. For informative wine comment go to http://wineorbit.co.nz

beer

Brews Blues Geoff Griggs’ view on the glass versus plastic debacle at the Marlborough Blues, Brews & BBQs festival.

he issue of glass versus plastic recently made front-page news in Marlborough, where local police opposed the use of glass drinking vessels at this year’s Blues, Brews & BBQs and Wine Marlborough festivals. Having lodged formal objections to the Marlborough District Council’s liquor licensing committee, the police claimed they were acting on the grounds of public safety; to prevent glasses from being used as weapons at the events and in town afterwards. Even though both festivals have run for many years with glasses, the police submitted no evidence to support their case. This event’s plastic fantastic with the cool (yeah right) red bootlace.

Indeed in a recent editorial The Marlborough Express wrote, “... the issue of glass seems to have no history of being problematic. Efforts by The Marlborough Express to find statistical or anecdotal evidence that glass is hurting people or proving a huge problem to clean up have not been successful.” Determined to defend its continued use of glasses and maintain the ‘premium’ status of the event, Wine Marlborough took its case to a council hearing and duly won the right to use glasses. Sadly, by this time, the Blenheim Round Table (which runs Blues, Brews & BBQs) had already reluctantly agreed to switch to polycarbonate vessels.

As a passionate supporter of craft beer I have previously fought against the police’s desire to get Blues, Brews & BBQs to abandon glasses. In 2008 I put in a huge amount of time and effort collecting thousands of signatures for a petition to ensure they were retained. The petition swayed the liquor licensing authority and the festival stayed with glass. To see that effort now wasted is galling. Although I admire the wonderful charitable work done by the volunteers of the Blenheim Round Table, I am hugely disappointed they caved in so easily, especially as they had already shelled out about $30,000 for branded glass handles. That’s a lot of money Marlborough’s charities won’t be receiving. I am even more annoyed because the Blenheim Round Table – a group that has no affiliation to the brewing industry – has set a precedent that will make it almost impossible in future to operate a beer-related event at a public venue in Marlborough with proper glassware. In my opinion, that’s a tragedy. Aside from the fact that fine beer, like good wine, tastes best from a decent glass, glass can easily be recycled. And while most people I know liked to collect their festival glasses – I have

about a dozen – few I suspect will have bothered to keep this year’s cheap synthetic substitutes. And what about the safety aspect of those polycarbonate cups? Having seen polycarbonate vessels broken with nasty sharp edges, I’m not convinced they are inherently any safer than glasses. There are also suggestions of serious health issues associated with the chemicals used to make polycarbonate products softer and more flexible. Just try Googling “phthalates” or “bisphenol”! As I wrote in 2008, “When it comes to Marlborough’s two annual alcohol-related festivals it’s obvious that the vast majority of people go along to enjoy the food and drinks, but there’s a tiny minority whose idea of ‘a good time’ involves getting inebriated to the point where they first become annoying and later downright dangerous to those around them. It’s these people we need to clamp down on. “When people are injured and killed on our roads we don’t ban cars, we prosecute bad drivers; at Blues and Brews we should get rid of the drunks, not the glasses.” Sadly I’m convinced that when it comes to such people the change from beer glasses to an inferior synthetic substitute will have absolutely no effect whatsoever. As usual, it’s everyone else who suffers. Cheers!

GEOFF GRIGGS, grill’s BEER RESOURcE WRITER, IS NEW ZEALAND’S MOST AUTHORITATIVE COMMENTATOR ON THE SUBJECT.

www.grill.co.nz

danny schuster’s wine diary

Napa Valley Searching for balance. By Danny Schuster

he northern edge of San Francisco Bay has become the home of the finest Californian red wines. Carneros, Sonoma, Russian River and most of all, Napa Valley appellations all share the long, dry and warm summers, with the heat of the bright Californian sun moderated by proximity to the Pacific Ocean coastline and the thick fog that drifts in from the Bay area further south. Fine bubbles, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay wines are made from grapes planted in the cooler vineyards of Carneros, Sonoma and Russian River areas. The warmest sites here also produce some remarkable reds from Zinfandel (Primitivo) and syrah grapes with generosity of body and ‘in your face’ tannic flavours think Amy Winehouse on a good day.

Perhaps the best known and most famous of all Californian reds are the Bordeaux blends of Napa Valley, which runs south to north along Highway 29 and the Silverado Trail, from the town of Napa to Calistoga. Smaller towns like Yountville, Oakville and St Helena are dotted along the way, with a green carpet of vineyards stretching as far as the eye can see, interrupted only here and there by clumps of native oak trees and groves of olive trees. The Napa Valley floor, carved out by Napa River, produces generous volumes of well coloured, robust red wines. Most of the generic Napa Cabernets are generously flavoured and tannic wines made from grapes grown here for brands like Mondavi, Beringer or Caymus. The Napa skyline on both sides is dominated by the volcanic ranges of

the Mayacamas (west) and Stag’s Leap (east), providing growers with a variety of sites from which the finest of cabernet-dominated wines originate. The Silverado Trail along the eastern range is an ancient trade route linking 19th century silvermines with San Francisco Bay. Here, the mineral rich soils, mixed with alluvial fans of silts and gravel, give Cabernets of classical aroma/flavour profile, underlayed by mineral edge, fine grain tannins and finesse of texture reminiscent of the Margaux area of Medoc in a warm year. Among the best local reds are the long-lived, elegant wines of Stag’s Leap Wine Cellars of Paris tasting fame (Cask 23), Viader and Arajo Vineyards with the best recent vintages in 1999, 2001, 2004 and 2005. The western side of Napa Valley offers greater variation of topography and soil

composition, reflected in the greater variety of local wines, tasted over the past 25 years. Those further south, near Yountville, appear to reflect cooler terroir and greater density of silt/clay loam soils in their lifted cassis/tobacco range of aromas, denser flavour and more nervous, acid edge in finish. Heitz Martha’s Vineyard or Bryant Family labels are typical of the style of wines made here. Robert Mondavi Winery and its joint venture project Opus 1 winery (with Rothschilds of Chateau Mouton-Rothschild fame), as well as Beaullieu BV Reserve Cabernet and Frances Coppola’s Niebaum estate vineyards (Rubicon), can all be found in the Oakville area in the centre of Napa Valley. The earliest pioneers of Napa wines over the past century and a half, including Captain Niebaum of NiebaumCoppola, Georges Latour and Andre Tchelitscheff at BV Above: Sonoma Valley vineyards.

danny schuster’s wine diary

or Robert Mondavi, all made their homes and wines here. The well-drained gravelly silts and pronounced night/ day temperature variations give the local wines their complex cedar/gamey-spicy aroma and flavour profile, strength of fine grain tannins and long finish. Some of my favourite, aged bottles of Napa Cabernets come from this area, often reminiscent of fine Pauillac in Medoc. The northernmost outpost of the finest Napa Cabernets is the area of eastfacing slopes near St Helena. Spring Mountain Vineyard, perhaps better known in local folklore for ‘fire-truck’ romantic escapades of its founder, one T. Parrot and Lily Langtree of Victorian

music hall fame or, more recently, as the mansion in the 1970s TV series Falcon Crest, rather than for its deeply flavoured, excellent Cabernets. Not far away is the home of merlot-based Dominus wine of Christian Moueix of Chateau Petrus fame, Spotswoode Cabernet and outstanding white Sauvignon, Abrew Vineyard, and equally fine Cabernets from the 29/29 vineyard, all ranking amongst Napa’s finest reds. Superbly balanced, deeply flavoured wines of finesse and class, reminiscent of St. Julien in Bordeaux context. Calistoga, with its rugged volcanic terrain, geyser and popular mud-baths,

is best suited to Zinfandel on account of its hot/dry climate, not unlike Southern Italy from which the grape (known as Primitivo) comes. It is ironic, in more recent years, that Napa Valley and its wines are falling victims to fame as the growing number of pseudoTuscan villas and Teutonic castles demonstrates. Floods of tourists each summer make sure that what used to be a 20-minute drive from Yountville to Calistoga – with a coffee at the superb Oakville grocery store thrown in – takes up to hour or more today. Not less noticeable, is the emergence of a new category of cult ‘garage wines’ type reds with Harlan Estate and

Screaming Eagle leading the way. A decent sized mortgage and great deal of stamina is required to survive a vertical tasting of these caricatures of red wines, usually leaving the taster with impressions of Keith Richards on a bad day. Perhaps, the technology here is winning over terroir and regardless of the 100 point scores from famous NY based critics of wines, these wines should be laid down and avoided. Rather they should be collected for profit at auctions and with the proceeds buy wines for drinking and enjoying with a fine meal. Danny Schuster is one of the great pioneers of the New Zealand wine industry.

product profile

Keep it simple keep it clean A privately held, 100% New Zealandowned company, Arnold Products has grown since 1990 from a small West Coast-based operation to a nationwide business supplying cleaning products and sanitary solutions to the Hospitality and Food Service industry throughout New Zealand.

0800 276 653

www.arnoldproducts.co.nz

Priding itself on its ability to understand and meet the needs of small businesses and larger companies alike, Arnold Products consistently researches and engages in innovative procedures and strategies in order to accommodate the rapidly changing requirements of its market – for instance, the growing awareness of environmental issues and corresponding desire for accreditation and recognition in this field. Although already using

biodegradable ingredients, Arnold Products is constantly making use of new materials and information to incorporate ingredients that have better activity and lower environmental impact into its products. Products available include cleaning chemicals and equipment, sanitary disposal bins, paper products, odour control solutions, disposable goods, laundry products and detergents amongst many others. To meet the needs of clients requiring a one-stopshop, Arnold Products has forged functional relationships with a range of other key suppliers in order to supply as comprehensive a range of products as possible. Despite considerable growth over the past 20 years, Arnold Products has maintained the simple management structure it has always had – keeping it simple, keeping it clean.

www.grill.co.nz

Dunny diving and other treats When the party’s over. Sarah Habershon reports on cleaning up the aftermath.

t’s been a great night, and at long last the punters have all been escorted home by a convoy of imperturbable, long-suffering cabbies. As the doors swing shut, the manager flicks a switch and the wait staffs’ pupils contract as subdued mood lighting gives way to a fluorescent glare, revealing the true horror of the night. The party is over, the cleanup begins. Tables must be wiped and smeared with Neopol, the bar washed down, the floors swept and mopped, greasy splatters scrubbed from the skirting, the grills degreased, lurking spillages located and dissolved, gunk scooped from the

plugholes and frozen flies picked gingerly from the bottom of the beer fridge – and then there’s the bloody toilets. The post-prandial clean-up tends to be the job of the floor staff in many smaller establishments, but in larger facilities the task is usually beyond what any boss can reasonably expect of staff. This is a job for the professionals. “It’s a very un-sexy business,” says James Clark of his role as general manager of commercial cleaning company Rosebud Solutions, “perfect for shutting down conversation at dinner parties.” Cleanliness is, by necessity, high on the list of priorities for restaurateurs, who comprise the majority of Rosebud’s clients, along with a smattering of supermarkets and commercial premises. They cover mainly front of house, behind the bar and of course the bogs, but in general they stay out of the kitchens. “By and

dirty deeds done dirt cheap

Nightclub staff bear the brunt of dealing with perhaps the most foul and fetid remnants of revelry. most would prefer not to carry,” says Clark, with a nod of respect to the staff of small businesses which can’t afford the ‘expensive hobby’ of maintaining a commercial cleaning contract. How many customers can envisage Fanny, that well-groomed waitress who poured their Bollinger with such a precise flourish, scrubbing vomit out of the urinal at the end of the night when even the dishie is too nauseated to approach the scene? Such indiscretions are not reserved for the frequenters of downmarket watering holes either; the urinal incident in question took place at a refined retreat in Auckland’s Herne Bay. Above: Poor Fanny.

Wait staff are a bold and indomitable breed. Tales of horror abound in hospitality circles of crazed and depraved messes which must be remedied before home time; vomit in the pot of a plastic palm, feminine hygiene products which missed the receptacle, that week-old pork chop lodged down the back of a seat and a bowl of what appeared to be human blood on a secluded corner table after a particularly interesting stag night. Most of us have had to deal to a toilet wall encrusted with regurgitated chowder, or that most common treat, dunny diving – clearing a lavatory bowl blocked up and close to overflowing. Clark reports that

inconsiderately deposited faecal matter is also dealt with on an uncomfortably regular basis; surprisingly, this occurs almost exclusively in the ladies’ room. Nightclub staff bear the brunt of dealing with perhaps the most foul and fetid remnants of revelry. Hazel, who tends the bar at a particularly sordid nightspot recalls dealing with evidence of fornication in the wee hours after closing. “I’m glad they played it safe,” she sighs, “but really, shouldn’t you flush the damn thing yourself?” Such trials, all in the name of hospitality; it is the nature of this beast. A hospo facility’s intended purpose is to provide nourishment, atmosphere and the necessary social lubricants for relaxation and fun. Clients are paying for the privilege of partaking in our hospitality and of not having to clean up after themselves.

Sarah Habershon is a journalist for grill and has done time from back to front (of house) in the hospitality trade including her fair share of dunny diving. Illustration by grill’s young aspiring artist Daniel Aston.

www.grill.co.nz

Illustration: Daniel Aston

large, restaurateurs don’t want strangers in their kitchens,” says Clark. “The state of the kitchen mostly depends on the standards of the chef.” Concentrated cleaners are Clark’s weapons of choice, issued to his army of around 100 frontline warriors operating undercover from Kerikeri to Pukekohe. Rosebud keeps a minimum of gear in its arsenal for the sake of simplicity and ease of operation, though it does take in heavy duty degreasers into the field for the serious battles. The importance of product safety can’t be overestimated. Some concentrates can dissolve concrete, so one shudders to think of the havoc they can wreck on human skin. Rosebud uses products with tamper-proof packaging and well-designed dispensers to facilitate the use of concentrates with a minimal risk to the worker. No matter how effective the products, however, there’s no substitute for elbow grease and a steely resolve. “Commercial cleaners are an overhead that

BAR NUN

Vulcan Lane to the Coromandel

The Bar Nun ventures to the central city but retreats to the hills.

that spends, so full marks for something, sure, but I won’t be coming back. As my companion put it: “It’s like the indies became the preppies of Auckland… and this is where they come to breed.” Good business if you can get it.

War party

very ‘Cool Kid’ has been saying I should make a pilgrimage to Cassette, but I’m starting to wish I hadn’t listened. Every punter in the place is throwing themselves willy nilly in front of my companion sister Alexandra’s camera – they seem to be under the illusion that we are here to publish these images in some rag’s social pages, accompanied by witty captions in praise of the scene. Sorry muppets. Actually, the club is more impressive when it’s empty. The decor is really quite striking, capitalising on the notion that the ’90s are now ‘retro’ in (dare I say it) almost tasteful and definitely wonderfully creative fashion. But in full swing, stuffed to the gunwales with town rats, the music is terrible and far too loud, the smoking balcony cramped and the clientele trashy – I must fight my way to the edge in order to breathe some air, ducking and diving to avoid getting stabbed in the eye with Marlboro Lights. Someone even ashed down the back of my surplice in the confusion. In fairness, Cassette is packed to full capacity on a Wednesday night and the queue is stretching down the street, patiently waiting in the pouring rain for a chance to be seen inside. Clearly, the bar appeals to this demographic; and by appearances it’s a demographic

Above: Clearly, Cassette apeals to this demographic. Centre: Take refuge at Rakinos. Right: Community spirit alive and well at the Coroglen Tavern.

An island sanctuary

hundred paces away, I take refuge in Rakinos. Interesting and creative cocktails are on offer with pagan names like Voodoo Child and Monkey Boy, however it’s a huge relief not to have to stick my tongue down the barman’s ear canal in order to tell him what I wish to drink. The décor is understated and tasteful; artwork on the walls, I’m told, is predominantly produced by staff members. The congregation is well settled and relaxed; clearly enjoying themselves and each other’s company; it’s a pleasure to be able to hear myself think and kick back in such welcoming, unpresumptuous surroundings.

A mid-week retreat Entering the Coroglen Tavern on a quiet weeknight, all appearances indicate a quintessential Kiwi country watering hole. The layout is user-friendly with plenty of elbow room and appealing outdoor spaces; and what appears to be a hard core of loyal regulars occupy cosy corners. There’s plenty of everyday entertainment in the form of a pool table, dart board and gaming room, but what really captures the attention is, for want of a better word, the vibe. The Coroglen Tavern oozes community spirit, and is celebrated far and wide as a live music venue; tales are regaled across the Coromandel and beyond of enthusiastic hordes entertained by high calibre local and international talent in this legendary historic establishment.

A restaurant with a view

Long Bay Restaurant & Kiosk

Long Bay Regional Park

This is an exciting commercial opportunity to revamp the existing Long Bay Restaurant and kiosk and capitalise on its unique waterfront location. Long Bay Restaurant is located just metres from the sandy beach at beautiful Long Bay Regional Park. One of Aucklandâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s most popular regional parks, Long Bay attracts more than 1 million people annually.

Special diet catering

The Auckland Regional Council intends to grant a licence to build/renovate, maintain and operate the Long Bay Restaurant and kiosk following a Request for Proposal (RFP) process. Mace Ward, General Manager, Parks

Dairy Free

GE Free

Organic

Low Carb

Halal

Vegan

Vegetarian

Kosher

Gluten Free

Sugar Free

Eatwell Apple

Contains Nuts

The full Request for Proposal can be viewed online at: www.arc.govt.nz/longbayrestaurant or Auckland Regional Council Office, 21 Pitt Street, Newton (8:30am to 5:00pm weekdays) Closing date for proposals: 4pm, Friday 21 May 2010. For further information on the RFP please contact Annette Campion on (09) 366 2000 ext 8410.

Free trial:

www.MyRecipes.co.nz

Subscribe Now yes! Title: Mrs, Ms, Mr

Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d like to order an annual subscription to GRILL (4 issues) at $27.80.

q New subscriber q Renewal

q Tick here if you wish to receive the FoodNews weekly email newsletter Name:

Establishment:

Position/Title: Type of business:

Address: Phone (home): I am paying by

Phone (work):

Email:

q Cheque (enclosed). Please make cheque payable to Mediaweb Limited

Card No

Postcode:

Visa

Mastercard

All prices include GST GST No: 102-417-023

q Tick here if you require a tax invoice or receipt

Name as it appears on the card: Expiry Date:

Signature:

Mail: Mediaweb, PO Box 5544, Wellesley Street, Auckland, 1141, New Zealand. Email: subs@mediaweb.co.nz

Subscribe ONLINE www.grill.co.nz (including international prices)

From time to time we run subscriber-only offers related to other magazine titles we pub ish. If you do not wish to receive these, please tick. If you do not wish to receive offers from third parties, please tick.