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Newzedge 2008 (507 items)
Newzedge 2007 (521 items)
Newzedge 2006 (327 items)

Note: links in archived stories may have expired due to the removal of the stories from, or changes to, the websites from which they were derived.






Chocolate carbon credits 
New Zealand graphic designer Giles Barker and his wife, trained chef Vanessa Kettelwell established confectionary company Bloomsberry & Co in 2001 and already they've have had their chocolate bars whipped out "from under their noses and suddenly they're all over the world." Bloomsberry chocolates had been selling trendy, tongue-in-cheek chocolate bars with a conscience in the United States for less than two years when they were approached by Whole Foods to develop Climate Change Chocolate. Marketed as the "first taste of a lower-carbon lifestyle," Bloomsberry donates 55 cents from each bar to TerraPass to pay for 133 pounds of carbon offsets, which is the average American's daily carbon impact. "We've sold enough in the first quarter that it's comparable to taking 900 cars off the road for a year," said Kerry Laramie, vice president sales and marketing for Bloomsberry's US division. 
(6 June 2008)




Pub weirdo finds his voice 
South London-based NZ writer Paul Ewen has released his first book, London Pub Reviews. Ewen set up his own publishing company, Shoes With Rockets, to make sure the collection of humorous fictional reviews of real pubs made it to the shelves. It is now being sold at the Tate Britain and numerous independent book shops around the city, as well as on Amazon. "I first got to know my way around London by using a pub guide and by visiting the best pubs in different areas," says Ewen. "Because I was using it so much, I sort of got into the vernacular of the pub guide, and when I started writing in these pubs I was visiting, the pub reviews became a kind of scaffolding for my stories." According to fellow author Tom McCarthy, Ewen has "given voice to that perennial figure who haunts the margins of all our lives: the pub weirdo", while author and editor Toby Litt hails Ewen as "the funniest new writer I have read in years". 
(23 May 2007)

 





Food to match the location
Wellington restaurant Martin Bosley's features in a guide to the Pacific region by the New York Times. Research for the guide was conducted by leading US travel authority Frommers. "Previously reserved as the exclusive dining domain of members of the Royal Port Nicholson Yacht Club, this bright and classy spot has opened its doors to the wider public - and for that we can be truly thankful. You'll get some of the best dishes in Wellington here - luscious seafoods served in myriad ways from an all-round creative menu," states the five-star review. Martin Bosley's overlooks Clyde Quay Marina on Wellington's waterfront.
(March 2007)


 


Read Star Bulletin story


Renaissance master 
The Honolulu Star Bulletin has recognised NZ-born restaurateur Dave Stewart as one of ten people who "changed Hawaii" for the better in 2006. Stewart has been a leading figure in the renaissance of Honolulu's Chinatown, which is gradually shedding its seedy image for a reputation as a night-life hub. Stewart opened his first restaurant - Indigo - in 1994, and has since opened Bar 35 in 2005 and French restaurant Du Vin in October last year. Stewart eschews market research in favour of gut instinct. "Everything I do is for me," he says, "I wanted a bar that serves pizza and really cold beer, hence Bar 35. And my other thing is I love French food and good wine, so Du Vin was a no-brainer." Next in Stewart's sights is nearby Waikiki, which is also in the midst of a major redevelopment.
(28 December 2006)


 


Read Independent story
Culinary invasion
An Independent feature nominates the ten best places to “eat Australasian” in London. These include The Zetter (NZ chef Megan Jones), The Providores and Tapa Room (Peter Gordon’s mini empire with fellow Kiwi's Anna Hansen and Michael McGrath), Gourmet Burger Kitchen (NZ concept with Peter Gordon as consulting chef), The Grocer (co-founded by Peter Gordon), and the Square Pie Company (best known for its uber-Kiwi steak & cheese).
(26 March 2005)
   



Read Independent article
A field trip worth taking
For aspiring cooks looking to learn Down Under, the Independent recommends Te Horo’s Ruth Pretty Cooking School and Catherine Bell’s Epicurean Workshop in Auckland.
(26 March 2005)
   



Read LA Times article
Honey cocktail
The Taste of Success
42 Below Manuka Honey Vodka is the main ingredient in star bartender Loren “Lola” Dunsworth’s current favourite cocktail – The Taste of Honey – which gets an impressive plug, complete with recipe, in the LA Times.
(26 January 2005)
   


 

Read IC Newcastle story
Tracey King
Go get ‘em, Tiger
Former NZ tennis No.1, Tracey King, is the brains behind successful Cardiff-based smoothie company, Tiger Bay Beverages. With the help of Entrepreneur Action and the Welsh Development Agency, Tiger Bay is poised to break into the relatively untapped European market, with an emphasis on Belgium, France, and the Netherlands. “The smoothie market in Europe does not exist and with tough competition in the UK we see it as potentially a huge market,” said King, who predicts that up to 70% of future sales could be derived from outside of Britain.
(9 November 2004)
    



Read Amazon review
'The Powerhouse Diet'
Raw power
Adoptive Canterbrian, Leslie Kenton, has published her 35th book: The Powerhouse Diet. The comprehensive guide to eating raw foods is the award-winning author's latest contribution to the field of health and well-being.
(June 2004)
 



Read LA Times story

South Seas style in Costa Meca
Noel Turner's epoynmous LA eatery continues to raise the flag for antipodean cuisine and produce along the US West Coast. "The climate produces some of the world's cleanest foods, most notably from Noel Turner, a world-renowned food purveyor of Turner New Zealand fine foods. Now, there's the first Turner's New Zealand Restaurant in Costa Mesa". High-quality foods are expertly prepared with a vast style of culinary tastes, all of course sourced from exceptional NZ produce, including the essential "exceptional" lamb.  
(12 December 2003)



Read SMH story
42 Below vodka
42 Below NZSX-y 
Award-winning NZ vodka label, 42 Below – has enlisted the help of Kiwi supermodel Kylie Bax and San Antonio Spurs basketball player Sean Marks to promote his product in the lucrative US market. 42 Below (named for NZ's latitude - a world benchmark for air purity) is already sold in bars from London to LA. Class Magazine rated it the No.2 vodka in the world, Wine Enthsiast: 95/100, US Spirits Journal: "Highly Commended". Founder Geoff Ross has decided to step up 42 Below’s export profile by listing the company on the NZSX.  “Thanks to The Lord of the Rings and the America's Cup, our profile has probably never been better. The gate has never been open wider for NZ brands.”
(30 September 2003)





Social climbing at Wellington's Matterhorn
Wallpaper features newly refurbished Wellington bar The Matterhorn in its global navigator. In a piece entitled 'The heart of the matter' the bar is the hub of a cosmopolitan revivified Wellington. Surveying the reworkings of architect Allistar Cox on the legendary Cuba Mall spot that’s been going strong since the Lamington days of the early 60s, Wallpaper finds a stylishly modern cavern hinting at Frank Lloyd Wright and 1920s cocktails. It's the only place, of course, to drink Feijoa infused 42 Below vodka.
(September 2003)
         





Winning hearts through stomachs
Noel Turner's US eatery, Turner New Zealand, continues to attract epicurean praise with it's gourmet cuisine sourced with principled fidelity from the freshest NZ product. A "wide-waisted wordsmith" reviews for Orange County Weekly. "I'd heard nothing but raves about owner Noel Turner's elegant seven-month-old eatery … I was determined to discover if reality lived up to the legend. Allow me to assure you it does. Every aspect of my dining experience was worth the price paid, from the obsessively attentive service to the meal itself." Turner is renowned for providing edge product (hormone- and antibiotic-free meats and seafood) to chefs at such venues as the Ritz-Carlton and the Four Seasons. 
(28 March - 3 April 2003)
   





California dining - from the edge
Country style cooking? "We're all familiar with restaurants featuring cuisines from countries and subregions around the world. [...] What if a restaurant opened that featured the food products of a certain country rather than a cooking style? That question is answered in part by a recent Costa Mesa newcomer, Turner New Zealand. Turner is the brainchild of Noel Turner, a New Zealander who founded the Turner New Zealand company in 1985 to bring quality food products to the United States." The critcal view: "Judging by the early success of his first offering, I think the future of the chain looks promising."
(06 March 2003)
         





BBQ Kings in Sydney
Two Kiwis more than make the grade in SMH's respected rating of Sydney's top young chefs. Jared Ingersoll of Danks Street Depot is praised for his "simple yet fine food, cooked with faultless technique," while Warren Turnbull is successfully "wooing the food-savvy" as the "scarily talented right-hand man" at the uber-fashionable Banc.
(21 January 2003)




I can't believe it is butter
A preservative-free spray-on butter invented in New Zealand won a top prize at the Sial International Food Fair in Paris. The bi-annual event is renowned for its trends and innovations section; other 'innovative' entries included olive candies and an oven-ready, semi-boneless, pre-stuffed turkey.
(24 October 2002)
     




Mile High Grub
Air New Zealand rates highly in a survey of post-Sept 11 airline food. As opposed to the "inedible" or nonexistent meals on many US carriers, Air NZ offers "selections like grilled herb marinated venison with mushroom tempura." What's more, service in both business and economy is described as "out of this world."
(3 September 2002)
   



go to The Providores official site. Includes menus, wine lists, etc
go to the square meal.co.uk review of The Providores
PG Tips
Peter Gordon's "new Marylebone showcase", The Providores, wins the BMW Square Meal Award for Best New Restaurant in the United Kingdom. Gordon is said to "demonstrate his intelligent mastery of flavours to stunning & clean effect", with signatures such as "grilled quail pepped with a cinnamon-based marinade & zapped with the multiple flavours of a roast carrot, wattleseed, pomegranate & ginger salad" ... "If you think you don’t like fusion food, then it’s probably because you haven’t tried Peter Gordon’s cooking." 
(October 2001)
     



Go to Miami Herald story
World food

What does an Irish pub in Miami serve to go with the Guinness? New Zealand lamb, cooked Mediterranean style!
(22 June 2001)
                    



Go to Graham Kerr website
Go to Graham Kerr website
Galloping gourmet still in the saddle
Graham Kerr cooks up a storm on his new programme, Swiftly Seasoned.
(April 2001)
  



Go to Ananova story
Cold shoulder
Historic moment: the first shipment of frozen meat left New Zealand 119 years ago.
(15 February 2001)
          



Go to The Economic Times story
Food fun

Hamish Brown, 1998's Chef of the Nation, creates amusaboushe - amusing bites - featuring New Zealand regional specialties at top Christchurch eatery, Pescatore.
(28 January 2001) 
          



Go to ABC story
Creamier, milkier, safer
New Zealand butter has much lower concentrations of dioxin than Australian, European and American products.
(8 December 2000)
             



Go to the Times London article
Go to the Times article
Unique urenika

Dark purple and delicious, urenika (Maori potatoes), are on display at the RHS London Flower Show.
(1 November 2000)




See You Latte
Once you're safely at the cafe, you can order an extra frothy latte, courtesy of a herd of cows deep in the heart of New Zealand. The milk of these cows has been found to produce superior froth, no matter what the weather conditions or the experience of the barista.
(1 October 2000)
 



Go to The Observer story
Go to The Observer story

Sweet Sugar
Peter Gordon is the man who launched a thousand experiments with seaweed, noodles and kangaroo. His latest book, "Cook at Home with Peter Gordon", applies the same eclectic principles, offering something for cooks of every taste and level to enjoy.
(09 September 2000)
                





Crunchies for a flat stomach

Looking to get in shape for her acting career Kiwi supermodel Rachel Hunter enlisted the help of SunWoman who came up with a brilliant eating plan which included Hunter's favourite foods: Crunchie bars, Frosties, curries and oysters washed down with a shot of vodka on the rocks. 
(26 July 2000)





Cuizean

Kiwi super-chef Peter Gordon is one of the "illustrious visitors" concocting culinary creations at Henrietta Green's Food Lovers' Fair. The fair brings together specialist food producers and suppliers hand-picked by the redoubtable Miss Green in her ceaseless quest for the best food and drink in Britain.
(July 2000)



Go Go-Jamaica article
Big cheese #2
New Zealander Errol J. Baird runs a food importing business in  Jamaica. "He offers to the discerning gourmet New Zealand cheese and wine."
(2 July 2000)
                 



Go to the Sunday Times story
Give them a taste of Kiwi
"Sometimes expats crave a taste of the familiar - and now they can find it on the net." A New Zealand writer yearns for Tim Tams and ponders the number of dotcoms, such as Expat Express, created to cater for homesick Brits abroad pining for the familiar tastes of home.
(14 June 2000)  
    



Kiwi Chef to Star at World Gourmet Summit, Singapore food festival
Little is known about New Zealand cusine here, but if chef Rick Rutledge- Manning's cooking is anything to go by, it's something to take note of: "...refined and light, yet - most important of all - full of flavour".
(12 April 2000)
               



Go to the Guardian Story
Go to the Brewers Network story
Hallertau hops give organic beer a bite
Bateman's a family owned organic brewery in Lincolnshire has joined the swelling ranks of organic beers with Yella Betty Bitter, brewed with organic chariot pale malt and Hallertau hops from New Zealand - "wonderfully refreshing, with juicy malts balanced by aromatic hops and citrus fruit."
(27 July 2000)



Go to the Star story
Fusion eating: Kiwi food produce makes for great Italian fare in Malaysia
"The start to original Italian food is to use all fresh ingredients ... the juicy New Zealand mussels in Amatricana sauce are to die for ... the imported New Zealand spring lamb grilled in herbs and served in white sauce is a must for anyone who enjoys lamb."
(24 June 2000)
             



Go to the guardian story
go to the Guardian story
Vodka and herb, a très moderne kiwi potable
The Guardian blows away the myth that herbs are restrained by the cooking pot and salad bowl and offers some herbal cocktails for the urban sophisticate, including herb-based martinis from Dick Bardsell and vodka Anisette from Kiwi Gillian Painter, author of The Herb Cookbook.
(24 June 2000)



Go to the Sunday Times story
Go to the Sunday Times story

Food unites through Kiwi chef's fusion menu
Tainted by the bad press of football violence and last August's earthquake, Times writer Cath Urquhart found Istanbul to instead be beautiful and friendly, helped in no small way by the diverse fusion menu at the hip Changa restaurant - designed by renowned New Zealand chef, Peter Gordon, formerly at London's Sugar Club.
(20 May 2000)


 


Cincinnati hearts warm to Kiwi Cockles
"If you're not in the mood for raw fish, or even for cold seafood, there's always the New Zealand cockles appetizer, which I can't resist ordering every time I visit Prime and Wine.
(4 May 2000)
              


 

Go to the Sunday Times story
Popeye favourite from down-under
Kiwi spinach gets green thumbs up, "It is the most delicious and abundant spinach - although it is slow to germinate - and it can withstand drought".
(29 April 2000)
                           




Expensive as gold, rare as diamonds - dying delicacy revived in New Zealand
"The truffle's true future may lie in balmy New Zealand ... Do New Zealand truffles taste like Lalbenque truffles?  The Kiwis say yes.  How can I afford to join the controversy?".
(29 April 2000)
 



Sweet and Sour at the Sugar Club
The Sugar Club and its sister restaurant Bali Sugar, epitomise the radical, cosmopolitan and mainly beneficial changes that have transformed London's restaurants over the last decade.
(8 April 2000)
              



 



Dining with the birds 
For one month from 9 January until February 2009, in a redwood plantation north of Auckland, between Puhoi and Warkworth, and 10m up a tree, the Yellow House restaurant will serve three-course meals for $195 a head. Diners will approach the onion-shaped treehouse along a 60m elevated walkway, while the food takes another route — the kitchens are at ground level, so the chefs will send it up on a winch. The restaurant was created in 66 days as part of a marketing project for the Yellow Pages. "They're a bit vague about what'll be on the menu," writes the Times, "but we're hoping for bird's-nest soup." 
(21 December 2008)




Let cones be licked 
Chief judge for the New Zealand Ice Cream Awards and sensory scientist at Massey University Kay McMath has proved the dessert tastes better when licked from a cone. McMath said that the flavour in food is released when warmed inside the mouth. Licking an ice cream means the tongue is coated with a thin layer so it is more quickly warmed and the flavour is detected by the taste buds. Eating ice cream with a spoon tends to keep the ice cream colder for longer and delivers the sweet blob to the roof of the mouth before swallowing. The theory has surfaced because of Tip Top's Labour Day '1-dollar Scoop Day', when 600 dairies across the country offered cone ice creams at 1-dollar per scoop. 
(22 October 2008)




Back to the basics
"New Zealand is a wonderful combination of all the good cuisines from around the world with a special touch of freshness," writes The Economic Times in an overview of the country's food and wine from an Indian perspective. "Meat is considered a staple food even though quite a few restaurants do serve vegetarian food. Hogget and cervena, roast lamb and farm deer are the most sought after dishes... Leaving behind plush restaurants and small eateries, we also even experienced New Zealand's traditional cooking style, the 'hangi.' And when kiwifruit is not eaten simply peeled, it is presented atop a pavlova, that excellent, sinful dessert which has fans across the globe."
(25 September 2008)




Cooking by numbers
Wellingtonian Matt Moss, 36, left New Zealand 16 years ago to play rugby in Britain, Germany and the United States winding up in Beijing working for catering company, Aramark as operations manager at the Olympic village. Moss oversees the cooking for 10,000 athletes, who consume tonnes of vegetables, seafood, dessert, and some 300 Peking ducks daily. "Asian food is always popular," said Moss, who is now based in Baltimore. "Our local partners help educate us on special flavours needed for making authentic Chinese food." Moss's job is a big responsibility, and not surprisingly, food safety is Aramark's top priority. Once it reaches the village it enters temperature-controlled zones and is prepared by an army of chefs whose every move is monitored by video. "At this point you probably could not eat safer anywhere in the world," says Moss. 
(11 August 2008)





NZ's cup of joe
Pavlova and flat whites are on the menu in Washington D.C. thanks to American policy analyst Art Hauptman who opened Cassatt's restaurant after holidaying in New Zealand. And for this Washington Post reviewer it is what comes at the end of the meal that is a true test of a good restaurant. Cassatt's, "a Kiwi cafe" in Arlington, has pavlova which is especially tasty, so light that it practically melts in your mouth, writes the reviewer, and rather than your average warm dregs of coffee left over from the lunch rush, Cassatt's serves good and hot coffee. If you really want to be in the know, order the 'flat white'. Served in New Zealand, the Cassatt's specialty is a twist on your standard latte. 
(11 July 2008)




By the people for the people  
Auckland trio, Tim Tregonning, Dan Phillips and Danis Roberts are crowd pleasers; their project, OurBrew is currently recruiting beer drinkers to unite and develop a collective drop by signing up online, voting and then launching the world's first crowd produced beer. Participants choose the style of beer, the name, logo, packaging and details for tasting and launch parties. Fascinated by the idea of crowd sourcing and funding, the boys at OurBrew asked themselves, "How could we bring crowd sourcing to New Zealand? It has to involve something Kiwis are passionate about, something that is a constant in our lives." The answer? Beer. 
(28 May 2008)




Chopped, but not out 
New Zealander Mark Simmons, 29, a sous chef at New York restaurant Public and until recently a contestant on popular reality show Top Chef, wants to open his own restaurant in the Big Apple serving antipodean cuisine. Simmons says he wants to introduce New York to more of New Zealand. "I definitely think there's room in New York for that," he said. "The produce and the protein that we have over there; it's from the purest, most pristine waters, and the greenest pastures." On Top Chef, Simmons had to contend with American-themed challenges. "Like a street party: we don't have street parties. And the tailgate - it was a first experience for me, but I had a great time on it. It was pretty awesome." 
(1 May 2008)





Feasts in factories 
New Zealander Margot Henderson, sought-after London gourmand and the other half of Arnold & Henderson catering, does not like to use the word 'simple' when describing their menus. "It's more like it has a sense of place," she says. At a recent Parisian soirée in a metal factory, 240 guests, including the French prime minister, sat down at long banquet tables while the cooks worked out of a makeshift kitchen. Dishes were served family-style from large bowls and platters; the entrée, veal shin on the bone, arrived with a knife sticking out of it. Arnold & Henderson has an impressive client list including Balenciaga, Marc Jacobs and Mulberry. Melanie Arnold and Margot Henderson began the catering business in 1995 when they worked together at London's The French House Dining Room in Soho. They now run restaurant, Rochelle Canteen in Shoreditch.
(23 March 2008)





Enlightened dining
NZ-owned restaurant Seamstress has won over critics and diners just weeks after its opening Melbourne. The four-storey modern Cantonese eatery is co-owned by Dunedin-born Jason Chan, who runs the successful NZ-themed cafe Batch in Balaclava, and Anthony Herzog. Executive chef Raymond Larkins is another New Zealander, who moved to Melbourne from Wellington four years ago. The trio earned a glowing write-up from veteran Herald Sun reviewer Bob Hart in their first week open for business. "Seamstress is the enlightened product of the combined experience and talents of two of Melbourne's better young operators," writes Hart. "They had a clear, shared dream, and they have realised it brilliantly." He goes on to describe Larkins' menu as "outstanding", "inspired" and "brilliantly executed".
(1 December 2007)





Speight's sails into London

The first Speight's Ale House outside of NZ has opened in London, after an epic 75-day boat journey. The pub set sail from Dunedin and passed through Samoa, Panama, the Bahamas and New York before reaching London's Canary Wharf. After two weeks of official functions, the pub was transported to its permanent location above Temple tube station, between London's Blackfriars and Waterloo bridges on the River Thames. "It is the first and only Speight's Ale House outside of New Zealand and already it has a strong following of London-based kiwis who've been watching its journey all the way here with keen interest," said Speight's marketing manager, Sean O'Donnell. "We're really excited to be bringing New Zealanders in London what they've asked for - a cold Speight's!" 
(5 November 2007)





Healthy competition 
A NZ healthy fast food chain has opened its first European outlet in Glasgow, Scotland. Owner Conrad van der Klundert believes that Reload, a South Island-based juice, salad and sandwich bar, can take on established chains such as Subway as well as existing juice bars in the UK and Ireland. He eventually hopes to employ between 200 and 300 staff in more than 100 stores, with each making £350,000 annually. "We are trying to change the eating style in as many places as possible, from fast food to healthy food," says van der Klundert, who already operates Reload stores in Australia, Singapore and China, as well as across NZ. The UK and Ireland franchise has been bought by Scottish businessman Keith Stark. 
(22 April 2007)






Doctor vodka 
42 Below ambassador and "vodka professor" Jacob Briars discusses dirty drink names, Golden Globe shout outs and the social psychology of bars in an interview with the Sydney Morning Herald. Formerly a bartender at Wellington's Matterhorn, Briars now travels the world conducting a cocktail master class called Vodka U. "I developed this concept with 42 Below," he explains. "We conduct a tasting of as many as 25 different vodkas and explain how they are made and what makes them unique. We also cover what vodkas suit which cocktails and even taste a few cocktails, too." Briars' skills behind the bar were famously mentioned in a Golden Globes acceptance speech by Lord of the Rings star Elijah Wood. 
(10 January 2007)

 



Read Gourmet story

Love at first bite 
The senior food editor at Gourmet magazine (USA) is a big fan of the Blackcurrant and Apple Glaze produced by NZ company, Forage. "I love this!" she wrote in the June issue. "I'd brush it over duck or pork, or even mix it with seltzer for a summer drink!"

 


 

Read Guardian story

Gourmet Burger Kitchen
London's Gourmet Burger Kitchen - the brainchild of three Kiwi entrepreneurs - is credited with starting the trend for "fast food for the organic generation" in a lengthy Guardian piece. Now boasting 8 restaurants, the GBK chain was founded in 2001 by Greg Driscoll, Brandon Allen and Adam Wills. "Food made with good quality, fresh ingredients is part of any New Zealander's upbringing," says Driscoll. "It's that casual but quality food experience you get in NZ we wanted to bring to London." GBK has inspired a slew of imitators, but the original remains "the biggest, best known and most successful." Driscoll, Allen and Wills recently sold their business to Clapham House for ?25 million, but will stay on as company directors (see previous Newzedge story). 
(2 January 2006)

 


 

Read Guardian story

Spoiled for choice 
Kiwi chef Rex Morgan takes Guardian food writer Jonathan Ray on a culinary tour of Queenstown. The eating extravaganza takes place at Morgan's recently opened boutique hotel, The Spire (competitors will be "hard-pressed to improve upon Rex's celebrated dégustation menus, the 10-course version of which he puts before me"), Joe's Garage ("the breakfasts are indeed amazing, great hangover food, and the best coffee in town"), The Coronation Bathhouse ("[recommended] as much for its spectacular position as anything else"), Wine Tastes ("Central Otago pinot noir just gets better and better, and here you can taste wines from almost every producer"), and Winnie's ("still feeling the effects of my Kiwi wine- fest earlier, I avoid the fine-looking cocktail list and order myself an awesomely good pizza.") 
(24 December 2005)


 



Food for thought 
A lengthy Independent feature examines Auckland's burgeoning food scene - and NZ's as a whole. While NZ has embraced café culture ("probably the best espresso experience outside Italy in about 13 years, skipping the Starbucks phase altogether"), the Kiwi meat and two veg dinner mindset has been a tougher nut to crack. "We are trying to educate our public by taking them on a taste journey, rather than offering them a stomach-filler," says Morgan. "We are getting there, slowly." Eateries leading the charge towards gastronomic greatness include Citron (Wellington), The Spire (Queenstown), Dizengoff, SPQR, Dine by Peter Gordon, Soul and The French Café (all Auckland). Says the writer, "Personally, I came to scoff, but left converted." 
(15 October 2005)

 



Read Gourmet Traveller story


Cook me some eggs
Kiwi Josh Emett is the chef responsible for returning London institution The Savoy Grill to its former glory, picking up a coveted Michelin star in the process. As Head Chef, Emett is working under the formidable guidance of co-owners Gordon Ramsay and Marcus Wareing. Emett was also judged Best in Show in a celebrity chef egg boiling contest held by the Guardian. “The white was just right and not too hard, while the yolk was creamy,” said judge, Loyd Grossman. “To me, it was perfect.”
(July 2005)
   


 

Read Financial Times story
Land of plenty
The Financial Times devotes a sizeable spread to the “veritable culinary cornucopia” that is NZ. “’Used to be that a big night out would be to Barry's Bistro for Steak Diane and a big cask of Muller Thurgau,’ laughs Debbie Crompton, executive chef of the Millbrook Resort in Queenstown.” How times have changed.
(21 May 2005)

   
   



Read Oakland Tribune story
Pie
Pass the Watties?
1988 NZ Chef of the Year and Elton John’s former cook, Clive Hitchens, has returned to his roots, opening a meat pie shop in Alameda, California. Hitchens and partner, Donna, had been successfully selling gourmet pies at farmers markets since early 2003, before deciding to open their own restaurant, The New Zealander, this year. “The pies are dressed up for sure in his restaurant. Hitchens … uses gourmet quality ingredients - imported and free-range meats and his own curries - and wraps the meats in a pastry shell so delicate it defies the dish's reputation of being hearty. But they are still meat pies he's serving, a food that's gobbled up with grubby hands everywhere in NZ, at rugby matches, gas stations, corner stores, you name it.”
(25 September 2004)
     



Go to Kiwi Grille website
The Kiwi Grille
Kai a la Kiwi
A NZ themed restaurant – The Kiwi Grille - is doing a roaring trade in Newburyport, Massachusetts. According to owner Bruce deMustchine (ex-Hawkes Bay), the Grille served 10,000 happy customers in its first 8 weeks of opening. All meat on the menu hails from NZ, as do 85% of the wines on offer and numerous other ingredients. A day after the Grille’s June 1 opening, the state of Massachusetts held its first annual New Zealand Day.
(16 June 2004)
   



Read Post article

Read Post article
What's cooking good looking?
NZ-born Brad Farmerie – head chef at Peter Gordon’s Public – was named one of the New York culinary scene’s rising stars, in a Post piece entitled ‘Lord of the Ranges.’ As well as “impressing diners and restaurant reviewers with dishes like kangaroo with coriander falafel, grilled ox tongue and New Zealand snapper,” Farmerie is reportedly turning the heads of female foodies with his “boyish good looks.”
(7 March 2004)
   



Go to NY Times story

Logan Brown fare
Quality tucker
Significant New York Times feature ‘The Other Down Under’ chronicles NZ’s culinary revolution - from land of the long boiled mutton to world-class gastronomic player. The new breed of Kiwi chefs are seasoned travellers who weave international flavours with local produce to create an entirely unique cuisine. Says interviewee Alistair Brown – of Wellington’s Logan Brown Restaurant – “What we see and taste, we want to emulate or improve on when we come back home. We are a very young country, not stuck in tradition.” The Times’ tour encompassed the eateries and vineyards of Martinborough, Wellington, the Hawkes Bay, and Auckland, with highlights including Logan Brown (where “quality is as dependable as the tides”), Martinborough’s Wharekauhau Inn (“under pink clouds at dusk it made an unforgettable impression”), the Te Whau vineyard and restaurant on Waiheke Island (“an award-winning restaurant of Corbusier-inspired design … [which] offers more than 600 wines, including every big NZ name), and Auckland’s O’Connell Street Bistro (“if we could have stuffed [it] into our luggage and brought it back to the States, we would have”). A Toronto Star feature attributes a swell of interest in NZ produce in Canada to - what else - the Lord of the Rings. "
Never has a country's public profile been raised so high, so fast. Its food exports capitalize on the pristine environment, the lush pastures and clean waters, the fresh air, the reverse seasons."
(14 January 2004) 




Deep south delights
The Australian finds the university city of Dunedin a "hearty mix of charm and character – with plenty of wee surprises". In the 'Scotch Broth' Stephen Brook includes culture and characters during a visit to the rugby ground known as the 'house of pain', Carisbrook; takes in the the "thrilling wildlife" of the Otago Penninsula, (including majestic Royal Albatross: "its massive wingspan makes it the 747-400 of the bird world"); heritage and history at Olveston House and Larnach Castle; a strenuous stroll up the world's steepest street; beds (Corstorphine), bars (Di Lusso) and eats (Home); and, of course, a visit to the scarfie fuel manufacturer, Speights Brewery (above).
(04 October 2003)   
       



Read Daily News article
Wildfoods

Wild West Coast food in Hokitika
Hokitika's Wildfoods Festival rates a mention in a New York Daily News feature on icky eating. "More than 20,000 adventurous eaters gather to sample such delights as bulls' penises and sphagnum moss," states the incredulous writer, who goes on to detail the Middle Eastern penchant for sheep's eyes and the insect treats available on the Iowa State University's etymology department website.
(6 July 2003)
  



Read Coast review

Tastefully turning heads
Turner NZ restaurant - serving up an all-Kiwi array of food and wine - stands out in the sea of Italian, Asian and American cuisines on offer in Southern California. Says an enthusiastic reviewer for Coast Magazine; "Prepare to leave with more than just a satisfied appetite. You'll likely have the urge to pack your bags and take that long-awaited trip to New Zealand."
(May 2003)
  



Read Edmonton Journal story
Round one...
"The food is sooooo good -- we want to lick our plates. And the breathtaking views - islands, harbours, volcanoes." Edmonton Journal travel writer is so impressed by his whirlwind North Island tour he's already planning a southern sequel.
(8 February 2003)
  



Go to Business Day review

Readable eatables
Business Day gives Ray McVinnie's latest cook book a review good enough to eat. The Modern Cook is more than "a series of mouth-watering recipes," it also builds one recipe upon the next in a step-by-step guide to culinary genius. The reviewer's only qualm is McVinnie's suspiciously thin physique: "Must be the stress of writing such and appetising cook book."
(6 December 2002)
     



Click here for the Turner website
Holy lamb of Godzone
Two of the culinary world’s US icons, Julia Childs & Emeril Lagasse, dined on the finest lamb in the world, courtesy of Newport Beach, California-based Noel "King of New Zealand gourmet food" Turner in a two-day fund raiser to benefit the James Beard Foundation hosted by chef and restaurateur Zov Karamardian.
(December 2001)

         




Stella food in New York
Stella, a dark, candlelit bistro garnering acclaim in New York, is owned by Anna Weinberg and Paul Masters, a husband-and-wife team from New Zealand. "It has a comforting niceness about it," writes food critic Moira Hodgson, "more like the sort of restaurant you used to find in the Village in the 70s than a slick Soho bistro".
(15 October 2001)

                     



for the receipe and article
Tui Flower and ANZAC biscuits
Tui Flower, the "Julia Child of New Zealand" shares her ANZAC biscuits recipe with readers of the Los Angeles Times.
(2001)



Go to Times of India story
Have mint-sauce, will travel
New Zealand lamb, herb-crusted and juicy, makes the menu at Bangalore's "Globetrotter's culinary festival".
(20 April 2001)
             



Go to the pDF of the Atlanta Journal story
Try the venison, deer
New Zealand venison is among the top choices at Atlanta's Buckhead Brewery and Grille. Also, New Zealand venison fills the red meat gap in Europe.
PDF Copy
(5 April 2001)
              



Go to Excite news story
Gourmet high
"Air New Zealand announces a culinary partnership with Chef Katsuo "Suki" Sugiura of the legendary Polo Lounge at The Beverly Hills Hotel."
(13 March 2001)

              



Go to the Scotsman story
Suckler
New Zealand suckler cows may be the key to enhancing upland beef production in Scotland.
(24 January 2001)
             



Go to Sctosman article
Beery good
"Beer makes people more sociable in an increasingly unsociable world. Beer, particularly for the Aussies, is something of an icon, so I’m very well aware of the responsibility," says Scot Gordon Cairns, the man taking New Zealand's Lion beer to the world.
(10 December 2000) 
                




Slow potato
New Zealand researcher Graham Harris's potato digging made him a  finalist in the "Slow Food" 2000 awards.
(25 November 2000)
      




Enjoy: Lattes and colas not as dangerous as thought
A study by the Australian and New Zealand Food authority has found that the caffeine pick-me-ups effect in tea, coffee, and soft drinks did less harm than previously thought. "We have been drinking tea, coffee and soft drinks for hundreds of years and the report confirms what history tells us, caffeine containing beverages have a long history of safe use.
(2 July 2000) 
          






Melbourne's king pin 
Taranaki-born Ben Shewry, 31, is executive chef at Melbourne restaurant Attica, where he was named Best New Talent at the 2007 Gourmet Traveller Awards, and where he earned this year's Melbourne Age Good Food Guide Restaurant of the Year award and best dish. According to Gourmet Traveller Shewry has "come up with a modern style that has caught a lot of people happily off guard with its inventiveness." "Peter Gordon [executive chef of London's The 3 Providores] came in the other night and afterwards he told me it had been one of the best dining experiences of his life," says Shewry. "It was one of the highlights of my career." Peter Gilmore of Sydney's Quay says Shewry is "the most exciting young chef in Melbourne, without a doubt." The Australian reviewer Stephen Lunn writes that "an evening at Attica is no-brainer." Shewry began his career at Government House in Wellington, and has worked under decorated Swiss-New Zealander Mark Limacher of the capital's Roxburgh Bistro. 
(December 2008)




Cooking from scratch 
Bridal Falls provides a spectacular setting, and outdoor market, for chef Charles Royal's Maori feast made with bush asparagus-flavoured pikopiko fern, horopito and supple jack vine. On Royal's food tour, which he offers from the Treetops Lodge & Wilderness Estate near Rotorua, we are lead into a different world. He stops at a tawa tree and explains that its wood is excellent for hangi, because it imparts a wonderful flavour. He points out the keikei plant, which once a year produces the tawhara fruit: "A delicacy with a flavour rather like a nashi pear," he says. On arrival at the Falls, he creates a banquet with the freshly harvested ingredients including: three-pepper spice (horopito, kawakawa and cayenne pepper), served with h?rore wild bush mushrooms and meringues infused with kawakawa. Royal trained as a chef in the New Zealand army. He has won awards for food innovation and runs Kinaki Wild Herbs which supplies the domestic and international market with indigenous herbs. 
(28 June 2008)




Kosher in Canterbury 
Christchurch is visited by some 20,000 Israeli backpackers annually, and to cater for these numbers, the city will soon be home to New Zealand's first kosher restaurant. Rabbi Mendy Goldstein, formerly of Brooklyn, New York, views the restaurant as a first step in building a future for New Zealand where "Jewish living is convenient and enjoyable" for travellers and especially for its general Jewish population. Ten-thousand Jews live in New Zealand. The article also discusses the history of Jews in Dunedin, which bills itself as the "World's Southernmost Jewish Community". 
(12 May 2008)





Tastebuds will travel 
Guardian reporter Emma Johns and friend spent a two-week culinary tour of New Zealand "exploring the local flavours before attempting to recreate them ourselves." From fine-dining in Wellington to cooking lamb fillet off a cliff in Arthur's Pass: "One great incentive to roam, on any New Zealand road trip, is the extraordinary proximity of its different landscapes. A few hours' drive can take you almost anywhere, from the coastline to the snowline; you can eat prawns for breakfast on the beach, lunch on farmed venison on the plains, and drink your sundowner atop a 3,000ft mountain." 
(10 February 2008)




 
Michelin man 
Waikato-born chef de cuisine Josh Emett has won two Michelin stars for his menu at Gordon Ramsay at The London, the celebrity chef's new venture in New York. Emett oversees the menu design for Ramsay's eponymous restaurant at The London as well as two other venues within the same hotel, and won special praise from Michelin reviewers for his seven-course Menu Prestige tasting option. "Getting three stars after four, five, six years is an achievement... so this is really amazing," said Emett in a NZ Herald interview. Gordon Ramsay at The London has also been named Top Newcomer and fourth-best restaurant in the Hotel Dining category of the Zagat survey, which is voted for by members of the public. "We're getting fantastic feedback from diners," Emett admitted, "We're having a great week."
(12 October 2007)





China wine and dine
Aotearoa wine and cuisine has gained a significant foothold in China with the opening of the first restaurant and bar dedicated to premium NZ produce. Located in Guangzhou, China's third largest city, Back Street 19 Matakana Estate restaurant and bar is a joint venture between Matakana Estate and Goldridge Estate Wines, and Chinese business magnate Mr Yifei Li. "[Guangzhou's] financial elite, like many other affluent Chinese, are rapidly developing a sophisticated appreciation of premium Western wines and cuisines," says Matakana and Goldridge Estates Managing Director, Peter Vegar. Back Street 19 is located in Guangzhou's exclusive residential area of Ersha Island. 
(1 September 2007)





Potential World Heritage sites in NZ 
UNESCO is considering three NZ locations as potential World Heritage Sites at the request of PM Helen Clark, who is also NZ's Minister of Culture and Heritage. The Waitangi Treaty Grounds, Kerikeri Basin and Napier's Art Deco historic precinct have all been suggested as worthy of World Heritage protection. Known as "the birthplace of the nation", the Waitangi Treaty Grounds at Russell were the location for the first signing of the Treaty of Waitangi between Maori and the British Crown in 1840. The Kerikeri Basin in Northland saw the birth of Christianity and bi-cultural society in NZ, with the arrival of European missionaries in 1819. Napier's Art Deco historic precinct was built following the town's near complete destruction from a massive earthquake in 1931. 
(16 July 2007)






Burger boom 
A restaurant chain founded by three New Zealanders has become one of the most successful businesses in the booming UK "posh burger" market. Gourmet Burger Kitchen was established six years ago by school friends Greg Driscoll, Brandon Allen and Adam Wills. The trio sold the business to restaurant investment company Clapham House Group for NZ $25.7 million in 2004, staying on for 18 months as directors before cashing out. Since the start of the 2006 financial year, Clapham House has added 13 GBK outlets to the chain, and is currently looking for a further 100 sites across the UK. 
(10 June 2007)

 






Piece of cake LA 
Times food writer Amy Scattergood introduces Americans to the humble pavlova: "a dessert with an unexpected, rustic elegance." As well as providing a step-by-step recipe, Scattergood details the historical and cultural background of the iconic Australasian pudding. "Now the national dessert of both [New Zealand and Australia], the Pavlova has come down to us as a kind of edible symbol, not only of balletic art, but of colonial ingenuity. Unlike its ornate meringue cousin the vacherin, a beautiful if rather fussy dessert, the Pavlova is composed of a free-form meringue upon which whipped cream and fresh fruit are piled with lovely abandon. That's it."
(23 May 2007)


 



A taste of Nelson in New York 
A NZ-themed gastropub, Nelson Blue, has opened in New York's burgeoning Seaport area. Owned by Pauli Morgan, a Nelson-born veteran of New York's bar scene, the 100-seat restaurant features a suspended waka, Steinlager on tap, a bar shaped like a ship and views of the Brooklyn Bridge and East River. Kentucky-born Eric Lind, of Brooklyn's feted Flatbush Farm restaurant, has signed on as head chef. 
(2 May 2007)


 



Surfing the Menu in NZ 
NZ chef Mark Gardner will co-present the fourth season of popular cooking show Surfing the Menu, with London-based Australian Ben O'Donoghue. Gardner, 29, replaces O'Donoghue's previous co-presenter, Australian Curtis Stone. The fourth season comprises an eight-part tour of NZ, showcasing the country's food and scenery in equal measures. "I have been watching a lot of the food channels lately and checking out the other shows. And I just think we've just got a lot more punch and excitement," said Gardner. The series will see O'Donoghue and Gardner cooking innovative meals in between heli-skiing, surfing and scuba-diving with sharks. Gardner will present his signature barbeque dish: freshwater trout with fejoa wrapped in flax. The series premieres on Discovery Travel & Living, May 8. 
(1 May 2007)

 


 

Read Age story

Roast with the most 
Edge establishment Batch Espresso is cutting it in Melbourne's razor-like café scene, with more stellar reviews in the city's leading newspapers. Herald Sun: "[Owner Jason Chan] works the coffee machine and the room, making beautiful coffee and good conversation. He's the consummate host … The menu is choice. In fact, it's choice bro, eh? Chan is proudly Kiwi and the menu features NZ wines, smoked salmon and fruit juices." The Age: "Last year [the Age] Cheap Eats again recognised a Carlisle Street cafe with its best barista prize, describing Jason Chan's Batch Espresso as 'a coffee-themed retreat.' Café lifestyle magazine Crema wrote: 'Move over Wall, Batch is in town.'" 
(7 February 2006)


 



Te Rapa creams the opposition
Cream cheese from Fonterra's Te Rapa site won a silver medal at the World Championship Cheese Contest in Wisconsin; its 97.55 out of 100 score less than half a point behind the winner. Known as the Cheese Olympics, the WCCC is the largest event of its kind, boasting 1,792 entries from 18 countries this year alone. Te Rapa cream products process manager Dave Waterman was particularly pleased to win such an award in the US, the undisputed home of cream cheese. 
(31 March 2006)

 


 


Read Times profile
Flash Gordon
The Times profiles NZ’s most famous cooking export, the “arch-exponent of fusion food” Peter Gordon. As well as owning the Sugar Club, Providores and Tapa Room (all in London), Gordon is consultant chef to Changa (Istanbul), Public (New York) and Dine (Auckland). His latest book, Salads: The New Main Course, cleverly mixes the fundamentals with the exotic. “He seems to want, as ever, to bring the whole world to our tables."
(9 July 2005)

   


 

Read Seattle Times story
Steaming in Seattle
Kiwi Carl Sara was a finalist in the World Barista Championship in Seattle. The prestigious competition was won by Denmark’s Troels Overdal Poulsen.
(19 April 2005)
   



Read Daily News story
Down Under Bakery
NYC pie fix
NY Daily News profiles Kiwi Gareth Hughes, the brains behind NYC’s Down Under Bakery. “In Australia and NZ, meat pies are as central to the culture as pizza in New York,” says Hughes. Popular flavours include steak and Portobello mushroom, steak and cheese, steak curry and – of course – the “marvellous addictive mince.”
(29 March 2005)



Read Age review
Batch Espresso
Perky paradise
A Kiwi oasis in the midst of Melbourne is winning the hearts of critics and customers alike. Batch Espresso, owned and operated by ex-Wellingtonian Jason Chan, earned a rave write-up in Melbourne food bible Cheap Eats and Chan himself was voted barista of the year by the Age. “Batch has a slightly more organic but polished feel than some of its rivals on the strip,” says one reviewer. “The service is young, sassy and sparky, while the menu boasts the sort of honest, simple but slightly inspired combinations that make Melbourne the goddamn cafe capital of the goddamn world … Typical. That's the last thing we need. Yet another pack of New Zealanders over here stealing the limelight from their Aussie rivals.” Batch serves solely NZ wines and beers, Supreme coffee, and sells such Kiwi sweet essentials as Perky Nana’s and K-Bars.
(22 February 2005)
  



Read Star interview
Wendy Hutton
Adventure tourism for the tastebuds
The Malaysian Star interviews NZ born Wendy Hutton, an intrepid food and travel writer who is “practically a household name in South-East Asia.” Hutton has published numerous cook books, including Singapore Food and A Cook’s Guide to Asian Vegetables, and helped edit the Charmaine Solomon classic, the Complete Asian Cookbook. She recently planned and edited the first in a series of eight World Food books for Singapore publishing house, Periplus Editions. “Food is a universal language,” says Hutton. “I know from experience that if you show genuine interest in the local food, whether it is in Moscow or Mexico, Marseilles or Malacca, people really relate to you.”
(14 December 2004)
   



Read Just Drinks story
Global edge-sposure
Premier NZ vodka label, 42 Below, has made further inroads to the global market, acquiring a key distributor in Australia with Carlton and United Beverages (CUB) and purchasing the US direct sales company Collinsville Securities Limited for US$1.296m. In other news, 42 Below was recently announced as principal sponsor of the Creative NZ commissioned exhibition, ‘The Fundamental Practice’ by et al., for the 2005 Venice Biennale.
(13 September 2004)
    



Read Fairplex results

Serendipity olive oil
Oil or nothing

NZ olive oil producers won 5 gold medals at the annual
LA Country Wines and Olive Oils of the World competition in May. Serendipity Olive Company won a gold each for its barnea and extra virgin Italian blends, and Seresin Estate won three golds for its extra virgin, extra virgin lemon, and extra virgin lime oils respectively. 
(21 May 2004)



Read BBC story
Lamb
Export success
Lamb exporting to the UK is set to rise even further following a favourable report by the British government on NZ’s methods of slaughtering stock. According to the report, the standard technique in NZ (stunning the animal prior to slitting its throat) meets both halal and kosher requirements, as well as satisfying the concerns of the Farm Animal Welfare Council. A third of all lamb eaten in the UK currently comes from NZ.
(2 April 2004)
   



Read NY Times review

Edge eatery hits NoLIta
Celebrated ex-pat chefs Peter Gordon and Anna Hansen (the team behind London's The Providores and Tapa) have opened a new restaurant in New York's trendy NoLIta district - Public.  In a glowing review, the New York Times describes Public as "an extreme example of Antipodean fusion cuisine," one which transports diners to "the far end of the known culinary universe." The New York Daily News is similarly entranced: "Eating here requires a sense of adventure; the chefs here find their pleasure in cockeyed juxtapositions of atypical ingredients, often prepared in a strait-laced fashion ... To be sure, a place this fun won't stay hidden long."  
(21 November 2003)
    



Read Observer story

Candy Bar, Brighton
Out-standing
Ex-pat bar proprietor, Kim Lucas, shares her views on “pride and prejudice” in an Observer feature on Britain’s 20 most outstanding homosexuals. Lucas opened London’s first official lesbian hangout - the Candy Bar - in Soho in 1996, and established the alternative (to the more “corporate” Pride) gay summer festival, Purple in the Park. She has since opened another Candy Bar in Brighton and was voted 2003 Woman of the Year by Diva magazine. Lucas on homosexuality: “My relationships for the past 20 years have been with women, but I don't call myself a lesbian. I don't believe in labels. Labels are a useful banner with which to fight for equality, but I think it's only when we don't have them that we'll have equality.”
(26 October 2003)
   



Read Observer article
Kerry Fox in Intimacy

An angel at his table
Actress Kerry Fox interviewed in the Observer 'favourite eateries' column and muses on fellow Kiwi, ex-flatmate and celebrity chef, Peter Gordon's Tapa Room - as well as  his influence on her own culinary habits. "Peter is one of the forerunners of fusion cooking in this country. He made a name for himself working at the Sugar Club by using a mixture of Asian and European ingredients, common in our native New Zealand … while we were living together, I never used a recipe book. Instead I'd decide what I felt like eating, say fish, ring Peter, and he would make up these fantastic dishes off the top of his head."
(8 June 2003)
   



Read Xinhua article

A kiwifruit a day…
Sales of NZ kiwifruit to SARS zone Taiwan have escalated dramatically after two academics proclaimed the fruit's resistance-building properties in a Chinese daily. Kiwifruit contain twice as much vitamin C as oranges and a significantly higher proportion of essential vitamins and minerals than any other commonly eaten fruit.
(28 May 2003)
   



Read Australian story

A winter's ale: Montieths

"This dark, brooding, Kiwi ale [Monteith's Richly Hopped Original Ale] with its deep nutty, malty flavours is the perfect thing - served just chilled, of course, rather than cold - for old fashioned roast beef, yorkshire pudding and a grey Sunday afternoon."
(26 - 27 April 2003)



Read NYDaily article
High steaks
NZ beef takes centre stage at New York's latest meat-lovers' paradise; Sosa Borella. According to its reviewers - "a group of eager carnivores" - the "grass-fed, free-range beef from New Zealand" is the main draw-card for the grill-happy Argentinian/Italian restaurant.
(20 October 2002)
      




Cheers, Digger
A Kiwi beer has won at the Australian beer awards. Founders Brewery from Nelson won the accolade of Champion Small Brewery for its organic range including Tall Blonde, Red Head and Long Black. 
(June 2002)    

        



Go to the Janet Street-Porter retail review
Supermarket nirvana: Gisborne Woolworths
Street-Porter lauds fusion master Peter Gordon, bemoans some antipodean executions of the theory, but finds solace in Woolworths: "I purchased sun-dried tomatoes, olive and rosemary focaccia bread, and locally made Camembert. Have you picked yourselves up off the floor? I'm not even going to bore you with the 25 varieties of Chardonnay, the organic eggs or the 10 kinds of honey. Plus the fact that the check-out lady actually packed my bags". 
(5 February 2002)
          



Go to the Times story
Go to the Times story
Book Now
Providores, the keenly awaited new restaurant from Peter Gordon, has opened to acclaim. Says the Times: "Expect to queue once the reviews start rolling in."
(1 September 2001)
             



Go to The Times
Mussels and joints

Sore joints? Eat New Zealand green-lipped mussels, or take a pre-processed extract.
(14 June 2001)
              





Sun-kissed pasta
Trials are underway to improve the colour of New Zealand pasta by creating yellower strains of wheat.
(30 November 2000)



go to the Guardian story
On the menu: Hoki Is it a bird? Is it a plane?
No, it's a fish. By hokey, it's not, is it?
(11 February 2000)
              




Vital Ingredient in Hong Kong Gourmet Kebab
"The doner kebabs - with pure New Zealand lamb, insists marketing director Mongoa Jabeur - are $59 …"
(14 April 2000)
                




Tomcat temptations 
Auckland chocolatier Hanna Frederick, a former food scientist, has injected a male aphrodisiac into her chocolate treats for Valentine's Day. Frederick, who made headlines by feeding beer-flavoured chocolate to brewers and deer antler chocolate to meat industry heads at business conventions last year, hopes to capitalise on the commercial day of romance with chocolates fortified with Tongkat Ali, a potent herb from Southeast Asia which is claimed to stimulate testosterone production in men. "We are not trying to create a substitute for Viagra," Hungarian-born Frederick said. "This is just a bit of passionate fun." Frederick and her husband Howard own Mámor Chocolate Ltd., which was established in 2003. 
(5 February 2009)




Rite of pastry passage 
Mince, steak, chicken and potato top pies are amongst a few of the popular pastry to be sampled in a two-week tasting marathon undertaken by Vancouver Courier reporter Michael Kissinger. According to a 2005 Statistics New Zealand Household Economics Survey, New Zealanders eat a total of 68 million pies a year. That's more than 16 pies for every man, woman and child. Kissinger stops in at the Ponsonby Rugby Club where pie-maker Tony "who calls me 'bro' a lot" urges him "to explore the outer limits of New Zealand pies, namely nacho, Tandoori and seafood pies." "I resolved to meet him half way. I would try to eat one pie every two days and sample as many flavours as my stomach would permit. But most importantly, I would let pies shape and colour my gastronomical journey of New Zealand and self-discovery." 
(22 October 2008)




US discovers oil 
Far North Olive Oil, a premium extra-virgin oil, from New Zealand is on sale in farmers markets in the North West United States thanks to the efforts of locals Charles and Gayle Pancerzewski, who bought a 25-acre olive grove in the north of New Zealand where they spend half the year preparing the oil. The couple takes pride in the quality of their product and believe this is probably the only of its kind available in the Northwest. Extra virgin olive oil is the best, made without a hydraulic press or centrifuge. Processes that use heat or intense pressure degrade the oil and take away most of its health benefits. "Basically, you'd be better off buying canola oil," Pancerzewski said. 
(19 June 2008)




Potentially Pinot 
Though Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc continues its global popularity - sales grew nearly 29 per cent last year - New Zealand winemakers seek a new viticulture challenge. This challenge is Pinot Noir. The winemakers' excitement about Pinot Noir is the converse of their boredom with Sauvignon Blanc. Careful control of yields, and not heavy growth, brings out the grape's best. Humans, not machines, have to harvest the delicate fruit. Oak, not stainless steel, helps the wine. However meanwhile, the US market still savours Marlborough's best: "Not a day goes by that someone doesn't order Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, and interest and demand has remained consistent," says Ken Wagstaff, wine buyer and sommelier at San Francisco's Aqua restaurant.
(11 April 2008)


 



" Food miles" shredded by chef 
NZ celebrity chef Peter Gordon has made discrediting the "food miles myth" and promoting quality NZ produce his mission in the UK. In recent months, the London-based chef has appeared on British TV, met with industry officials and written an article in The Independent in a bid to open up dialogue on the increasingly contentious issue. "The term food miles just needs to be dropped - that's the best thing we could do," he says in Wellington's Dominion Post. "A lot of people think the carbon footprint is entirely in the transport, but it's in the production, the [air-conditioned] buildings and the people in the offices ... There are good people doing good things in New Zealand and to have their future at threat because of two words is a real shame." Gordon's views are backed up by a recent study at Lincoln University study which found that NZ lamb sold in Britain was four times as energy efficient as its local product. 
(December 2007)





Familiar tastes in France
NZ rugby fans in France have been able to enjoy a taste of home at Le Maori Cafe in Lyons. Owned by Aucklander Tai Pepere, who played rugby league for French club Catalans in the mid-90s, Le Maori Cafe stocks Speights and Steinlager and is designed to resemble a traditional marae. Pepere suffers only a mild case of divided loyalties, despite being a permanent resident of Lyons who is married to a French woman. "My dream would be for an All Blacks v France final and for the All Blacks to win the final," he says. "I'm not saying it will happen because we (the All Blacks) are used to being beaten in semi-finals, but if the two meet in the final it will certainly guarantee an entertaining game." 
(16 September 2007)





Top tucker 
US economics professor and blogger extraordinaire Tyler Cowen rates fish and chips as being "to New Zealand what barbecue is to Texas-tops in the world" on his popular website marginalrevolution.com. Cowen regularly compiles lists of his favourite things about the cities, states and countries he visits, a selection of which was recently published in New York magazine. According to him, NZ is also a "first-rate locale" for Malaysian, Cambodian and Burmese cuisine. 
(23 July 2007)






Pure and simple 
NZ mineral water Antipodes was reviewed by Michael Mascha, author of Fine Waters: A Connoisseurs Guide to the World's Most Distinctive Bottled Waters, in the LA Times. "The soft, light bubbles (it's artificially carbonated) and low mineral content contrast well with food without overpowering it," he writes, recommending readers pair it with Chinese dishes such as sweet and sour pork. Antipodes is an Auckland-based company that exports to a growing number of countries, from Taiwan to the Maldives. Last year, Antipodes was judged the world's best sparkling water at the prestigious Berkeley Springs Winter Festival of Waters in California. 
(20 May 2007)


 



Gates of Hell open in Fulham 
Hell Pizza has opened its first UK outlet in Fulham, northwest London. Founders Callum Davies and Stu McMullin decided it was time to test a new market after 11 successful years in NZ. Their first attempt broke even after just five weeks trading, bolstering the pair's plans for further expansion. "We have got to get three months solid trade in, doing better than break even and seeing good pizza numbers. As soon as we are happy with that, then we will look at franchising, we have got people beating down our doors to do that," said McMullin in the NZ Herald. "I don't like to fail and Callum doesn't like to fail and we are both competitive dudes. I've got to give it a really good crack." The Fulham restaurant seats 50 and features copper tables, custom-made chandeliers and black leather booths decorated with red flames. Davies and McMullin aim to have 20 UK outlets open by the end of next year.
(29 April 2007)

 


 



Matterhorn among world's best
Wellington institution the Matterhorn has been named one of the world's top five bars by respected US trade magazine, Bartender. The Cuba St local was ranked fifth behind Milk & Honey (London), Salvatore at Fifty (London), The American Bar (London) and Bayswater Brasserie (Sydney). Judges described the Matterhorn as "a bastion of creativity and bar culture in NZ [that] has led the way for many years." Last year, the Matterhorn was crowned Best Bar in New Zealand and won Best Drink Selection at the inaugural New Zealand Bar Awards in Auckland. "There's a definite culture that goes with the Matterhorn," said co-owner Sam Chapman in the NZ Herald. "It's a real local, rather than just an urban tourist spot - it's very much part of the fabric of people's daily lives." 
(22 April 2007)

 


 



Pride of the south
Speight’s Gold Medal ale gets a big thumbs up from the Journal and Courier’s (Indiana, US) resident 'Beer  Man’. “It poured a nice head and was an absolutely crystal clear, light amber colour. Bready, biscuity smells wafted from my pint glass as I prepared for my first sip. Those characteristics were also apparent in the taste, as well as light caramel malt …This is a good everyday drinking beer that shows New Zealand breweries can compete on an even keel with many bitters and pale ales from England. You won't be disappointed by this fine beer.”
(15 February 2006)


 

Go to Mastri Oleari website
Serendipity strikes gold
An extra virgin olive oil by Waihopi Valley’s Serendipity Olive estate was awarded a diploma of grand mention at Italy’s prestigious Mastri Oleari International Golden Lion Awards. Serendipity Olive Estate owner Carol Walton: “It is especially great news for us, but also for the NZ Olive Oil Industry as a whole in that we are up there with the best.”
(4 May 2005)
    



Read FP Daily story

Plastic fantastic
NZ’s Calvert Plastics in conjunction with the Wellington Institute of Technology has developed a plastic packaging innovation set to revolutionise global exporting. International market regulations are increasingly demanding alternatives to traditional wood and cardboard packaging, for both monetary and environmental reasons. “[Our] design allows more product to be stacked on a pallet,” says Calvert trading manager John Matthews. “It’s a new way of thinking, with products stacked by angling them on their edge rather than layering them flat.”
(29 March 2005)
   



Read Independent article
Kai to die for
I
ndependent food writer Jenni Muir nominates Nelson and Marlborough as the lesser-known food capitals of NZ. In Nelson, she recommends foraging for kai-moana with guide Mike Elkington of Te Hikoi Maori. Matua Valley is the place to go in Marlborough for bold sauvignon blanc served with raw oysters and other fresh seafood.
(26 March 2005)
    


 



The £55 burger
Hamburgers made with New Zealand meat are being sold by a London restaurant for £55 ($NZ146) each. The 200g 'burgers, made from meat from cattle of the Japanese wagyu breed, come with fries, and are being sold at the Zuma restaurant in Knightsbridge. A spokeswoman for the restaurant said: "Our wagyu beef comes from New Zealand, where the cows are reared on beer and massaged until they weigh three-quarters of a ton, more than double the weight of an average cow. The meat rivals foie gras for richness, tenderness, calorific content - and cost. It's also the only beef proven to reduce cholesterol levels." Zuma introduced the burger after a request from James Bond star Pierce Brosnan, who ordered wagyu beef while the two dined in Japan.
(11 April 2005)



Read Cannes News story
A Kiwi voice in Cannes
Cuisine won silver in the Food Magazines category of the inaugural Gourmet Voice Awards in Cannes. The September 2004 Middle Eastern special was recognised alongside such renowned international publications as Delicious (UK), Olive (US), and Cucina (Italy). “To take out a top award like this when competing with some of the world’s most respected food magazines endorses the world class quality of Cuisine,” said Editor Simon Wilson in Scoop. “This award will bring worldwide attention and industry recognition, further showcasing our country’s inventiveness and resourcefulness when it comes to cuisine.”
(18 November 2004)
   



Read LA Times story
Boissonerie
Go Fish
Fish la Boissonerie – co-owned by Kiwi Drew Harre and American Juan Sanchez – features in an LA Times guide to dining well (without breaking the bank) in Paris. “Here's a place to go, in the heart of the 6th arrondissement, on the Left Bank just off the Rue de Buci market, when you're tired of trying to negotiate Parisian menus loaded with brains and intestines … [Fish] has a friendly expat air - which isn't to say it doesn't attract plenty of Parisians … I had tuna tartare in oyster shells, followed by a beautiful, thick, fluffy piece of cod on a bed of spinach. Then I sat for the longest time, nursing a glass of red wine, reluctant to face the walk home in the drizzle.”
(25 April 2004)
   



Read Star Online story
Cafe L'Affare
Edge espressoholics
The Star attributes Wellington's creativity and can-do attitude to its extraordinary topography and world-ranking caffeine intake. "Wellington, the 'windy city,' definitely enjoys one of the most challenging locations on earth. 'Here’s your brief,' the city designers must have said to the builders. 'Find the hilliest place in New Zealand, preferably right on a fault line; build all the houses on the sides of cliffs so that they threaten at any moment to tumble down into the harbour, and make the roads and footpaths as steep as you possibly can.' The result is a 3D city without peer, a training ground for mountain goats and mountaineers ... Every turn you take reveals breath-changing vistas, or funky street sculptures, or bars and cafés that would not be out of place in Paris or New York." The writer imbibes quality coffee at Wellington institutions Caffe L'Affare and Emporio, visits the award-winning multimedia firm Click Suite, watches the animated film The Ring: Wagner’s Dungeons and Dragons at Circa Theatre, and takes a tour of Te Papa.
(7 February 2004)



Read NY Times review
Anna Hansen & Brad Farmerie
Eating on the edge

Public – helmed by NZ chefs Peter Gordon, Anna Hansen, and Brad Farmerie – has administered a welcome shock to the tastebuds of New York diners. According to New York Times food critic, William Grimes, “[Public’s] triumvirate of New Zealand chefs practice a style of global fusion cuisine that walks the line between freewheeling and reckless […] a high-risk, high-reward dining proposition. I have a feeling that the owners want it that way. They did not come thousands of miles to bore New York. Understatement is not in the plan. Sometimes you have to slap people in the face to get their attention.”
(17 December 2003)
 



Read SMH story

Kapiti Creme Anglaise: finger licking good
SMH's 'Good Food Guide' salivates over Kapiti Creme Anglaise: "Talk about the perfect dinner party treat. Heavenly drizzled over cakes and tarts. Or on your finger when you've got a hankering for something sweet and creamy." The creme anglaise is produced in a novel soft pouch. The award winning boutique cheese and ice cream maker, "also produces excellent creme fraiche and mascarpone."
(30 September 2003)
      




The Turners meet the Moores
Turning it up
Californian A-listers dined on the very best of NZ produce at UNICEF’s Gala Awards Banquet and Fundraiser, where ex-Bond, Roger Moore, was named Humanitarian of the Year. Entrepreneurial restaurateur, Noel Turner (Turner New Zealand Restaurant), donated the raw materials for the event, which were then shaped into culinary masterpieces by four American Master Chefs. Turner has coined the phrase “food integrity” to describe the process behind his popular establishment; he owns his own food-processing operatives in NZ, thus enabling him to exert quality control from “plant to plate.”
(4 September 2003)   



Go to Yahoo story

Truffles R Us
An English farmer aims to bring truffles - "the black diamond of the fungi world" - to the masses using technology purchased from the NZ Institute for Crop and Food Research. Nigel Hadden-Paton of Truffle UK Limited is selling the tree seedlings implanted with truffle spores for a mere 25 pounds each. "There is," he says "a ridiculous amount of snobbery surrounding the truffle and there needn't be."
(20 May 2003)
  



Go to Observer article

Celebrity chef
Kiwi chef Alex Mackay is one of the bright sparks leading Britain's ongoing gastronomic revolution. After working in England and Italy, Mackay now runs an acclaimed cooking school at Le Baou d'Infer in Provence - the holiday home of London fashion photographer, Peter Knab. The class has already been translated into a successful British TV series. Mackay's book - Cooking in Provence - has been equally acclaimed.
(9 March 2003)
   





Whale watching on Ponsonby Rd?
Moby, the world's most vocal vegan, has spilled the beans on his favourite places to dine around the globe. His list of ethical eateries includes Ponsonby Road mainstay, Musical Knives. "[This] cute little restaurant is very nice … And it's in New Zealand. Which is the best place in the world. Now I'm hungry again."
(December - January 2003)
  



Read Observer article
See pied a terre website
"Feast feats"
London restaurant Pied a Terre, where Kiwi chef Shane Osborn reigns as "creative genius," praised in the Observer: "You may wonder how it is possible for a Michelin-starred restaurant to serve a three-course lunch for £23, but this Noho stalwart manages it […] despite a small dining space, impeccable service, and endless amuse-bouches." Osborn is commended in particular for his "delicate combinations, deeply flavoursome sauces and daring desserts."
(13 October 2002)
       





Salted venison 
Sydney's premier restaurant Salt brings NZ venison to Aussie palates via their latest menu. 
(6 June 2002)
       



Go to the pdf of the Scotsman article
link to nzoom article on Gordon's new venture
School's dinner
On the heels of his hotly anticipated new venture Providores, edge fusion food-man Peter Gordon spurns the celeb-chef cliche for knife-wielding cruelty and cooks top notch cuisine to raise funds for a new school in Butterstone for the 'educationally fragile.' "Sample his New Zealand expertise and some fine wines ..."
Pdf Copy
(14 July 2001)



Go to the pdf of the Turner story
Landing the big one
Turner New Zealand baits the hook for US seafood buyers with on-demand video demonstrations by celebrity chefs and NZ-fresh fish delivered to the door. Not only is Turner's food the finest gourmet offering, their website ranks 57th on the Chef2Chef culinary portal, beating big-gun taste gurus like Martha Stewart.
Pdf Copy
(July 2001)
             



 Go to Washington Post article
Green with envy
New Zealand mussels in on the American shell-fish market.
(15 May 2001)
     



Go to BBC story
Lamb OK
I will buy in New Zealand lamb, but I won't buy anything else says a British butcher feeling the pinch of foot and mouth.
(28 February 2001)
                



 

Scary candy

"Watch out for the scary-sounding Mega Perky Nana from New Zealand," now starring at Cybercandy, along with co-Kiwi sweet, the Pinky bar.
(8 January 2001)



Go to Ananova story
Bill doesn't pay
Enjoying a New Zealand-sourced organic beer in London, President Clinton left without clearing his tab.
(14 December 2000)
               



Go to SMH story
15% pure
All ingredients in New Zealand and Australian food are to be labelled by percentage. "Meat" pie anyone?
(26 November 2000)
        



Go to the Times of India article
link to the zespri website
Fruit nuts in Mumbai
Kiwi fruit and Enza apples are status symbols in Mumbai: "New Zealand apples are more juicy and have a better shelf-life...these are basically popular in higher middle and elite class of the town."
(26 October 2000)
 



Go to the Electronic Telegraph article
Go to the Electronic Telegraph article

Big cheese
Juliet Harbutt, self-described "brash, open, jolly New Zealander", founded the British Cheese Awards to "preach the Gospel of cheese"'
(26 October 2000)
 



Go to the New York Observer article
Go to the New York Observer article
Kissin pad goodbye

New York-based New Zealander, restaurateur and business partner of Sir Terence Conran, Joel Kissin, sold his four-storey townhouse at 53 West 68th Street for US$7million. His new home is "is opposite the Metropolitan Museum of Art. It is a penthouse … with a wraparound terrace and great views."
(25 September 2000)




Golden Kiwi
Zespri gives the Kiwifruit the golden touch, hoping to strike it lucky in the lucrative American market. The new yellow cultivar is, "much like the green variety on the outside, but its mustard-hued flesh has a custardy texture and almost melonlike taste."
(12 July 2000)
             


 


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