6 November 2011

NELSON HIDES IT LIGHT

I’m back from a stimulating and delicious weekend in Nelson. The occasion was the NZ Guild of Food Writers’ conference and Culinary Quills Awards, and my swansong as President. Nelson turned on sunny but chilly weather, the awards were well received at a splendid dinner (venison, salmon, beef, lamb and sweet treats accompanied by Tohu wines) in the WOW museum, the conference programme provided plenty of food for thought...more on that in a later posting...and we indulged in fabulous local produce.

Above is my lunch this afternoon on my return home. A simple but perfect plate; chunky sweet Motueka asparagus, creamy Mt Crusader fresh sheep’s cheese, and a drizzle of Kakariki olive oil. All bought fresh at the wonderful Nelson Market where the food writers all headed on Saturday morning. Nita Knight has run the market for more than 30 years, pre-dating all NZ farmer’s markets. The market is a wonderful eclectic mix of fresh produce, meats and Doris’ sausages, artisan products, ready-to-eat treats, and local arts and crafts.

I came home with bags bursting with goodies and wishing I could get another helping of Nana’s Maori bread which at $2 is the best money I have spent in ages. Light puffy shallow fried bread, split open and filled with butter and golden syrup and made from a secret recipe that local chef Cheryl Gillooly was given by her nana just before she died recently.

We ate at four fabulous restaurants; SACHI where the aga-dashi tofu was so good we had three helpings, BOUTEREYS where we were wowed by Matt Bouterey’s fabulous fresh fish and crisp squid with avocado and chilli, HOPGOOD’S in the main street where the fresh cheese stuffed zucchini flowers with Doris’s tangy ham, asparagus and broad beans signalled spring had arrived on our plates, and the ‘iconic’ BOAT SHED. Iconic it is, as the shed sits beautifully out over the water and chef Dan Monopoli’s fresh, original cuisine has finally returned this much loved spot to its former glory. Pan fried whitebait, fresh spring salads, sweet Golden Bay cockles and thick crusty bread. Heaven!

And to top it all off our forums –on-wheels took us to meet the producers and growers of the region. The aquaculture industry is in good hands with the research currently being carried out at Cawthron Institute and by Wakatu Inc, there’s loads of exciting food everywhere, and the art and wine scenes are thriving. A wine-down event at Neudorf was like a scene from one of those clever movies with food producers tempting us with their wares, music, and local beer, cider and stunning Neudorf wines to drink.

There’s only one thing missing. Those locals don’t seem to know how good it all is. There’s no food map, no food group and no marketing done around the lovely restaurants and markets. Come on Nelson! You’ve got it all. Shout it loud and clear and entice food tourists to the region.