2 March 2012

TEN TEXTURES OF CARROT

What a privilege. This week I flew to Queenstown to reacquaint myself with Blanket Bay, the stately lodge that hunkers into the mountains at the head of Lake Wakatipu.

While New Zealanders everywhere are decrying foreign investment in land, companies and assets, Blanket Bay is a timely reminder of just how spectacularly thoughtful and valuable this can be for us. Tom and Pauline Tusher, the owners, have been guardians of a magnificent piece of land that will now be assuredly kept pristine forever. And they've invested in the kitchen crew too, training chefs that are amongst the best in the nation. Current chef Corey Hume totally wowed me with his food.

Here's my entree. Ten textures of carrot. Chef Corey worked total magic on carrots. Savoury carrot and cumin sorbet, carrot gel, faux carrot caviar, carrot marshmallow, carrot 'sheet' with cardamom, carrot and ginger croquette, pickled heirloom white carrot with honey, shaved purple carrot, and baby carrot wafer. Now that's really doing amazing things with food!